Portugese Chicken with Peri Peri Sauce & Red Onion Salsa

Through what must be a subconscious longing for the long sunny nights of summer, i've been hankering for barbecue more and more in the past few weeks. The delicious crunch of slightly charred meat, succulent on the inside, is, to me, unmimicable in the modern kitchen, even with grills, broilers and countless other gadgets.

To be honest, before this recipe i had never actually cooked a whole chicken, nor had i butterflied one for that matter. I found a great video on Youtube detailing how to butterfly one here. It was surprisingly easy! In fact this entire dish is very simple and speaks of very core flavoring.


I don't pretend that this peri peri sauce is close to authentic: a true peri peri sauce would obviously be made with the African birds eye chilli, also known as peri peri.

Caldo Verde

Caldo Verde is a popular soup in Portugese and Brazilian cooking, which i came across in Gourmet Traveller. Considering the wealth of cavolo nero (or black cabbage) in the dish i was anxious to see whether i'd like it. Happily, after the first mouthful, i loved it! The cabbage does not overpower the dish and in fact adds to the richness within. Redolent with garlic and the spices fo the chorizo, it's still an easy soup on the tummy and very wintry. I would recommend this soup to anyone who's looking for something a little bit different for winter! Despite the ingredients, it will appeal to almost all palates.