Homemade Peri Peri Pepper BBQ Marinade

The Peri-peri pepper, also called the bird's eye pepper, is used in Portuguese cuisine and in parts of Africa that had a Portuguese colonial presence, including Mozambique and South Africa. If you live in a city with a large immigrant population from one of these countries, you just might be able to find fresh peri-peri peppers at a local market. They're the key ingredient in this traditional Portuguese recipe, which makes a spicy and flavorful marinade for shrimp (marinate for 30 minutes) or chicken (marinate for several hours). When grilling, baste the shrimp or chicken with additional marinade.

Ingredients
1 fresh peri peri pepper, de-seeded (or keep the seeds for extra heat) & finely minced
1/2 tsp Spanish paprika
1/2 tsp ground coriander
Juice of 1 lime
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 Tbs extra virgin olive oil (Spanish olive oil if available)
Ground black pepper, to taste
Salt, to taste

In a small bowl, combine the peri peri pepper, paprika, coriander, garlic and lime juice. Whisk in the olive oil, combining thoroughly, and season with salt and black pepper to taste.

Can't find fresh peri-peri peppers, or don't have the time to make the marinade from scratch? Then try Nando's Peri-Peri Barbecue Marinade, an authentic peri-peri pepper marinade from South Africa that's based on a colonial Portuguese recipe. Nando's also makes delicious peri peri hot sauces.

Zestfully yours,
Gloria