When the COVID-19 pandemic led to lockdown in South Africa several months ago, Capsicum Culinary Studio – South Africa’s largest chef school – tasked its chef lecturers at their six campuses around the country to come up with dishes for the whole family to enjoy.
They came forward with a wide variety for families to try, from Marlon de Freitas’s cheesy potato and herb bake to Lerato Panyane’s four-bean lockdown soup.
Now, chef Bernice Warner from the school’s Port Elizabeth campus shares her recipe for delicious peri-peri chicken.
Peri-Peri Chicken
Serves 2
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon butter
200g boneless chicken breast fillets – skin removed and cubed
1 garlic clove – crushed
2 tablespoons homemade peri-peri sauce (see recipe below)
Juice of ½ lemon
125ml cooking cream
Salt and pepper to taste
Garnish with freshly chopped parsley
- Serve with pan fried bread (recipe below) or crusty rolls
Method:
- In a very hot skillet/frying pan, melt the butter and fry the cubed chicken pieces until golden brown on both sides.
- Add garlic and peri-peri sauce and allow to fry for another minute or so until fragrant then add the lemon juice and cream.
- Season with salt and pepper and allow to simmer for 5 – 7 min or until cooked.
- Serve with fried bread.
Going the extra mile, PE-based chef, Bernice Warner, has also provided recipes for home-made peri-peri sauce, as well as fried bread to accompany the feast!
Pan fried bread
Ingredients:
1 cup of cake flour
5ml baking powder
15ml olive oil
125ml yoghurt
Pinch of salt
Method:
- Mix all the dry ingredients and stir in the wet ingredients; you might need to add a drop of water if you find the dough to be dry.
- The dough will need to be rolled out to approximately 1 cm thick on a lightly floured surface. Cut into rounds.
- Fry in a medium to high frying pan with some cooking oil until golden on both sides and soft to the touch.
- Serve with the chicken.
Homemade Peri–Peri sauce
Ingredients:
½ cup white vinegar
½ cup freshly squeezed lemon/ lime juice
½ cup olive oil
40ml chili powder
40ml paprika
40ml salt
40ml chopped garlic
10 bird’s eye chillies, finely chopped; keep seeds in for the heat.
Method:
- Put all the ingredients in a food processor and blend them until well combined.
- The sauce improves with time and will be fierier after standing for a while.
