Peri Peri Sauce

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4.85 from 20 votes

A piquant taste of Africa - perfect for Friday-night Nando's-style fakeaways!

Servings: 1 tablespoon servings

Author: Helen Best-Shaw

Prep Time15

Cook Time30

Ingredients

10 peri peri (African bird's eye) chillis or other hot chillis - dried
1 tbsp olive oil
3 cloves garlic
1 onion
2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp allspice
1 tsp oregano
2 roasted red peppers - we use bottled ones for convenience
2 lemons - juice and zest
1 tbs sugar
100 ml cider vinegar
2 bay leaves
pinch salt
80 ml olive oil

Instructions

Soak the chillis in half a cup of boiling water until the water has cooled. You can leave them soaking overnight if you wish.
Chop the onion and garlic into large pieces.
Heat the one tablespoon of olive oil in a large frying pan or shallow casserole dish. Gently fry the onion and garlic until it is translucent. Then add the herbs and spices (except for the bay leaves). Fry for a couple of minutes longer.
Transfer the fried onions to a blender. Add the soaked peri peri chillis (drained - discard the soaking water), the roasted red peppers, lemons juice and zest, sugar, and apple cider vinegar. Blend until nearly smooth, but still with a little texture.
Return the mixture to the frying pan or casserole. Add the bay leaves, and heat on a low-medium heat until just simmering. Turn down to a very gently simmer.
Cook the mixture for about 20 minutes, until it thickens and has reduced by a half to a third. When it is ready, a wooden spoon or spatula should leave a trace on the bottom of the pan.
Transfer the mixture back to the food processor. Then blitz again, slowly adding the 80ml of olive oil as you do so. It is important to add the oil slowly so the mixture emulsifies so you get a lovely smooth sauce.
Blitz to a smooth paste. The peri peri sauce will take on a vibrant orange-yellow colour. It’s now ready to use. Pour the mixture into a jam jar, and keep in the fridge, where it will last for a week.

Notes

Hints & Tips for Peri Peri Sauce

Chillis do vary in fierceness, even when they are the same variety. Taste and check as that you are happy with the degree of heat, and adjust to suit your taste.
If you can't get African peri peri chillis, Brazilian malaguetinhas are very similar. Alternatively, just use another chilli such as Asian bird's eye chillis.
For speed and ease we use jarred roasted red peppers for this, you can of course roast your own from fresh if you prefer.
Try lime juice instead of lemon or add a couple of tablespoons of coconut milk.
This Nando's style peri peri sauce will keep for about two weeks in the fridge. Freeze leftovers into individual portions in an ice tray.

Serving Suggestions

Use it to baste or marinate chicken.
Use as a dip for chips (fries) alongside a burger or on baked sweet potatoes, or on all sorts of grilled food.
This peri peri sauce recipe is suitable for vegetarians and vegans – why not try it with halloumi vegetable skewers or vegeburgers?

Nutritional Information

This recipe is 3 Weight Watchers Smart Points per portion

• Please note that the nutrition information provided below is approximate and meant as a guideline only.

• Unless stated otherwise cup conversions have been made with an online tool. For accuracy please check with your favoured conversion tool. We recommend buying inexpensive digital kitchen scales.