- 150g brown basmati rice
- 1 onion
- 1 red pepper
- 1 chilli
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 2 blood oranges
- 4 chicken thighs
- ½ cucumber
- 50g sweet salad mix
- 8 tsp olive oil
- 100ml cold water
- Sea salt
- Freshly ground pepper
- 350ml boiling water
- 1.
Heat your grill to its highest setting. Tip the rice into a bowl and cover with cold water. Set aside to soak. Peel the onion and cut into 8 wedges. Cut the pepper in half and scoop out the seeds. Pull the stalk from the chilli.
- 2.
Line a baking tray with foil and arrange the onion, pepper and chilli on it. Drizzle the onion wedges with 2 tsp oil. Drop on 1 unpeeled garlic clove. Grill for 4-5 mins. Turn the chilli over and grill for another 4-5 mins till everything is charred. Heat your oven to 220°C/Fan 200°C/Gas 7.
- 3.
Pop the pepper halves and chilli in a bowl and cover with cling film. Leave for 5 mins to cool, then carefully peel off the blackened skin (don’t worry if some charred skin stays attached). For a less spicy dish, slice open the chilli and scrape out the seeds and white bits. Carefully squeeze the grilled garlic from its skin.
- 4.
Put the pepper, chilli, garlic and onion in a food processor. Add 1 tsp oregano and 1 tbsp vinegar. Squeeze in the juice from 1 blood orange. Add 100ml water. Season and blitz. No processor? Finely chop the veg and stir with the vinegar, orange juice and water to make a chunky piri piri sauce. Set aside.
- 5.
Rub 1 tsp oil into the skin of each chicken thigh and season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Heat a griddle or frying pan till it’s hot. Add the chicken thighs, skin-side down. Fry for 3-4 mins till the skin is crisp.
- 6.
Transfer to a roasting tin, skin-side up. Spoon over the piri piri sauce. Cut the remaining blood orange into 8 wedges and nestle them around the chicken. Roast for 40 mins till the chicken is cooked through.
- 7.
Meanwhile, peel the remaining garlic clove. Drain the rice. Tip into a pan. Add 350ml boiling water and the garlic. Cover and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down. Simmer for 25 mins till the water is absorbed and the rice is tender. Take off the heat. Set aside, lid on, for 5 mins to finish cooking. Dig out the garlic clove and squash it. Stir it back into the rice.
- 8.
Roughly chop half the cucumber. Pop into a bowl with the salad leaves. Drizzle over 2 tsp oil and some seasoning. Toss to mix. Serve the chicken with the garlicky rice and salad and any remaining sauce, with the orange wedges on the side for squeezing.
