Spicy Szechuan Chicken Wings with Summer Salad and Bruschetta

Feeling the summer heat? Are hot and spicy chicken wings the last thing on your mind right now? Maybe these chicken wings, still hot and spicy but served cold with a simple summer salad and some easy made Italian bruschetta would be just what the doctor ordered for dinner tonight. They are perfect for eating outside, served with a freezing cold beer.

These wings can equally well be served hot but if serving them cold as I have done, you will have to cook them at least a couple of hours in advance. The sauce which I have used is simply a 4oz pack of stir fry sauce but you can use sauce from a larger jar. This will be perfect for a pound, to a pound and a quarter, of chicken wings.

Put the sauce in to a large bowl and add the chicken wings. Stir carefully and well. If time permits, cover and refrigerate for an hour or so to marinate.

Preheat your oven to 400F/200C. Spread the wings out in a single layer on a large baking sheet or roasting tin. Cook for thirty-five minutes. Remove the tray from the oven, cover with foil and set aside to rest and cool.

Ingredients per Person for Salad and Bruschetta

1 Little Gem lettuce
1 large tomato
1/2 small onion
1 Ciabatta bread roll
1 clove of garlic
Extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Wash the lettuce and roughly chop. Finely slice the onion and cut the tomato in to six segments. Season with salt and pepper, mix carefully together and arrange on a serving plate.

As the bruschetta is going to be served hot, we want everything else ready to serve before we prepare it. Lay your chicken wings therefore on a separate plate and scatter with some freshly torn basil leaves to garnish.

The Ciabatta roll should be halved horizontally. Preheat an overhead grill and toast the halves of the roll on both sides until beautifully golden. Lay them cut side up on a chopping board.

Peel the garlic clove and lightly crush it under the blade of a large knife. This simply helps to release the juices and impart the flavour in to the toast. Rub the garlic clove over both slices of toast and discard.

Drizzle a little extra virgin olive oil over the toast, season with salt and black pepper, arrange by the salad as shown and serve immediately.

If you are looking for more original ideas for serving chicken wings, hot or cold, you may find the site linked to below to be of interest:

Chicken Wings Recipes and Different Ways to Cook Chicken Wings