Piri Piri Chicken Pittas Recipes

Steps:

• Put a baking sheet on the top oven rack and preheat to 475 degrees F. Toss the potatoes with 1 tablespoon olive oil in a bowl; season with salt and pepper. Spread out on the hot baking sheet and roast until the potatoes start browning, about 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Cook skin-side down until the skin is crisp and brown, about 6 minutes, then flip and brown lightly on the other side, about 3 minutes.
• Make the sauce: Blend the chiles, garlic, lemon zest and juice, 1 tablespoon vinegar, the paprika, honey and 1 teaspoon salt in a blender to make a chunky puree. Gradually blend in 1/4 cup olive oil. Set aside half of the sauce for serving.
• Move the potatoes to one side of the baking sheet and add the chicken skin-side up to the other side. Brush all over with the remaining chile sauce. Roast until the chicken is cooked through and the potatoes are browned and crisp, 13 to 15 minutes. Divide the chicken, potatoes and pan juices among plates.
• Toss the lettuce mix with the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and 2 teaspoons vinegar; season with salt and pepper. Add the salad to the plates. Serve with the reserved chile sauce.

Steps:

• Use rubber gloves to mince the chiles and place into a mixing bowl. Add cilantro, garlic, vegetable oil, vinegar, lime juice, salt, and black pepper. Mix piri piri sauce well.
• Place chicken breasts and legs into a resealable plastic bag. Pour in piri piri sauce, seal the bag, and shake gently to completely cover chicken. Put the bag in the refrigerator to marinate at least 4 hours.
• Remove bag from the refrigerator about 30 minutes before cooking to allow chicken to come to room temperature.
• Preheat an outdoor grill for medium heat and lightly oil the grate.
• Remove chicken from the bag; discard bag and cilantro. Cook chicken on the preheated grill, rotating as necessary to cook evenly, until juices run clear and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 165 degrees F (74 degrees C), about 25 minutes.

Steps:

• To make the marinade, tip the dried chillies and the vinegar into a pan and bring to the boil. Remove from the heat and leave the chillies to soak until the vinegar is cold. Put the red chillies, garlic, soaked dried chillies and vinegar in a food processor and blitz. Add the smoked paprika, oregano, thyme, sugar, a pinch of salt and the lemon juice. Blitz again to a paste and set aside.
• Sit the chicken in a shallow dish and use a small knife to score all over with cuts 1cm deep. Make sure you do the legs and the underside. Tip the marinade over the chicken and massage into the cuts. Cover and chill for at least 4 hrs, but overnight would be better.
• When you're ready to cook, heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Roast the chicken for 1 hr, then turn the heat up to 220C/200C fan/gas 7 and cook for a further 30-35 mins until a crust has formed on the outside of the chicken.
• Remove from the oven and leave to rest for 30 mins. Serve with homemade wedges or jacket potatoes, coleslaw, some buttered corn cobs and chilli & mint peas.

Steps:

• Pound all the marinade ingredients together with 1 tsp salt using a large pestle and mortar, or blitz in a mini chopper to create a loose paste. Slash each chicken piece a few times, then tip into a bowl and coat in the marinade. Cover and chill for at least 1 hr or up to 24 hrs.
• Heat the oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Tip the chicken along with the marinade and potatoes into a roasting tin. Toss together, then arrange the chicken on top of the potatoes, thighs skin-side up. Roast for 35-40 mins until the chicken has browned.
• Remove the tin from the oven and mix the peppers in with the potatoes, baste the chicken in some of the juices in the tin and turn the drumsticks. Nestle the cherry tomatoes in among the chicken and roast for another 20-25 mins until the chicken is cooked through, the skin is crisp and the vegetables are nicely roasted. Scatter with the coriander and some flaky sea salt, if you like, and serve straight from the tin with the buttered corn on the side.