Straight off the bat, a couple of acknowledgements –
- Adding chicken wings to green leaves is kind of antithetical to the ethos of a salad, okay, I get it. Hear me out anyway
- In current British culinary discourse, I feel like we’ve seen the rise and fall of the chicken wing – popularised and then bastardised variously into vinegary, fiery hot nibblets garnished with little herbs and what’s left of your integrity
- But you ain’t tried these ones yet.
The thing about wings is that they have to be complemented by something fresh and, if you can manage it, healthy. This immediately rules out bread, chips or any other kinds of carbs (believe me, the wings do enough damage) but rules back in some form of vegetable. I’ve gone for a classic combination of crisp shredded lettuce and flavoursome, home made guacamole.
Ok listen to me very carefully. The thing that makes these wings so delicious is a simple marinade. I’m serious. Four ingredients, including the wings. Salt, pepper, all purpose seasoning and you’re ready to go. Do not, I repeat do not be tempted to get more complicated than that. If you’re not familiar with all purpose seasoning, I favour either Goya Adobo All Purpose or Knorr Aromat All Purpose Seasoning. Get either at your local corner shop or supermarket. Amounts are vague and I can only apologise for that. Go with what feels right and enjoy experimenting.
You may recognise this guacamole from time gone by. CB’s been making it for years and just like her, it gets better with time. Get yourself an ice cold beer and get stuck in.
Chicken Wing Salad
Ingredients
- 1 batch of guacamole as per our famous recipe
- 1 pack of pre-shredded lettuce (c’mon, I’m a busy young prof)
- 1 large tomato, diced
- 1/4 cucumber, diced
- Your favourite salad dressing (CB’s best friend gave us a fig balsamic (obviously) a few months ago that I’m really into at the minute. Balsamic glaze also works a real treat)
- 1 Packet of wings (normally 700g-1k)
- Your favourite all purpose seasoning
- salt, pepper
Directions
- Preheat your oven to 200 degrees celsius for a fan assisted oven, 220 for a regular oven.
- Take your chicken wings and season generously with your all purpose seasoning, making sure that it covers all sides of the wing. Then season conservatively with salt (it’ll be in the seasoning too) and plenty of pepper.
- If your roasting tray doesn’t have fantastic non-stick, use a little calorie spray to line the bottom of it to stop the wings from sticking. Otherwise, don’t use any other oil. The skin is fatty enough and will crisp up perfectly as it is. Roast the wings for between 45 minutes and 1 hour, turning at least once until they are a deep golden crispy colour all over.
- Get the lettuce and other salad items in a bowl, top with the guacamole and smugly start to devour the wings before they even hit your plate.
MAD AVOCADO 