Evie wanted linen napkins. Davo wanted Oporto. Apparently I was making sliders.
I went into Chapter 1 of Ideally Positioned by Elira Hope telling myself I was just going to read enough to get the context for this recipe.
That went well.
I was hooked almost immediately, I already love Evie, and then we reached the lunch order.
After Davo (Tristan Davidson) shoves her out of the path of a car, Evie offers to shout him lunch as a thank-you.
Her brain immediately heads somewhere involving linen napkins and a wine list.
Davo?
Oporto.
More specifically, he is very committed to getting his Bondi burger.
And somewhere in amongst all of this, Evie has already mentally filed him under:
“gorgeous garbo”
At that point, I really did not have a choice.
The recipe name had basically written itself.
So these are Gorgeous Garbo Sliders, my peri-peri chicken sliders inspired by the collision between Evie’s polished luxury-property world and Davo’s considerably more practical lunch expectations.
For the record, Tristan is still officially Under Review.
The sliders have already passed.
They are loaded with juicy peri-peri chicken thigh with properly charred edges, crisp shredded iceberg lettuce and a peri-peri lime mayo that will absolutely escape out the side of the bun if you have built them correctly.
Mini brioche gives you just enough buttery sweetness to calm the chilli without turning the whole thing into dessert.
Basically, they are casual enough for Davo, polished enough for Evie and messy enough that those linen napkins might actually have been useful.
These are not an Oporto copycat.
They are my own reading-night take on that flame-grilled chicken, chilli and citrus combination that Chapter 1 put into my head and then refused to remove.
And yes, they are very specifically designed to sit beside a drink.
For the full reading-night situation, make them with Second Viewing, my alcohol-free raspberry lime mocktail, or try Elira’s official Ideally Positioned cocktail, The Open House, which you can find on her reader extras page.
Then open the Kindle.
That is basically the whole EmberSas system.
You can find more questionable decisions involving books, snacks and drinks on my Sip, Snack and Smut page, or see the full setup in the Ideally Positioned reading-night feature.
A quick book note before I feed you: Elira Hope reached out to me about her debut and supplied information for unpaid editorial coverage. I grabbed the Kindle edition during her Australian free promotion, which ran from 4 to 8 October 2026.
I have read Chapter 1 now and, yes, it got me almost immediately.
I have not finished the book, though, so there is no review verdict hiding in this recipe. No stars. No chilli rating. No official fictional-boyfriend ruling.
Tristan remains Under Review.
Ideally Positioned is an adult romance with explicit content as well as heavier material including coercive control, blackmail, assault, addiction themes and violence. Check the content note on Elira’s site before deciding whether it is within your comfort level.
You can also read Chapter 1 free if you want to meet Evie, Tristan and the lunch order responsible for all of this.
What you will need
Makes 8 sliders.
That is roughly 4 servings as a light meal, or 8 very useful little book-club snacks if there are drinks and other food involved.
The peri-peri chicken
- 500 g boneless, skinless chicken thigh fillets
- 45 ml peri-peri sauce, mild or hot depending on your life choices
- 20 ml fresh lime juice
- 20 ml olive oil
- 1 garlic clove, finely grated
- 5 ml smoked paprika
- 2.5 ml salt
Peri-peri lime mayo
- 80 g mayonnaise
- 20 ml peri-peri sauce
- 5 ml fresh lime juice
To build
- 8 mini brioche slider buns
- 20 g butter, softened
- About 100 g finely shredded iceberg lettuce
Method
Step 1: Marinate the chicken
Mix the peri-peri sauce, lime juice, olive oil, garlic, smoked paprika and salt in a bowl.
Add the chicken thighs and turn them until every piece is properly coated.
Leave them to marinate for 30 minutes if you are cooking straight away, or cover and refrigerate for up to 12 hours if Future You would like Present You to be organised for once.
Step 2: Make the peri-peri lime mayo
Mix the mayonnaise, peri-peri sauce and lime juice together.
Taste it.
This is where you get to decide whether dinner is offering a pleasant little chilli moment or making everybody reach for their drink after the first bite.
Add more peri-peri if you want it hotter, then put the mayo in the fridge while you cook the chicken.
Step 3: Get some proper char on the chicken
Heat a barbecue grill plate or heavy frying pan over medium-high heat.
Cook the chicken for about 5 to 6 minutes on each side, depending on thickness, until you have dark charred edges and the thickest part has reached 75°C.
Do not crowd the pan.
Crowded chicken steams.
This is not a neat pale chicken sandwich situation.
I want colour.
Step 4: Rest it
Move the chicken to a board and leave it alone for 5 minutes.
Yes, it smells good.
Still leave it alone.
Resting keeps those juices in the chicken instead of all over your chopping board.
Slice each thigh into pieces that will fit comfortably inside the buns.
