Ingredients
  • 2 red bell pepper
  • 6 - 8 African Bird’s Eye peppers (you can use any red chili peppers available)
  • 4 cloves garlic chopped
  • 1 ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 1 ½ teaspoon of dried oregano
  • 2 bay leaves
  • Salt
  • 1/2 cup lemon juice plus another 1/4 cup to finish
  • 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar plus another 1/4 cup to finish
  • 1/2 cup olive oil

Directions
  1. Roast the red peppers to get a good char on the outside.
  2. Chop the peppers and add to a blender or food processor.
  3. Add the Birds Eye peppers, garlic, smoked paprika, oregano, lemon juice, vinegar and puree until smooth.
  4. Transfer the sauce to a medium-sized saucepan, add the bay leaves and simmer for about 20 minutes.
  5. Let the sauce cool, remove the bay leaves, and return to the food processor
  6. Add the additional lemon juice (1/4 cup), the additional apple cider vinegar (1/4 cup) and puree until smooth.
  7. Slowly add the olive oil (1/2 cup) as the processor is running.
Piri Piri Chicken
 
If you’re making this sauce for chicken, we suggest you marinate the spatchcocked chicken in garlic, salt, piripiri oil, a bit of olive oil and lemon just before grilling. Baste once or twice while grilling.

There are as many variations of this sauce as there are chefs! We’ll be tasting a couple of favourites as we walk the Portuguese Camino in 2024. Learn more about the tour here.