Despite being thought of as Portuguese, the heat that makes this popular chicken dish originates in Mozambique.

Having made its way over to Europe, Peri Peri chicken and spicy rice is now a favourite meal on the UK high street. Try recreating your own version with turmeric, chipotle and some fiery red chilli.

And before you start, spice up a friend’s life by sharing this cheeky chicken recipe with them!

Ingredients

1 lemon

1 onion

1 red chilli

1 red pepper

1 little gem lettuce

130g basmati rice

1 chicken stock cube

15ml white wine vinegar sachet

1/2 tsp ground turmeric

32g tomato paste

2 x 125g British chicken breast fillets

20g chipotle paste

40ml mayonnaise

Method

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 220°C/ 200°C (fan)/ 400°F/ Gas 6. Cut the red chilli in half lengthways, deseed (scrape the seeds out with a teaspoon) and chop finely. Roll the lemon with your hand on a hard surface (to release more juice!) and cut in half.

Step 2:

Boil a kettle. Peel and finely dice the onion. Deseed the red pepper (scrape the seeds and pith out with a teaspoon) and dice. Dissolve the chicken stock cube, ground turmeric and half the tomato paste in 300ml boiled water – this is your tomato stock.

Step 3: Heat a large, wide-based pan, with a drizzle of vegetable oil over a medium-high heat. Once hot, add the diced onion and pepper and cook for 3-4 min or until they’ve softened slightly

Step 4: Add the basmati rice, tomato stock and half the chopped chilli (can’t handle the heat? Go easy!), to the pan and bring to the boil over a high heat. Once boiling, reduce the heat to low and cook, covered, for 10-15 min or until the water has absorbed and the rice is cooked – this is your spicy rice

Step 5: Meanwhile, combine the white wine vinegar, chipotle paste, the remaining chopped chilli (not a fan of spice? Just add a little!) and the remaining tomato paste with the juice of 1/2 lemon in a large mixing bowl. Add a drizzle of olive oil and season with a generous pinch of salt – this is your peri peri sauce.

Step 6: Add the chicken breasts to the peri peri sauce and give it a good mix up. Transfer the peri peri chicken breasts to a baking tray (use tin foil to avoid mess!) and put the tray in the oven for 15-20 min or until the chicken is cooked through (no pink meat!)

Step 7: Meanwhile, cut the remaining lemon into quarters. Combine the mayonnaise with the juice of 1 lemon quarter and a drizzle of olive oil – this is your lemon mayo.

Chop the little gem lettuce roughly and add it to a bowl with the lemon mayo. Give everything a good mix up – this is your lemony dressed salad

Step 8: Serve the peri peri chicken with the spicy rice and lemony dressed salad. Garnish with the remaining lemon. Enjoy!