Molho de Piri-Piri | David Leite | The New Cooks’ Catalogue | Knopf, 2000 | Makes about 1 cup
Piri-piri is the Swahili word for the incendiary red peppers of Africa—primarily those of Angola and Mozambique, former Portuguese colonies. Because of the seafaring nature of the Portuguese, it didn’t take long for these bite-size pods of fire to make their way to Lisbon aboard spice ships returning from the East.
Mainlanders wasted no time in turning the torrid chiles into a versatile sauce. Cooks use it as a marinade, a basting liquid, and a condiment. In fact, take a walk down an esplanade in Lisbon and you’ll find bottles of piri-piri sauce dotting restaurant tables everywhere. And no wonder: It’s perfect with grilled shrimp, prawns, grilled pork, chicken, and fish.
Although true southern African piri-piri peppers aren’t available in this country, you can substitute any very hot chile, such as cayenne, tabasco, piquins or santaka.—David Leite
convert Ingredients
4 to 8 hot chiles, depending on the heat
2 cloves garlic, minced
Juice of 1 lemon
Pinch of salt
1/2 to 1 cup extra-virgin olive oil, depending on how thin you want it
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Directions
1. Coarsely chop the peppers and discard stems.
2. Place the chiles and their seeds, the garlic, lemon juice, salt, and as much of the oil as you wish in a food processor fitted with a metal blade and purée. Pour the mixture into a small glass jar and let steep for several days in the fridge.
3. You can strain the mixture and return it to jar, but I like mine with a bit of texture. Sauce will keep in the refrigerator for 1 month.
Note: For those concerned about the health risks of allowing raw garlic to steep in olive oil, don’t fret. Shirley O. Corriher, food scientist and author of Cookwise: The Hows and Whys of Successful Cooking, says that due to the sauce’s high acidity and oxygen content, there’s no problem. In fact, she added: “I’d be tempted to eat it myself.”
Recipe and photo © 2009 David Leite. All rights reserved. Terms of use.
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Excellent recipe! I just love this sauce and always buy Nando’s piri piri sauce, but want to start creating batches for my family as we get through so much of the stuff. I plan on making a slightly modified version of this one but apart from using the hot chillies, I will also be adding sweet red peppers and a little red wine vinegar.
Love piri-piri and always have some in hand. I always grew up with it but have a simplified yet just as good recipe which is fantastic in any type of stews. All we do is add small malagueta peppers in a tall glass container with olive oil or whiskey. Close the the container and wait until all malaguetas are at the bottom. Once that is done, you have this amazing sauce to use everything you are cooking!
Olive oil OR whiskey. Now there’s a story! Love it. Although tell me a little more, please, about malagueta peppers, please, as I’m unfamiliar with them…
The Malagueta peppers are small dried red peppers I believe originally from Moçambique. My family would always have them around and today they grow their own in their organic B&B farm. I am able to bring a few every time I go back to Portugal. Shhh… let’s not tell that to customs! It is a very powerful pepper and very tasty one too.
Sofia, my friend, the author Edite Vieira of The Taste of Portugal, does the same with whiskey. Simple and delicious.
Ha… A great book indeed. I should buy it one of these days. I have checked it at friends house. Had forgotten about it!
Dear David and Sofia and all those potential piri piri people, yes to oil AND whisky! A lovely old Portuguese couple from Mozambique had this restaurant in Johannesburg and gave us their recipe. We had big garlicky LM prawns with piri sauce dashed over them from a bottle of Johnnie Walker with holes punched in the cap. The lady added half a cup whisky to her oil/peppers/garlic/parsley/lemon juice for levels of tastes. Hotazell that came and went so enjoyably.
Peter, thank you, this is quite literally life-changing news! Seriously. That piri piri sounds amazing. It makes me think of another recipe, a boozy one similar to this, coming up shortly that you may like, I’ll note when it posts on the site…
Peter, that reminds me of yet another favorite at our home growing up. My parents live in Cape Town and had a help from Mozambique who taught them one of my very favorite chutneys. Layers of lemon quarters, coarse sea salt, malaguetas, and so on until a glass jar is fully packed, then fill it with lemon juice until no air bubbles. Cover it with a cotton cloth and rope then let it slowly cook outside fully exposed to the sun and hot temperatures. Make sure to check it everyday and add lemon juice so the top does not dry up. Once it is fully cooked (about 30 days of strong sun and heat), bring it back inside, remove the cloth and close it with its normal lid. You can enjoy it simply with a nice grilled steak or go one step further and create a paste with it, butter and lots of garlic then brush your grilled chicken or ribs with it!