Stuffed chicken wings with pickled shallots and girolles
These stuffed, boneless chicken wings take a bit of work, but the result is a gorgeous little snack, accompanied by sharp pickled shallots and sautéed girolles.
Ingredients
For the stuffed chicken wings
- 10 large double-bone chicken wings
- 1 brown onion, roughly chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
- 2 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
- 2 thyme sprigs
- 1 litre/1¾ pints chicken stock
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the filling
- 200g/7oz chicken breast, roughly chopped
- 20²µ/¾´Ç³ú egg white
- 200g/7oz double cream
- 2 tarragon sprigs, leaves picked and roughly chopped
For the pickled shallots
- 100ml/3½fl oz white wine vinegar
- 50²µ/1¾´Ç³ú caster sugar
- 1 banana shallot, thinly sliced
- ¼ beetroot, peeled and thinly sliced
To serve
- 15²µ/½´Ç³ú butter
- 100g/3½oz girolles
- 2 parsley sprigs, leaves picked
- 2 tarragon sprigs, leaves picked
- 75g/2½oz extra thick crème fraîche
- pinch sea salt
- handful of edible flowers
Method
To make the stuffed chicken wings, season the meat with salt and pepper. Place the wings, all the vegetables, the thyme and the stock into a large saucepan and bring to the boil. Skim off any scum that comes to the top and simmer for 1 hour.
Remove the pan from the heat and when the chicken is cool enough to handle, take a pair of scissors and snip off the knuckle from each of the chicken wings. You should then be able to pull the bones out of each wing. Set the wings aside whilst you make the filling.
To make the filling, blend the chicken breast with the sea salt in a food processor to combine, then blend in the egg white. When the mixture is smooth, slowly add the cream with the processor running to make a smooth, creamy chicken mousseline. Mix in the chopped tarragon, then spoon into a piping bag.
Cut a small hole in the end of the piping bag (small enough to fit inside the hollow chicken wings). Carefully fill the wings with the chicken mousse. Set aside in the fridge.
To make the pickled shallots, bring the vinegar, sugar and 100ml/3½fl oz water to the boil in a small saucepan. Place the shallots and beetroot in a heatproof bowl, then pour the boiled pickling liquid over the top. Season with a pinch of salt and set aside. This can be used straight away or left overnight in the fridge.
To finish the chicken wings, heat a frying pan over a medium heat and add the butter. When the butter is foaming, season the chicken wings and fry until caremelised and golden brown on both sides. Add the girolles and cook for a few more minutes until the girolles are cooked through.
To serve, spoon a generous amount of crème fraîche onto a large serving plate, then arrange the chicken wings in a criss-cross pattern. Scatter the girolles around the plate, arrange the parsley and tarragon leaves over the top, and finish with the pickled shallots, beetroot and finish with the edible flowers.
