Piri Piri Chicken with Chopped Vegetable Salad
Piri piri chicken with a chopped vegetable salad is a spicy Portuguese-inspired main course. The Thermomix grinds dried bird's eye chillies, garlic and smoked paprika into a vibrant marinade, then the machine chops mixed vegetables for a fresh, crunchy salad. One appliance delivers restaurant-quality heat and freshness without any manual knife work.
About this recipe
Piri piri chicken with chopped vegetable salad on the Thermomix TM7 brings bold Portuguese flavours straight to your weeknight dinner table. When you search for piri piri recipes for the Thermomix TM7, you want real intensity: dried bird's eye chillies ground to a fine powder, garlic cloves chopped in seconds, and smoked paprika blended with olive oil and wine vinegar into a marinade that clings to every part of the chicken. This all-in-one kitchen machine handles the entire prep: grinding, chopping and mixing the marinade, then chopping the mixed vegetables for a salad that stays fresh and crunchy beside the spicy roast. The contrast is what makes this recipe special: blistering chilli heat against cool, tangy vegetables. It suits a quick weekend barbecue-style dinner, a Friday family treat or meal prep for the week ahead, and it proves that authentic piri piri needs nothing more than one bowl and a few seconds per step.
Preparation tips
- Rub the ground chilli, garlic and paprika marinade under the chicken skin as well as over it, so the smoked flavour penetrates the meat rather than only coating the surface during roasting.
- Marinate the chicken for several hours or overnight in the fridge; the wine vinegar and olive oil mixture tenderises the meat and deepens the piri piri heat considerably.
- For a milder family version, remove the seeds from the fresh chillies and reduce the dried bird's eye chillies, keeping the smoked paprika for colour and aroma without overwhelming heat.
Recipe variations
- Make a vegetarian version by replacing the chicken with firm tofu or cauliflower florets: coat them in the same chilli-garlic marinade and roast until the edges caramelise, serving with the chopped vegetable salad.
- For a festive summer variation, use the marinade on chicken thighs and grill them on the barbecue, then toss the chopped vegetables with lemon juice and serve as a refreshing side at garden parties.
Thermomix TM7 Benefits
- Fine grinding - The Thermomix grinds dried bird's eye chillies into a smooth powder, releasing intense heat evenly through the marinade. [Grinding]. [Multi-Function]
- Quick chopping - The TM7 chops garlic cloves and fresh chillies in seconds, saving ten minutes of careful knife work. [Chopping]. [Time Savings]
- Built-in scale - Weigh olive oil and wine vinegar directly into the mixing bowl of the Thermomix for a balanced marinade. [Weighing]. [Built-in Scale]
- Even mixing - The Thermomix blends smoked paprika and oregano into a silky marinade that coats the whole chicken uniformly. [Mixing]. [Multi-Function]
- Gentle steaming - The Varoma of the TM7 steams mixed vegetables, keeping the salad ingredients crisp and full of colour. [Steaming]. [Multi-Function]
Ingredients
- garlic cloves
- fresh red chillies
- dried bird's eye chillies
- smoked paprika
- coarse sea salt
- dried oregano
- olive oil
- red wine vinegar
- uncooked, whole chicken
- mixed vegetables