Prego burgers

Decide for yourself how much bite you want in your prego sauce – remember, the smaller the chilli, the more it burns. Makes 8 burgers Preparation time: 45 minutes, plus marinating and cooling time Cooking time: 30 minutes • 8 chicken breast fillets

• 2 tomatoes, sliced

• a large handful butter lettuce leaves

• 8 Portuguese rolls PREGO SAUCE

• 2 medium-sized red peppers

• 2 large red chillies

• 3–5 small chillies, chopped

• 5ml peri-peri spice

• 10ml smoked paprika

• 3ml dried mixed herbs

• 1 small white onion, peeled and chopped

• 125ml lemon juice

• 60ml apple cider vinegar, plus an extra dash at the end

• 60ml olive oil

• 10 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

1 Make the sauce Roast the red peppers and large chillies under the oven grill or with a blowtorch until charred all over, then place in a bowl with a lid and let them sweat for a few minutes. Pull off most of the charred skin. Seed the peppers, tear or cut into smaller pieces and place them, together with the rest of the ingredients (not the garlic), in a small saucepan. Purée with a stick blender, stir in the garlic and bring the sauce to the boil over moderate heat. Then reduce the heat and simmer for about 20 minutes until fragrant and thick. Season to taste with salt and pepper and add an extra dash of vinegar. Cool completely.

2 Using a sharp knife, butterfly the chicken breast fillets slightly by making an incision in the thickest part of the meat and folding open. Flatten the fillets slightly with a meat mallet to ensure that they cook evenly.

3 Place the chicken ‘flatties’ in a flat dish and brush the meat generously with the sauce. Marinate for about 30 minutes.

4 Fry the chicken quickly over hot coals or in a hot pan, basting constantly with the sauce. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

5 To serve, stack the cooked chicken, tomatoes and leaves on fresh rolls and tuck in immediately.