Piri Piri Chicken with Guacamole

, from Issue #64. March, 2016
Photography by Aaron McLean.
Piri Piri Chicken with Guacamole

Tender, juicy pieces of chicken are served with lashings of creamy guacamole and a traditional Portuguese piri piri chilli sauce.

Serves: 4

INGREDIENTS

4 boneless chicken breasts, skin on
2 tablespoons olive oil
Piri piri sauce
1 long red chilli, seeded and finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
½ – 1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce (optional)
¼ cup orange juice
1 tablespoon lemon juice
¼ cup olive oil
sea salt and ground pepper
Guacamole
2 ripe avocados
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
To serve
2 spring onions, thinly sliced
handful coriander

METHOD

Piri piri: Whisk all the ingredients in a bowl and season. Set half of the sauce aside for serving and place the rest in a shallow dish.

Chicken: Add the chicken to the dish and turn to coat in the sauce.

Heat the olive oil in a sauté pan over a medium heat. Add the chicken skin-side down, cover and cook for 10 minutes until golden. Turn over and cook for a further 5-10 minutes until cooked through. Add a splash of water if the marinade looks like it might start to catch on the base of the pan. Cooking time will depend on the size of the chicken. 

Guacamole: Place all the ingredients in a food processor, season well and process until smooth.

To serve: Divide the guacamole between plates and top with the sliced chicken.

Scatter over the spring onions then drizzle with the reserved piri piri sauce.

Top with the coriander and a grind of pepper. We served ours with sautéed new potatoes.