Piri Piri Chicken Salad Recipe

If you’ve never tried piri piri, I recommend getting yourself some sauce and smearing it over whatever comes to hand. Halloumi, chicken, even a bag of salad. Okay, perhaps not absolutely anything! But I do love that spicy kick.

This piri piri chicken salad is one we ate whilst we were in the Algarve. We used local tomatoes, which were so sweet. With the salty olives and hot chicken, they were pretty much perfect. I’d happily have had another plateful.

Piri Piri Chicken Salad Recipe

I’ll be honest, I cheated a bit. I bought a locally made piri piri sauce and marinated my chicken in that. You could make your own sauce if you prefer, but there’s nothing wrong with a shortcut. Just make sure you like the taste of it, because it’s doing a lot of the work here.

Serves 2. Allow at least two hours for marinating, or pop the chicken in the fridge the night before.

Ingredients

• 2 chicken breasts
• 4 tbsp piri piri sauce
• 10–12 green lettuce leaves
• 2 tomatoes
• ¼ cucumber
• A dozen or so olives
• A drizzle of olive oil, plus a little for cooking

Method

1. Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces and put in a bowl. Spoon over the piri piri sauce, cover and refrigerate for at least two hours, ideally overnight.
2. Wash and chop the lettuce and tomatoes. Slice the cucumber and arrange everything on two plates with the olives. Keep the raw chicken and its utensils well away from the salad.
3. Heat a little olive oil in a pan. Add the marinated chicken and stir-fry, turning the pieces so they cook on all sides. Check the chicken is cooked right through before serving: a clean food thermometer in the thickest piece should read 75°C for 30 seconds.
4. Put the cooked chicken on top of the salad and drizzle with olive oil. Serve immediately. Throw away any marinade left in the raw-chicken bowl.

A Few Notes On The Sauce

Four tablespoons is what I used, but sauces vary a lot. Have a taste before it goes anywhere near the chicken. If it’s a particularly hot one, you may want to start with less. You can always add a little fresh sauce to your own plate afterwards.

You might see the sauce called peri peri instead. Either spelling will get you to the right shelf. There’s no complicated dressing to make for this salad; the chicken brings the spice and a drizzle of olive oil finishes it off.

What To Serve With It

I like this as a simple chicken salad for two. Bread on the side would be good if you want something more substantial, especially for mopping up anything left on the plate.

Fancy another chicken dish? My Trinidad chicken curry is over here. Or have a browse through the other food and drink posts.