On the Gourmet Trail. Algarve: Piri Piri Chicken

As part of our On The Gourmet Trail campaign, we are taking the most popular and traditional dishes from our fantastic holiday destinations and showing you how to create them on the BBQ at your villa or in your kitchen back home. Here is a recipe from the Algarve, where Piri-Piri was invented in Guia.

Ingredients

1 whole chicken (about 1kg/2lb 3oz), spatchcocked, salt and freshly ground black pepper.

For the piri-piri sauce

6-12 fresh red chillies, depending on how hot you want it

1 tbsp garlic, blanched and chopped

1 tsp salt flakes

½ tsp oregano

½ tbsp paprika

100ml/3½fl oz olive oil

50ml/1¾fl oz red wine vinegar

To serve

chips

salad

Method

1. To make the piri-piri sauce, preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4. Place the chillies in a roasting tray and roast them for 10 minutes.

2. Allow the chillies to cool and then roughly chop. Add garlic, salt, oregano, paprika, olive oil and vinegar to the chillies and place in a saucepan, and simmer on a low heat for a couple of minutes.

3. Allow the mixture to cool, then blend it to a purée in a food processor or blender.*

4. Place the spatchcocked chicken in a sealable plastic bag. Add half the piri-piri sauce, spreading it evenly over the chicken. Seal and marinate in the refrigerator for at least one hour.

5. Preheat the oven to 200C/390F/Gas 6, and preheat a large griddle pan on the hob. Alternatively, if cooking at your villa, light your barbecue.

6.  Cook the chicken on the griddle pan for 2-3 minutes on each side, until golden brown.

7. Transfer the griddled chicken to a roasting tray and roast in the oven for 30 minutes, until cooked through. Alternatively, place the chicken on a medium heat barbecue, covered, for 10-15 minutes on both sides or until cooked through basting regularly with the remaining piri-piri sauce.

8.  Serve with chips and salad.

*If stored in a container, the sauce will last for a month.