Portuguese Piri Piri Chicken

Put Chicken breast-side down and cut along both sides of the backbone with kitchen shears; pull it out and save it for stock. Turn the bird over, press hard on the breastbone with the heel of your hand until it cracks and the bird lies flat. Pat the skin bone-dry with kitchen paper.

⚠ Tip: Dry skin is what blisters and chars. If the bird was wet-brined or frozen, leave it uncovered in the fridge for a couple of hours.

Tear Piri piri chillies open and shake out the seeds, keeping a few back if you want extra fire. Grind the chillies with Red chillies, Garlic, Smoked paprika, Dried oregano, Bay leaves and 2 tsp Salt to a rough dark-red paste. Work in the Lemon juice, Red wine vinegar and Olive oil — it should be loose enough to spoon.

⚠ Tip: Using your hands for this is authentic and brutal. Wear gloves if you value your eyes.

Slash the thickest part of each thigh and the breasts two or three times with a knife, then rub piri piri paste all over the bird, pushing it into the slashes and under the skin where you can. Cover and marinate at least 2 h, ideally overnight in the fridge. Pull it out an hour before cooking so it isn't cold in the middle.

⚠ Tip: The vinegar and lemon are doing real work here: they carry the chilli into the meat. Less than a couple of hours and you're just painting the surface.

Get the oven to 220 °C with a rack in the upper third. Lay the bird skin-side up on a rack over a roasting tin so it sits above the fat, not in it, and roast for 30 min. Raise the heat to the top setting or slide it under the grill and cook another 15 min, watching it, until the skin is blistered, dark-edged and crackling in places. A thermometer in the thickest part of the thigh should read 75 °C.

⚠ Tip: If the skin is catching before the meat is done, drop a sheet of foil loosely over it and keep going. Charred is the point; carbonised is not.

Move the bird to a board, tent loosely with foil and leave it for 10 min. All that chilli, salt and acid needs time to settle or it'll run out on the board instead of staying in the meat.

While the chicken rests, toss Tenderstem broccoli in the roasting tin juices with a splash of water and cook over high heat, or on the grill, until just tender and blackened at the edges, about 4 min.

Joint the bird into breasts, thighs and wings — don't bother being neat, this is a hands dish. Squeeze Lemons over everything, scatter Flat-leaf parsley and serve with the charred greens and a pile of potatoes or plain rice.

⚠ Tip: Leftover chilli oil in the tin is not waste: spoon it over potatoes or bread.