Spice things up this weekend with these Mexican wings

Fiery Habanero Chicken Wings 

Makes 10-12 chicken wings
Prep: 15 minutes, plus marinating
Cook: 35-45 minutes

Ingredients
10-12 large chicken wings
4 tbsp Fiery Habanero Chilli Sauce (recipe below)
1 heaped tsp sweet smoked paprika
2 fat garlic cloves, finely grated
6 tbsp runny honey
2 tbsp tomato ketchup
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp salt
½ bunch of spring onions, sliced on the diagonal
2 medium-sized fresh red chillies, sliced
lime wedges, to serve

For the crema
100g soured cream
2 rounded tbsp mayonnaise
leaves of ½ small bunch of parsley, very finely chopped
leaves of ½ small bunch of coriander, very finely chopped

Method
Place the chicken wings in a bowl, add the chilli sauce, paprika, garlic, honey, tomato ketchup, Worcestershire sauce and salt and toss together, making sure the chicken is well coated. Cover the bowl and set aside in the fridge for 24 hours.

Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan)/gas mark 6.

Heat a ridged griddle pan or non-stick frying pan over a high heat until almost at smoking point. Add the chicken to the pan in batches and cook on each side for 3-4 minutes until blistered. Transfer the cooked chicken to a baking tray or roasting pan and brush over any remaining marinade, then roast in the oven for a further 20-25 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.

In a small bowl, combine the soured cream, mayonnaise, parsley and half the coriander.

Spread the charred chicken wings on a serving plate and top with the remaining coriander and the sliced spring onions and chillies. Serve with the crema and wedges of lime to squeeze over the chicken.

Fiery Habanero Chilli Sauce

Makes 1 X 200ml jar
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 5 minutes

Ingredients
2 dried red habanero chillies
4 ripe plum tomatoes
1 tbsp cider vinegar
2 tbsp tomato purée
1 tbsp (soft light) brown sugar

1 fat garlic clove, peeled
salt

You will also need a 200ml sterilised jar with a lid. To sterilise it, first wash thoroughly in hot, soapy water, then place the jar upside down on a wire rack in the oven, preheated to 140°C/120°C fan)/gas mark 1, with the lid next to it, and heat through for 15 minutes. Remove and use as soon as possible

Method
Place the dried chillies in a small pan of water and bring to the boil. Lower the heat to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes. Drain and then carefully remove the stalks and seeds from the chillies and discard.

Cut a small slit in the base of each plum tomato. Leave the tomatoes in a bowl of boiling water for 3 minutes, then gently peel away the skin, deseed and roughly chop the flesh.

Tip the chillies into a blender or the small bowl of a food processor, along with the chopped tomatoes, vinegar, tomato purée, sugar and garlic. Blitz until smooth and season to taste with salt.

Spoon into the sterilised jar and seal the jar tightly with the lid. Store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks and keep for up to 5 days once opened.

Extracted from Mexicana! by Esther Clark (HarperCollins, approx €17).