Roast Chicken Wings with Lemon and Cracked Peppers

"What's In Your Picnic Basket?", is our theme for this week at I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC), where we are currently cooking from Nigel Slater's recipes. 

I love picnics, do you? When I was looking thru his cookbooks, there are so many recipes that are great for picnics, after changing my mind a couple of times, I finally settled for Roast Chicken Wings with Lemon and Cracked Pepper. I have a dozen chicken wings in my freezer and always have a lemon or two around. Peppers and lemon are two of my favourite ingredients, and these chicken wings sounds perfect for a picnic.

These chicken wings are so easy to make. Firstly some black peppercorns are bashed in a mortar until cracked to small pieces, not ground. Then the cracked peppercorns are mixed with some olive oil, and toss with the chicken wings, with lemon juice and salt. Recipe actually calls for some salt flakes scattered over the chicken, but I have used fine sea salt, mixing it into the other ingredients. The lemon shell is then cut up and tuck them in between the chicken wings with some bay leaves.

The chicken wings are then roasted for 40-45 minutes, turning a couple of times in between until they are golden brown and cooked, though they are not as sticky as the recipe states.

Simple, and delicious! Love the cracked black peppers and lemon, yummy! My picnic basket is ready, with lots of wet napkins to wipe your hands after! And I'm looking forward to see what everyone else is bringing in their picnic basket.
Now, who wants to sit next to me, or rather, next to my basket, at the picnic table?  :o)



Roast Chicken Wings with Lemon and Cracked Pepper
(adapted from "The Kitchen Diaries", Nigel Slater)
12 large chicken wings
1 large, juicy lemon
5 bay leaves
1 heaped tablespoon black peppercorns
2 tbsps olive oil
2 teaspoons sea salt flakes

Set the oven at 200C/Gas 6. Check the chicken wings for stray feathers - they seem to be more prevalent on the wings than on any other part of the bird. Put the wings into a roasting dish, halve the lemon and squeeze it over them, then cut up the lemon shells and tuck them, together with the bay leaves, between the chicken pieces.

Put the peppercorns in a mortar and bash them so they crack into small pieces. They should still be knubbly, like small pieces of grit rather than finely ground.

Mix the peppercorns with the olive oil, then toss with the chicken and lemon. Scatter the salt flakes,without crushing them, over the chicken. Roast for 40-45 minutes, turning once. The chicken should be golden and sticky, the edges blackened here and there. Enough for 2.

To see what everyone is bringing in their Picnic Basket, please visit IHCC.

and I'm sharing this post with :

Cook-Your-Books #11 @ Kitchen Flavours
See Ya In The Gumbo @ Ms. enPlace