Latelle’s Piri Piri Chicken
Today our food adventure brings us to Piri Piri Chicken! There is always excitement in the Westlands when a circus travels through the area. Some have animals, some have human performers, and the best ones have both. We are going to follow in the footsteps of some of the main Wheel of Time characters (I won’t say who, spoilers!) and visit Valan Luca’s Grand Traveling Show and Magnificent Display of Marvels and Wonders. Yes, I had to ask him to repeat this three times to get it all down.
The performers and staff all take turns with dinner for the large group. The day we visit, Valan Luca himself invites us to join them for dinner, after hearing that I would spread the word about his amazing show. Today it is his wife Latelle’s turn to cook and she is making her famous Piri Piri Chicken. She tells us the recipe is from Shara, like the white-faced black bears she trains and performs with. The isolated country of Shara does not allow visitors and has very limited trade, and menagerie performers are one of the few groups well-traveled enough to have spoken to them.
We arrived early in the day so we have lots of time to take in the sights and enjoy the performances to work up an appetite. We see the unusual bears, the giant s’redit (we know them as elephants), jugglers, knife-throwers, acrobats, clowns, and more. The weather is perfect, with high fluffy clouds and a light breeze, and the day disappears in laughter and joy. Now, off to dinner!
This is a simple recipe with a marinade (4 to 10-ish hours, very flexible), then the chicken is browned on the stovetop and baked with the marinade to make a sauce. It’s a great dish to have ready to cook after a full day training bears.
Real-world notes
Recipe adapted from A Duck’s Oven and The Wanderlust Kitchen, thank you for the inspiration!
Per Robert Jordan (WoT author), the country of Shara is based on a combination of Africa and China, so this food reflects those origins.
Latelle’s Piri Piri Chicken
Equipment
- 1 Dutch Oven or large cast iron frying pan
- 1 Meat thermometer
Ingredients
- 6-7 Tbsp fresh lemon juice (from two medium lemons)
- 1 Tbsp white vinegar
- ¼ cup avocado oil or olive oil
- 1 white or yellow onion roughly chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tsp table salt
- ½ tsp ground black pepper
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 ½ tsp chili powder
- 1 ½ tsp paprika
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
- Pasta, rice, or couscous for serving
Instructions
- In a large bowl, mix together everything except for the chicken. Add the chicken and toss with tongs to coat in the marinade. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight, or at least three hours.
- If you are making pasta, start the pasta just before starting the chicken so they get done just about the same time.
- When ready to cook, preheat your oven to 350 F.
- On the stovetop, heat a Dutch Oven pot or large oven-safe skillet (such as cast iron) on medium-high heat until hot.
- Use tongs to transfer the chicken breasts out of the marinating bowl and into the pan, reserving the marinade. Let cook for two or three minutes per side, until nice and browned.
- Pour the reserved marinade into the hot pot over the top of the chicken. Turn off the stovetop burner. Use oven mitts to transfer the pot to the pre-heated oven.
- Let cook in oven for 25-35 minutes (depending on thickness of chicken breasts), or until cooked through. Use a meat thermometer to confirm that chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 F. (with all the spices it is hard to see whether the juices run clear – be safe, use a thermometer)
- Serve with your favorite veggies and/or starchy side dish.
