Piri-Piri

Here's my version of Molho de Piri-Piri, the traditional sauce or marinade that is offered throughout Portugal in restaurants, caf?s, and bars.

1 cup olive oil

1 handful ground piri-piris or substitute piquin, cayenne or Thai chiles, cut up into small pieces with scissors

1 tablespoon paprika, preferably smoked Spanish piment?n

1 head garlic, minced

1 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Combine the ingredients in a jar and shake vigorously. Then store in the refrigerator for a few weeks to blend the flavors. Some recipes call for a cup of whiskey as well. I prefer to drink that straight. /infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif

Marinate a chicken with this before grilling it and serve some of the sauce on the side. Bom proveito!

Yield: 1 1/4 cups

Heat Scale: hot

Aaaah...good 'ol piri piri sauce.

That is very popular over in Portugal. At least it was back in the early '70's when I lived there. They would serve it in little clay jars with a brush. We used to eat fantastic roasted chickens that were cooked on a rotissiery over an open brick pit in a quaint place in Lisbon. That sauce was so good. They used a coarse sea salt on the chicken too that was awesome. I think the trick to making this sauce very authentic is by using the right peppers. Those tiny little hot ones. Back in those years, Portugal was the owner or whatever you want to call it...of Angola, Mozambique, and some other small African country. The peppers were grown over there and brought back to Portugal where they made the sauce. Seemed mostly like ground up peppers (seeds and all), oil (probably local olive oil), and vinegar. There might have been a couple more ingredients, but it was very simple and ultra high-octane. Light you up !!

Thanks for bringing back those memories.

Nice recipe Mr. Squeaky!

I like the fact that it has to sit for a while and kind of ferment. I'm going to try it for my mixed grill entree at Easter. I always have lamb, rabbit, and duck - so this will add a bit more variety. Easter's only one month away!

Oh yeah, if anyone thinks it's sick that I grill rabbit on Easter - it's a tradition, and also kinda sick. Try it sometime with a pomegranate marinade.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Dave Estrem:
[qb]Nice recipe Mr. Squeaky!

Oh yeah, if anyone thinks it's sick that I grill rabbit on Easter - it's a tradition, and also kinda sick. Try it sometime with a pomegranate marinade.[/qb] <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>Dave, just as long as you aren't grilling Santa at Christmas......
/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif

Dave,

You're my kinda guy. We also do lamb every Easter. Sick? Naw.... just downright delicious. /infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif

Pomegranate sauce sounds interesting. Can you post a recipe? Here's the sauce we love with our lamb (from Sunset cookbook Light Ways With Beef, Lamb, and Pork):

3 tbsp mint jelly
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp minced fresh mint leaves or 2 tsp dry
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp pepper
1 clove garlic, minced or pressed

In a small pan, melt jelly over low heat, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and stir in the rest of the ingredients. Serve with lamb.

With our lamb, we like to make new red potatoes and drizzle them with a little of the sauce.

Speaking of lamb, we have a leg in the fridge which will be on the dinner table tomorrow. <drool>

Kelly