Simple Piri‑Piri Chicken

Ingredients

• 2 onions
• 10 fresh chili peppers (in various colors)
• 1 head of garlic
• 2 tbsp rose harissa paste
• 1 tsp smoked paprika powder
• red wine vinegar
• olive oil
• 1 whole free‑range chicken (1.5 kg)
• 1.2 kg potatoes
• 4 sprigs Mint

Instructions

1. 1.

   Preheat the oven to 180 °C. Peel and quarter the onions, placing them in a large ovenproof dish. Prick the chilies several times and add them to the dish. Halve the garlic head crosswise, then combine with harissa, paprika, a pinch of sea salt, black pepper, 2 tbsp red wine vinegar and 1 tbsp olive oil. Slice the chicken along the spine so it can lie flat, place it in the dish and mix everything well to marinate the meat. Lay the chicken breast‑side up on the oven rack, set the dish with onions underneath, and bake for 1 hour until golden brown and cooked through. Peel the potatoes, cut them into thick wedges, toss with 1 tbsp oil, a pinch of salt and pepper, arrange beside the chicken on a baking tray, and place under the onions in the oven.

2. 2.

   After 30 minutes remove the onions from the oven, brush the chicken with the cooking juices. Stir the potato wedges, then return them to the oven for the remaining 30 minutes beneath the chicken. Halve and deseed the chilies; press half of the garlic cloves out of their skins. Blend both in a blender with the onions, cooking liquid, half of the mint leaves and 1 tbsp red wine vinegar until smooth; add a splash of water if needed. Taste and adjust seasoning. Sprinkle the chicken with the remaining mint leaves and serve with roasted garlic, potato wedges and Piri‑Piri sauce.