Peri Peri Chicken Burger with Avocado, Lime and Coriander Mayo (Better than Nando's!)
Served in a floury Portuguese roll (papo secos), these peri peri chicken burgers have a gentle spiciness that is beautifully offset by the creamy, zesty avocado, lime and coriander mayonnaise. Serve with peri peri rice, paprika-roasted potatoes or peri peri fries for mouth-watering midweek meals or summer barbecue fodder.
Servings 2 people
Calories 600kcal
Cost $6
Equipment
- Immersion/hand blender (for the mayonnaise)
- Large mixing bowl
- Juicer
- Stand mixer or hand whisk
- Baking tin
- Baking paper
- Sieve
- Wire rack (for cooling your Portuguese rolls)
- Barbecue (optional)
Ingredients
For the Portuguese rolls (makes 12)
- 7 g dried yeast
- 25 g unsalted butter
- 1.5 tsp salt
- 2 tsp granulated sugar
- 175 ml lukewarm water
- 500g strong white bread flour
- 150ml whole or semi-skimmed milk
For the avocado, lime and coriander mayonnaise (makes around 500ml)
- 250 ml pure rapeseed oil
- 250 ml olive oil or avocado oil
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
- 2 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
- pinch salt to taste
- 1 small handful fresh coriander
- ½ tsp lime zest
- 2 tsp freshly squeezed lime juice
- 1 medium avocado roughly chopped
For the burgers (for two servings)
- 2 Edward's of Conwy Peri Peri Chicken Burgers
- 1 tbsp softened butter or spread
- 50g iceberg lettuce washed, dried and left as whole leaves
- 1 beef tomato or large vine tomato thinly sliced
- ¼ large red onion sliced into rings
- 1 sprig coriander for the garnish
- 1 tbsp rapeseed oil
- 2 Portuguese rolls
- 2 tbsp avocado, lime and coriander mayonnaise
Instructions
Portuguese rolls
- Firstly, prepare your Portuguese rolls. Combine the milk, water, sugar and yeast in a large mixing bowl and leave to rest for five minutes or so, until the yeast has activated and the mixture begins to froth slightly.
- Add the flour, butter and salt to the bowl and mix for 10 minutes or so to form a dough. If necessary, knead it by hand for a couple of minutes afterwards to ensure the ingredients are fully combined.
- Lightly oil a large bowl (a biscuit tin also works well for this) and place the dough inside. Cover with a clean tea towel or cling film and leave in a warm place to prove for an hour.
- Once the dough has risen, transfer it to lightly-floured work surface, flatten it with your hands and divide it into 12 equal parts. Roll each piece in between your hands to form round balls. Then, give each side a little pinch and transfer the rolls to a baking tin lined with baking paper.
- Lightly slash each roll down the middle using a sharp knife, then cover with a tea towel and leave to prove a further 30 minutes or so. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 180°/356°F.
- Once the rolls have proved, give them a good dusting of flour using a sieve, carefully transfer them into the hot oven and bake for 20 minutes. After baking, immediately place the rolls onto a wire rack and allow to cool completely before tucking in (if you can resist!)
Avocado, lime and coriander mayonnaise
- To begin with, prepare your homemade mayonnaise. Place the egg yolks and mustard into a large mixing bowl and whisk until fully combined.
- Continue whisking as you add around a tablespoon of oil. Once combined, add another tablespoons' worth and so on, until all the oil is used up. Be patient here; if you add the oil too quickly, the mayonnaise will split and curdle.
- After you've finished whisking all of the oil into the eggs and mustard and you have a thick, creamy mayonnaise, season with salt and pepper, then whisk in the vinegar and lime juice.
- Add the fresh coriander and avocado to the bowl and, using an immersion/hand blender, whizz it all up until fully combined. Be careful not to over-process your mayo, as you might cause it to split and curdle. I use a Nutribullet and 10-20 seconds is usually about right; any longer than this and it will split and you'll have to start all over again.
Burgers
- Heat the rapeseed oil over a medium flame in a non-stick frying pan or skillet. Once the oil is just starting to smoke, add the burger and fry for 5-7 minutes or so, resisting the urge to flip it. Then, turn it over and cook it for a further 5-7 minutes or until fully cooked throughout. For even better results, cook the burgers on a barbecue.
- While the burgers are cooking, slice two Portuguese rolls in half and spread with butter. Then, place them buttered-side-down in the pan or skillet and fry for 2-3 minutes, until lightly toasted. This helps to prevent the roll from soaking up any excess juices from the burger and becoming soggy.
- Once the rolls have cooled completely, fold two iceberg lettuce leaves in half and arrange on the bottom half of each roll, followed by a slice or two of tomato and red onion. Place the cooked burgers on top, followed by a tablespoon of avocado, lime and coriander mayo. To serve, garnish with a couple of coriander leaves.
- Team your burgers up with peri peri rice, paprika-roasted potatoes, peri peri fries and peri peri dipping sauce and dig in!
Notes
- My Portuguese rolls recipe is adapted from a version published by Daryl's Kitchen.
- When making the mayonnaise, it's essential to use room temperature ingredients, especially where the eggs are concerned. If you store your eggs in the fridge, soak them in lukewarm water for a few minutes to bring them up to room temperature. Many people prefer to to use an immersion blender or food processor with a small bowl attachment to combine their ingredients, but I managed just fine with a whisk and some good old elbow grease.
- Homemade mayonnaise can be stored in the fridge for up to two weeks.
- You can use other kinds of oil to make your mayonnaise, but it's best to opt for a neutral-tasting oil like canola or rapeseed oil. I used a mixture of canola oil and avocado oil because my mayo is avocado-based; some people like to use olive oil, but don't use too much as it can be over-powering.
- Homemade peri peri sauce can be refrigerated for several months or kept for even longer if frozen.
- If you can't find fresh African bird's eye chillies for your peri peri sauce, you can use dried chillies soaked in hot water.
- Regular homemade mayonnaise uses lemon juice in place of lime juice, so if you want to make a big batch to keep in the fridge, use lemon juice when mixing your mayonnaise together and then simply add some lime juice afterwards when mixing in the avocado and coriander.
- If you like, you can replace the homemade mayonnaise with a shop-bought equivalent - but it won't taste quite as good as the real deal!
- Although you can prepare your mayonnaise in advance, it's best not to mix in the avocado or coriander until you're ready to eat it, as the avocado may start to brown.
Nutrition
Calories: 600kcal