In Portugal, in every bar and restaurant you can get piri piri chicken, cooked on an open BBQ. It’s fantastic! On holiday I looked round for a Portugese recipe book to find out how to make piri piri. I found one, and it’s the coolest ingredient list ever:
Take:
1kg of red chilis (pimento traditionally, but a a mix of heats is nice)
1 cup of salt
1 clove of garlic
Rough chop the chillis into discs (keep the seeds in) and put the chillis into a stoneware pot. I suggest you wear some rubber gloves for this bit, because after chopping 1kg, you’re going to have chilli on your hands for a long time.
Mix the cup of salt into the chopped chillis. Put the lid on the pot, and leave it for 10-14 days. Every day take the lid off, stir the chillis and put the lid back. The chillis will go soft and shrivvled, and semi-disolved salt and juice will collect in the jug. The smell is immense!
After the 10 to 14 days take the contents of the pot and blend it to a fine paste, along with the clove of garlic.
Put the paste into jars, and cover with a layer of olive oil to store.When you want to use some of the sauce, take out a couple of spoons full, and make sure it’s covered with oil.
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