diy nando's.

This is a great feast for any party and can be adapted for any number of people or tastes. just like, well Nando's.

shopping list
♥ chicken of your choice - here i used wings and two breasts
♥ two large potatoes per person
♥ block of haloumi cheese
♥ coleslaw
♥ pitta bread
♥ houmous
♥ nando's seasoning
♥ plenty of olive oil

preheat the oven to 220 degrees and begin by cutting the potatoes into "chip size" pieces, as in the picture. leave the skins on for a crispy rustic taste. season with salt, pepper or any herbs you fancy, drizzle with olive oil and shake the tray until covered. these take around 45 minutes so put these in the oven first.

next, the infamous chicken. arrange your desired chicken pieces on a tray and use a dash of olive oil to get the seasoning rub to stick. i used official nando's lemon and herb on some and a schwartz "perfect shake" grinder on the others.

i believe you can also get nando's wild herb and garlic rub, bbq peri-peri rub, hot peri-peri rub and, not for the faint hearted, xxhot rub. i bought mine in a tesco but you can also get it at the official nando's online shop.

also you'll be surprised how cheap chicken pieces are in the supermarkets these days and yet how actually easy they are to cook. i got a tray of around 10 wings for just under £2.

the chicken takes around 25 minutes, so by now you should be on time for the chicken and chips to be ready together. turn your oven down slightly to around 200 degrees if you feel the heat is going to burn the chicken.

now, i'm not going to pretend i made the sides. i bought them. but if you're feeling keen, here are some coleslaw and houmous recipes. another side idea would be sweet potato mash. the houmous in the picture is actually an italian one with basil, pinenuts and garlic. it was, the industry would say, yum.

whilst you wait for the chicken and chips to cook, move onto the last minute preparations such as slicing up the haloumi and toasting the pittas. as the haloumi requires a grill and you will currently have your oven set to "oven" mode, the next bit can be quite tricky. unless you're lucky enough to have an aga.

you can either, take out the chicken and chips and serve whilst the haloumi is grilling (it only takes a matter of minutes). you could change the oven to grill mode, have the haloumi on the highest shelf and keep the other food in the bottom keeping warm. or, you could always just buy a new oven. it's a pretty good investment afterall.

serve and enjoy my peri-peri loving friends!