Frango Piri Piri

Portugal via Mozambique and Angola; Algarve restaurant tradition (Churrasqueira)

Frango piri piri is Portugal's most internationally recognised dish — a butterflied chicken marinated in piri piri chilli sauce (based on the African bird's eye chilli, Capsicum frutescens, known locally as piri piri or peri peri), grilled over charcoal, and basted continuously during cooking with the same marinade. The dish originates from the Portuguese colonial presence in Angola and Mozambique, where the piri piri chilli grows natively and where Portuguese settlers adopted the ingredient into their cooking. The marinade is built around the chillies blended with garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, sweet paprika, and oregano — acidity is essential for both flavour and to aid protein breakdown in the meat during marination. The chicken must be butterflied (spatchcocked) flat so both sides receive equal heat from the grill simultaneously.

• The charcoal-plus-chilli-marinade technique mirrors Jamaican jerk chicken (different chilli profile, same principle of sustained heat plus marinated baste), Brazilian churrasco frango, and South African peri peri chicken from the same Portuguese colonial exchange.

Batatas fritas and a green salad with lemon dressing are the canonical accompaniments; Sagres or Super Bock lager at extreme cold is the traditional drink — the carbonation and cold temperature quench the piri piri heat.