Cheeky Peri Peri Chicken

Peri Peri Chicken with Grits

There is a chain of chicken restaurants that we discovered in the UK (and have since learned there are some in the US while on a visit to Washington, DC) called Nando's. They are famous for their Peri-Peri chicken, which comes in a variety of levels of spiciness.  Peri Peri means "strong pepper" in Swahili, so the heat is to be expected.  And we learned from friends that after a night out at the bars, Londoners will often go out for some "cheeky Nando's" to soak it all up.  Since we all love PeriPeri and Nando's in our house, I was excited when this was a big hit with my family.  We added it into our regular rotation, minus the grits and adding a little bit more spice. Instead of the grits, I often serve it with roasted fingerling potatoes.

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Peri Peri Chicken,
with creamy grits, chili peppers & wilted collard greens (serves 4)

INGREDIENTS:
4 chicken breasts
Peri Peri Spice:  2 T sumac, 2 T smoked paprika
6 T thyme, 4 Thai chilies, 2 garlic clove
6 T red wine vinegar
 1 1/2 c grits
2 c milk
4 c collard greens
2/3 cup of Olive oil
​salt and pepper to taste

PREPARATION:
1. Preheat oven to 400°
2. Cook Grits:

• Melt 3 Tbsp butter (6 Tbsp for meals serving 4) in a pot over med-high
• Add grits and stir to toast for about 1 min
• Add 1 ½ cups water (3 cups), milk & ½ tsp salt (1 tsp), bring to a boil, then reduce heat to med-low and cook 18–22 min, until thickened, stirring often

3. Make the Peri Peri Sauce

• Pick thyme leaves from stem
• Remove stem & seeds from chili peppers—HOT! - and add to taste
• In a small food processor, pulse to combine garlic clove(s), most of thyme leaves—reserve about 2 tsp for garnish—chilies, Peri Peri Spice, red wine vinegar & 2/3 cup olive oil

4. Cook the Chicken

• Pat chicken dry and then arrange on a sheet pan and season with salt, pepper & HALF of the peri peri sauce, turning to coat
• Transfer to the oven and roast for 15–20 min, until chicken is cooked through

5. Prepare the Collards, and Finish the Grits

• Remove stems and finely chop collard greens
• Chop remaining thyme
• When grits are done, stir in collard greens and season with salt and pepper to taste

6. Divide the grits evenly amongst the plates, top with chicken, and then drizzle with the remaining peri peri sauce. Garnish with chopped thyme leaves.