Piri Piri Chicken with California Prune Panzanella

Makes: 4Prep Time: 2 hoursCook Time: 30 minutes
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INGREDIENTS

  •  
  • 2 Chicken breasts
  • For the Piri Piri Marinade:
  • 1 tbsp Olive oil
  • 3 chillies
  • 1 Large ciabatta
  • 3 garlic cloves
  • 1/2 Garlic clove, sliced
  • 1 tsp Salt
  • 20ml Red wine vinegar
  • 1 tsp Oregano
  • 100g California Prunes, roughly chopped
  • 1 tbsp Smoked paprika
  • 50ml Extra virgin olive oil
  • 50ml Olive oil
  • 300g Cherry coloured tomatoes
  • 3 tbsp Red wine vinegar
  • 1 Jar of roasted red peppers, drained
  • 1 Red onion, sliced 1 Handful of parsley, chopped
  • 1 tbsp Capers, drained 60g Black olives, pitted
  • 3 tbsp Red wine vinegar
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DIRECTIONS

To make the Piri piri marinade:

  1. Place the chillies, garlic, salt, oregano, paprika, olive oil and vinegar into a saucepan and simmer for 2–3 minutes.
  2. Allow the mixture to cool, then blend to a purée in a jug blender or food processor.
  3. Store in a lidded container in the fridge (it should keep for up to 4 weeks).

To prep the chicken:

  1. Cut the chicken breast horizontally in half to create a thinner cut of meat that will cook evenly on the grill
  2. Place the chicken into a large container with 1/2 of the marinade already made. Cover and leave for 1-2 hours or overnight in the fridge

To make the panzanella:

  1. Chop the ciabatta bread into chunks and place on a baking tray, then bake in a pre heated oven for 15 minutes at 160C until crisp.
  2. Meanwhile place the sliced garlic, vinegar and California Prunes into a large mixing bowl.
  3. Pour in the olive oil and stir together.
  4. Slice the cherry tomatoes in half and add to the bowl with the red onion, then roughly chop the drained peppers and add to the bowl as well.
  5. Scatter in the chopped parsley, capers and olives.
  6. Finally add the crispy ciabatta croutons and stir together, making sure the bread gets evenly coated. The bread wants to soak up the excess dressing and juices from the salad.
  7. Cover and leave the salad to stand while you cook the chicken.

To cook the chicken:

  1. When your BBQ is ready, lift the chicken out of the marinade and carefully place on the grill.
  2. Cook the chicken for 7 minutes on each side or until the centre is fully cooked (Use a digital thermometer and look for anything above 75C to be safe and ensure it’s cooked.)
  3. When the chicken is cooked, remove from the grill and serve with your California Prune panzanella salad.

AUTHOR

Peter Sidwell

Peter Sidwell

California Prune Board Ambassador Peter Sidwell, is a chef, baker, TV presenter, author, and innovator of all things food related. Peter has been a chef all his working life and over the years has developed a simple, fresh and innovative way of cooking which focuses on the importance of fine ingredients and technical know-how to ensure the best results. Peter has travelled the world cooking, talking and demonstrating his approach and explaining how and why it works so well for all manner of food offerings. Peter works both with chefs, consumers, food producers and retailers to innovate, create process or refine procurement. Working from his new innovation centre in England's beautiful Lake District, Peter and his team create exciting, attractive and mouth-watering new recipes with digital content, showcasing the delicious flavour and versatility of California Prunes.