My favorite part of our trip to Portugal is that it was almost accidental. Like we have done almost every summer, in the spring we began looking for a house to rent on one fork or another of Long Island because it us. I said yes. Let me know when you want me to write that marital advice book, okay?
That was every day. I saw ingredients from basil to ginger, tomatoes and sweet peppers, thyme and oregano, and then barebones recipes that were basically just chiles, garlic and bay leaves and depressing ones that called for a bottle of piri piri sauce. Where does a hungry cook begin? I ended up distilling the recipes I found to the ingredients that were the most common and closest to the kicky-sour-herbed chicken I fell in love with, blending them into a paste that I fiddled with until I was happy.
I figured it would take a few rounds to get it right but instead, we adored this mix so much that happily skipped pizza at the park with kids to eat it cold after they went to bed.
The heat level is adjustable to taste. You can use a whole chicken or parts. You can grill or roast it. You can make it tonight. For the tomato salad: Cut 2 to 3 large tomatoes into wedges, scattered some thin slices of white onion over and season the plate well with olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt, pepper and some parsley; let it sit for a bit to marinate before digging in.
Toss with olive oil and salt and spread them out on a parchment-lined baking sheet in one layer, roasting them at degrees for 30 minutes on the first side and 10 minutes on the second, until golden all over.
