Peri-Peri Chicken Thighs
I've been making this as a meal for a while now, sometimes for a big lunch and less often as an evening meal. Chicken thighs have a much better texture, at least in my opinion, and also take to the marinade thanks to all the little nooks and crannies when they've been boned. Unfortunately this recipe doesn't suit keeping the skin on, so whilst crispy chicken thigh skin is a thing of joy, it's not one that you get with this. The tasty heat and flavour from the marinade more than makes up for it.
Stats
Serves: 2 people
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 hours
Ingredients
- 300g chicken skinless thigh fillets
- 1 red chilli
- 1/2 lemon
- 1 tbsp chipotle paste
- 1 fat clove garlic, minced
- 1/2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tbsp water
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tbsp cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp tomato puree
Method
- De-seed and finely chop the red chilli
- Squeeze the lemon juice into a bowl, removing any seeds that pop out of the lemon
- Add all the remaining ingredients, except the chicken, and mix well to combine
- Add the chicken thigh fillets and mix well to coat with the peri-peri marinade, then cover and leave in the fridge for a few hours if possible
- Pre-heat the oven to 200 (fan assisted)
- Cook the chicken thights for 30 minutes on a foil lined tray, adding all the marinade onto the chicken
- Drain any liquid that's come from the chicken from the tray and then cook for five more minutes to help crisp some of the corners
Once the chicken thighs have cooked, rest them for five minutes before chopping them roughly and serving with a selection of bits and pieces to fill warmed pitta breads with. I chop up avocado, cucumber and tomato and add some lettuce leaves - that's plenty to fill the pitta along with the warm chicken.
If you wanted to make a peri-mayo to put in the pittas you can reserve a half tablespoon of the marinade before using it and mix with 3 tablespoons of mayo to make enough to go with the pittas.