Hot and Spicy Wings, Onions and Potatoes

Hot and spicy wings, onions and potatoes

Who doesn't love chicken wings? They are tasty, succulent, satisfying, fun to eat - in fact, they tick all the important boxes and more when we are looking for something for dinner. If there is one downfall many people have, however, when it comes to particularly cooking wings at home, it is a failure to realise just how incredibly versatile they are as well as enjoyable. Do you maybe only eat them from your favourite fast food restaurant, always prepared in the same fashion? Do you cook them at home but always use the same spices and accompaniments? This is just one very straightforward idea to take wings out of any established comfort zone and hopefully and ideally get you thinking of other ways in which you can flavour and prepare these special treats.

Ingredients (Serves 2)

12 chicken wings
3 tablespoons vegetable or sunflower oil
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon medium hot chilli powder
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
Salt
White pepper
8 baby potatoes
1 medium red onion
1 large green chilli
2 tablespoons chopped coriander leaf (cilantro), plus extra to garnish

Directions

If you have the time, you could prepare the spiced oil and marinate the chicken wings for longer than in this recipe but that is not absolutely essential.

Wash the potatoes and cut them in half, unpeeled. Add them to a pot of cold, slightly salted water and bring to a simmer for about twenty minutes or so until cooked. Drain, allow to steam off for a few minutes then cover and leave to cool completely (around half an hour should be sufficient). This is quite important as if you assemble the dish for roasting when the potatoes are still hot, they will tend to absorb some of the oil rather than roast in it.

Potatoes are firstly boiled before being roasted

When the potatoes are on to cook, measure out the oil in to a large glass or stone bowl. Add the curry powder, chilli powder and garaam masala and season well with salt and white pepper.

Spices and seasonings are added to oil

Take a wooden spoon and mix the spices and seasonings in to the oil to form a lump free light paste.

Spices are stirred in to the oil

Cut off and discard the tips from the chicken wings if they are still present. Cut the main body of each wing in half at the natural joint. Add them all to the oil and carefully stir fold them around to evenly coat. Cover with clingfilm and set aside to marinade while the potatoes are cooking and cooling.

Wings are stirred through spiced oil

Put your oven on to preheat to 200C/400F/Gas Mark 6. Empty the chicken wings in to a large, deep, ovenproof dish, being sure to include as much of the seasoned oil as possible. Add the potatoes. Peel the onion, cut it in half down through the core then lay each half flat and slice to around a quarter inch. Separate each slice in to strands before adding to the wings and potatoes. Top the chilli before slicing thinly in to discs and also adding to the cooking vessel.

Wings, potatoes and onion are added to baking dish

You can try to combine everything using a spoon but this can lead to spillage and take quite some time. The best and quickest way by far to combine everything well is to use your hands. Be sure to wash them especially well afterwards due to handling the chilli.

Combined wings, potatoes and onion are ready for the oven

Place the dish in to your oven for a total of forty minutes, removing it to stir briefly (with a spoon this time!) half way through cooking.

Wings and accompaniments are stirred half way through cooking

When the wings are ready, scatter with the chopped coriander/cilantro and carefully stir it through.

Coriander is added to roasted wings

Set the dish aside for ten minutes uncovered to let the wings rest. Garnish with the last of the coriander immediately before serving as a sharing platter for two.

Coriander is carefully stirred through wings, onion and poratoes