Step 5: Toast the brioche
Spread the cut sides of the buns with the softened butter.
Toast them cut-side down in the pan or on the barbecue for 1 to 2 minutes until golden.
Do not skip this because you are impatient.
The toasted surface gives the bun a fighting chance against the mayo and chicken juices.
Step 6: Build your Gorgeous Garbos
Spread peri-peri lime mayo over the bottom bun.
Add a little shredded iceberg, then a generous piece of chicken.
Add another little spoonful of mayo because apparently restraint has abandoned us.
Put the lid on and secure each slider with a cocktail pick if you are serving them on a platter.
Serve them warm.
Napkins are optional.
Possibly optimistic, but optional.
Evie was probably onto something there.
Cosy Kitchen Notes
Thigh, not breast. I am firmly on Team Chicken Thigh for these. It stays juicy, it takes on the marinade beautifully and it is much more forgiving when you are trying to get those dark charred edges.
The mayo is load-bearing. This is not the place for a polite little smear. The cool, creamy lime mayo against the smoky chilli chicken is what makes the whole slider work. Put some underneath and some on top. If a little escapes out the side, you have understood the assignment.
Control the heat in the mayo. Peri-peri sauces vary wildly. Using a milder sauce in the marinade and adjusting the mayo afterwards is the easiest way to control the final heat without gambling all 500 g of chicken on your chilli tolerance.
Brioche earns its place. The slight sweetness works really well against peri-peri and lime. Just make sure you toast it. Soft untoasted brioche plus hot chicken plus sauce becomes structurally questionable very quickly.
Pan or barbecue? Both work. The barbecue wins for smoky char, but a properly hot cast iron or heavy frying pan gets you very close. Cook in batches if you need to. Steamed chicken has no place in the Gorgeous Garbo agenda.
Make them for book club. Marinate the chicken and make the mayo earlier in the day. When everyone arrives, all you really need to do is cook the chicken, toast the buns and assemble. This is much better than disappearing into the kitchen for forty minutes while everybody else discusses fictional men without you.
Want something sharper? Quick-pickled red onion is excellent here if you want a little acidity and crunch. Very thinly slice half a small red onion and soak it in 60 ml white wine vinegar with 5 ml sugar for about 20 minutes, then drain well before adding it to the sliders.
I would keep it optional.
The chicken, iceberg and mayo version already does what it needs to do.
No mini brioche? Soft dinner rolls are completely fine. Halve them, butter them, toast them and carry on.
Leftovers. Store the chicken separately from the buns and lettuce. Reheat it quickly in a hot pan, then build a fresh slider rather than refrigerating the assembled version and creating tomorrow’s sad soggy bun.
Quick answers
Are peri-peri chicken sliders very spicy?
Only if you want them to be.
Peri-peri sauces range from very mild to genuinely aggressive, so choose the sauce according to your crowd.
A mild or medium sauce gives the chicken warmth without taking over, then you can increase the heat in the mayo where it is much easier to taste and adjust.
If this is for book club, I would err slightly milder and leave extra peri-peri on the table for anyone feeling brave.
Can I use chicken breast instead of thigh?
You can.
Slice or flatten the breast so it is an even thickness and watch the cooking time carefully.
Chicken breast dries out much faster than thigh, especially when you are chasing the charred edges that make these sliders so good.
Thigh is still my pick.
Can I make peri-peri chicken sliders ahead of time?
Most of the work, yes.
Marinate the chicken for up to 12 hours and make the peri-peri mayo a day or two ahead. Keep both refrigerated.
Cook the chicken, toast the buns and assemble the sliders close to serving so the lettuce stays crisp and the brioche does not go soggy.
What should I serve with peri-peri chicken sliders?
Something cold, bright and fruity is very good next to the chilli.
My reading-night pick is Second Viewing, a raspberry lime mocktail with cranberry and vanilla.
If you are drinking alcohol, Elira Hope created the official Ideally Positioned cocktail, The Open House, which you can find on her reader extras page.
For food, add a simple slaw or oven chips if you want to turn the sliders into a proper dinner.
Or just make more sliders.
I am not here to police your Saturday night.
The Last Bite
Gorgeous Garbo Sliders are not linen-napkin food.
Although after eating one, I am prepared to admit Evie may have had a point about the napkins.
They are sauce-on-your-fingers, drink-within-reach, Kindle-propped-up-somewhere-safe food.
You get buttery toasted brioche, crisp lettuce, juicy charred chicken, chilli, lime and enough peri-peri mayo to make eating one neatly a completely unrealistic ambition.
Which feels right.
Chapter 1 gave me a Holden, a Davo, a gorgeous garbo and an Oporto order.
Apparently my response was dinner.
Make the sliders.
Pour something cold.
Put your phone face-down and open the book.
Davo, you are still under review.
But the burger order was excellent work.
Evie can keep the wine list.
I am having another slider.
