Last night I purchased my very first bottle of Nandos Peri Peri Marinade. I’m a veteran when it comes to their sauces, but this was my first time trying the marinade.
For lunch today, I made the chicken, along with some sautéed mushrooms and my take on the spinach that is offered as a side on the Nando’s menu.
Here’s what I did:
Ingredients
- 250 grams chicken breast. (I went for skinless.) Note: I did not butterfly or tenderize it in any way.
- A quarter of the bottle of marinade
- A drizzle of olive oil (I did this because the chicken was skinless, but next time, I'll try making it without any oil and see how that works out)
- 2/3 cups fresh, sliced button mushrooms
- 1 teaspoon of butter
- drizzle of balsamic vinegar
- half a teaspoon of finely chopped garlic
- a pinch of salt
- a quarter teaspoon chili flakes (this is optional because I like everything a little spicy)
- 2/3 cups of boiled spinach. (I keep some boiled and frozen spinach on hand at all times. I thaw it when needed for a quick meal)
- 1 teaspoon garlic (I like things very garlicky. You can actually use a lot less)
- 1/4 teaspoon chilli flakes
- pinch of salt
- drizzle of mustard oil.
Instructions
- Mix the marinade to the chicken in a ziplock bag and refrigerate overnight.
- Bring the chicken to room temperate for quicker and more even cooking.
- Slap it onto a hot pan. I went for a non-stick pan. Now, a chicken breast that hasn't been butterflied is a really thick slab of meat, so I covered the pan with a lid and left it to cook on low heat for a good 20 minutes, turning it over every 10 minutes.
- Once the water had dried, I added more water, covered with a lid and cooked for another 20 minutes to get it nice and tender.
- Add all these ingredients into a hot skillet and sauté on high flame for 2-4 minutes.
- Mix all the ingredients in a small pan. Add a couple of tablespoons of water and bring to a boil. When the spinach reaches the consistency that can be eaten with a fork, you're done.
Although I was pleased with the so called “sides”, the chicken tasted nothing like Nando’s. Was it because I made it in a non-stick Tefal instead of flame grilling it? Maybe. Or is there something else I’m not doing right? Who knows? I certainly don’t 😛 Hey, you win some, you lose some, right? Let me know if you’ve had a better experience with homemade Nando’s copycat meals in the comments below 🙂