Chicken Wings – Go on! You know you want to!

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Chicken Wings - every time I see them on a menu the naughty imp on my shoulder whispers "Order them... order them... go on... you know you want to!"

And I do want to... but the healthy imp - a paid-up member of the calorie police - on the other shoulder warns “Noooooooooo. They’ll be disguised with a varnish of BBQ paint and be flabby and disgusting underneath - definitely not WTC*."

I have been so abstemious of chicken wings that of course now I have the biggest craving for these savoury little morsels.

In order to sneak a chicken wing past the calorie police, it must:

·        have a tan worthy of Coco Chanel
·        be succulent, juicy and redolent of spice, with a little chilli kick
·        be simple to make
·        be *Worth The Calories

For simple, succulent, tanned chicken wings for 4 – 6 as a canapé or 2 greedy people as a starter you will need...

Approximately 850g chicken wings

400mls water

6 tablespoons dry white wine (or dry sherry)

4 tablespoons dark soy sauce

4 tablespoons dark brown sugar, or runny honey

4 fat cloves of garlic, crushed

4 teaspoons of grated fresh ginger

1 medium onion, roughly chopped

1 red chilli, roughly chopped (the ‘heat’ is up to you – I prefer medium-hot for this dish)

1 ½ teaspoons fine table salt

¼  teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼  teaspoon Chinese five spice

Sunflower oil for frying

1 thinly-sliced scallion (spring onion) to garnish
a little sea salt to taste

If you have never examined a chicken wing before, you might like to know that it is made up of three bits: the wing tip, the wing, and the drumette. The wing tip has hardly any meat, so, using a heavy knife or a poultry scissors, remove at the joint and discard (or freeze for stock-making later). Divide the rest of the wing into two pieces at the joint. Place in a medium saucepan, along with the remaining ingredients (except the oil, scallion and sea salt).

Bring to the boil, then simmer gently, uncovered, for 45 minutes. Immediately, remove the chicken pieces from the cooking liquid. Drain on kitchen paper to remove any moisture. When completely dry, transfer to the fridge until ready to finish cooking.

To finish, heat the sunflower oil in a wok or deep fat fryer to 180°C. If you don’t have a thermometer, this is when a 1cm cube of bread dropped in the oil takes about 10 seconds to turn golden brown. I use my wok, filling it to about 1/4 of its capacity, as I use the least amount of oil this way. (Obviously, a wok of boiling oil should not be left unattended for one moment). You could use your deep-fat fryer if you prefer.

Carefully place the cooked wing pieces in the hot oil and fry until dark golden brown, turning once during cooking – this should take between 1½ -  2 minutes. Transfer to a dish lined with kitchen paper to remove any excess oil. Remove the paper and serve immediately, scattered with the sliced spring onion, and sprinkled with a little sea salt if necessary. 

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Gnocchi with Mushrooms and Gorgonzola – and flaming cheeks !

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Upon a time, I had a favourite little restaurant. It did decent coffee and good homely Italian food at a reasonable price. It was the sort of place where you could eavesdrop on the most interesting of conversations, or chat to a complete stranger on the table next to you.

Its main attraction was its star waiter, a crazy, red-haired Roman with a big heart and an eagle eye who kept the place more or less shipshape. He was deeply and irrevocably a fan of The Blues Brothers. From time to time, he would get a little carried away, douse the lights and subject his alarmed (and captive) audience to a rather startling mime of I Can’t Turn You Loose.

I once spent 8 hours there – breakfast with one friend, a chance meeting that turned into lunch with another, and then finally dinner with my beloved – although I did go for a walk in between times to make room for my favourite of their dishes - Gnocchi with Mushrooms and Gorgonzola.

Unfortunately I’m too embarrassed to go there anymore. The eagle-eyed Roman was off duty that evening. And I know I shouldn’t have... but rather stupidly... I left my beloved unattended for a whole five minutes. (The Roman would have kept an eye on him...) When I returned, the restaurant was filled with smoke, and feathery ashes were settling on the clientele. He had managed to accidentally set his napkin on fire. He had quickly extinguished the flames, but while he was busy checking if anyone had actually noticed, he failed to notice the napkin had reignited and set the tablecloth ablaze.

This is my attempt to recreate the gnocchi dish - Blues Brothers soundtrack and inferno optional.

For lunch for 2, you will need...

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

300g ready-prepared potato gnocchi (a lazy dish, this)

150g fresh mushrooms, sliced

a fat clove of garlic, crushed

5 tablespoons cream

40g Gorgonzola cheese

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
freshly ground black pepper

In a frying pan large enough to take the gnocchi in one layer, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil over a medium heat. Add the gnocchi and fry gently until a golden crust forms, turning occasionally.

Meanwhile, place the remaining olive oil in another pan over a medium heat and add the mushrooms. Cook for about 5 minutes, then add the crushed garlic. Cook for a further minute or so before adding the cream and the Gorgonzola, stirring as the cheese melts. When the Gorgonzola has completely melted, add the parsley and the now-golden gnocchi.

Serve immediately with a little freshly ground black pepper over the top. I find it doesn’t really need any salt - but maybe keep a fire extinguisher handy :)

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Mushrooms on Toast or Funghi Alla Veronica – what’s in a name?

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"What's in a name? That which we call a mushroom
By any other name would taste as good."

Dear Mr Shakespeare,

Apologies for misquoting your lovely line from Romeo and Juliet but it was an emergency. You see, I just wanted a quick and lazy supper but the lovely rustic artisan bread I bought down the farmers market screamed DON’T so much as THINK about putting a baked bean NEAR me, sunshine!

It got me thinking about a supper dish my mother, Veronica, used to make my father when he came in from gigs late at night. Would this posh bread entertain the idea of being toasted and adorned with a simple mushroom sauce? Probably not... and then I thought of your beautiful “rose by any other name” line.

What if I called it Salsa Di Funghi Alla Veronica (loosely based on Funghi Alla Veronese)?

Mr Shakespeare, you are a genius! You can come to supper any time. 

For a quick and lazy supper for 2 you will need...

25g butter

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 medium onion (about the side of a tennis ball), finely chopped

1 fat clove of garlic, crushed

1 tablespoon finely chopped flat-leafed parsley

½ teaspoon fresh thyme, finely chopped

1 tablespoon plain flour

250g mushrooms (your choice but something with a bit of flavour), sliced

100mls double cream or crème fraîche

60mls good quality stock

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste 

2 slices of good quality bread (toasted just before serving) 

Flat-leafed parsley or basil to garnish 

Simple ingredients, magical mushrooms!

1                    In a medium frying pan over a medium heat, melt the butter and add the olive oil. Add the chopped onion and fry gently until just beginning to turn golden – about 6–8 minutes. Add the crushed garlic, parsley and thyme and cook for a further minute.

2                    Now, sprinkle the flour into the frying pan and stir until it is well mixed with the onions. Add the mushrooms and cook gently for about 5 minutes, gently stirring the contents of the pan occasionally.

3                    Add the cream or crème fraîche and stir into the mushroom mixture before adding the stock. Let the mixture bubble for a minute or two. The mixture should be creamy without being liquid. If there is liquid in the pan continue to let it bubble until the liquid has evaporated. Add salt and pepper to taste.

4                    Serve immediately on toast and garnish with fresh parsley or basil – whichever you prefer.

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