Mediterranean Style Chicken Wings

Over the Holidays I catch up with friends and family who I don’t always have a chance to see on a regular basis because of my busy schedule. On the days when I know we will be seeing a lot of people throughout the course of the day, I like to serve a variety of meze, a Greek word which means small bites of many different things. One of the things I love to make is my Mediterranean style chicken wings. They are delicious with a great tang from the feta, lemon juice and mustard. They are very easy to make and a little healthier than the more traditional spicy wings, which are fried. You can make them all at once and keep them covered and warm in the oven and serve as you need to when your guests come and go. These are popular, so make extra so you won’t run out…

***An original recipe from www.goodfoodgourmet.com

Mediterranean Chicken Wings

5# Jumbo wings

Zest & juice of 2 lemons

2 Tablespoons olive oil

1 Tablespoons oregano

2 Tablespoons dried parsley

¾ teaspoon onion powder

¼ teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

4 oz good quality feta, very finely mashed

Salt (about ¼ teaspoon)

Pepper (about ½ teaspoon)

Preheat your oven to 400°F. Rinse the chicken wings and place them in a single layer in a large baking dish. Add the salt and pepper and toss well. Cover the pan with a sheet of foil and cook on the center shelf of your oven for about 35-45 minutes until the chicken wings have cooked through completely. While these are cooking in the oven, add all of the other ingredients to a small pot and heat through until the feta softens and begins to melt then set aside. When the wings are finished cooking, remove the foil and pour off any liquid that has collected at the bottom of the pan. Put the pan of wings on the top shelf of your oven to begin browning the skin. After the first 10 minutes, remove from the oven, toss them gently and place back in the oven for another 10 minutes. You may need to repeat this one more time to get an evenly caramelized wing. Once they are nicely brown, remove from the oven, and toss over the warm liquid mixture making sure all of the wings get coated with this and toss gently again. Place back in the oven for another 10-15 minutes until the feta has melted into the meat. There will be lots of finger licking, so serve these warm with a stack of napkins.

www.goodfoodgourmet.com