Who’s starving for some hot chicken wings? They are actually medium-hot, since I have experimented the side effect of really hot tacos and a sip of wine… back in the days… Let’s say I’ve got my lesson. Those chicken wings are medium-hot habanero-strawberry and honey glazed with a blue cheese dip on the side. I believe chicken wings are the equivalent of “the rain dance” ritual… but rather than calling rain, those wings call the sun! If you eat enough, summer will be coming earlier.

The homemade habanero sauce is a necessity in any fridge, I did mine with a few strawberries, to make it fruity. I saw many recipe, often they add mango or papaya, but since I’m not living in a tropical country and it’s strawberry season here in Spain… well I’ve used strawberries. My husband is growing some habanero peppers at home, I think, it’s the best hot chili pepper out there! They are obviously really hot but also fruity, which I love. They are rated 100 000 out of 350 000 on the Scoville scale, not too bad, but don’t underestimate them… With this attribute, it is also used as a natural insecticide for organic gardens. The homemade hot habanero-strawberry sauce you can easily keep in the fridge for 3 month and it’s useful in many dishes, for example, if you want a grounded meat with a bit of kick to it, a spicier tomatoes sauce, a wok dish, etc.

The blue cheese dip is such a creamy and let’s just say it: “Fatty” and delicious dip! If your wings are too spicy, that sauce is the remedy, a great complimentary dip for hot chicken wings. It’s also so simple to do. You just have to keep your leftovers, then add to some pasta later, it’s essentially the same sauce as a blue cheese pasta sauce, just have to add it to freshly cooked pasta, warm it up a bit and voilà. Or… use it simply as a veggie dip, it’s perfect too.

The chicken wings, I simply baked them for about 45 minutes and add sauce to them each time I’ve turned them. Nothing complexe here.

So let’s call that sun by eating lot’s of those hot chicken wings!

Hot Habanero Chicken Wings

Makes 20 wings

Ingredients

• 20 chicken wings
• 2 tbsp honey
• 3 tbsp of habanero and strawberry homemade sauce
• blue cheese dip
• few carrot, celery, cucumber

Habanero and strawberry hot sauce (make about 200ml)

• 2 carrots in cubes
• 1 small onion in cubes
• 3 garlic cloves finely chopped
• 4 strawberries
• 250ml cider vinegar
• 2 tbsp of honey or maple syrup
• 1 tbsp of habanero powder (3 whole ones, if they are fresh)
• 1tsp Xanthan or some cornstarch (liquid thickener)
• salt, pepper

Blue cheese dip

• 200ml creme fraiche (30% fat cream)
• 100g Roquefort
• 2 tbsp lemon juice or white wine vinegar
• 20 Chives finely cut
• salt, pepper

Directions

Habanero and strawberry hot sauce

1. Cook the carrots, onion, garlic with a little olive oil, medium high heat
2. When lightly brown, let cool
3. Add the mix to a blender and the rest of the ingredients, blend
4. Add 1 tsp of Xanthan  (thickener) or maizena *optional
5. Add salt and pepper
6. Pass through a sieve, into a container
7. Reserve

Blue cheese dip

1. Simply incorporate with a fork the cheese to the cream
2. Add the lemon or vinegar, salt, pepper, chives
3. Reserve

Chicken wings

1. Marinate the wings for 30 minutes into the habanero and honey mix, keep some sauce to glaze the chicken
2. Drain and add to a baking sheet on a tray in the oven at 200°C (400F) for 45 minutes, or until crisp, turn and add the habanero-honey glaze every 15 minutes

Serve with carrots, celery, cucumber and the blue cheese dip. Enjoy the sun!