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Roast chicken with walnut polenta and pomegranate dressing
Serves 4 Starters and mains
Ingredients
- 8 chicken wings, untrimmed
- 65g instant polenta
- 4tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 30g parmesan finely grated
- 1tsp icing sugar
- 3⁄4tsp sumac, plus a little more for dusting
- 80g walnuts
- 200g curly kale on the stem
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed to a paste with a pinch of salt
For the chicken seasoning
- 1tsp sea salt crystals
- 1⁄2tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1tbsp olive oil
- 1⁄2tsp sumac
For the dressing
- 1 pomegranate, halved (1 half juiced, the other deseeded)
- 1tsp pomegranate molasses
- 1tsp Dijon mustard
- 3tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Method
Preheat oven to 190C/375F/Gas 5. Put the chicken wings on a foil- lined tray and massage with the seasonings. With wing tips turned downwards, roast for 40 minutes, turning over halfway through. Place on a warm dish and leave to rest for 10 minutes before serving.
Line a baking tray with foil. Put 500ml cold water in a pan with a pinch of salt and bring to the boil on a medium heat. Pour in the polenta all at once and whisk to stop it boiling over and to stop lumps forming. Reduce the heat and whisk for 3-4 minutes until the mixture starts to leave the side of the pan. Add half the oil and all of the Parmesan. Stir in well then tip onto the baking tray, spread out roughly and leave to cool and set.
Once completely cold, break into rough chunky crumbs and leave to dry out as much as possible on a sheet of baking parchment.
Preheat the oven to 200C/ 400F/Gas 6. Put the sugar and sumac in a small bowl and mix in 1⁄2tsp water. Arrange the nuts on a baking tray and pour over the sumac mixture. Coat the nuts evenly with the mixture and bake for 5 minutes, turn them and give them another 3 minutes until crispy and golden.
Tear the kale off the tough stalks. Put the fleshy leaves in a colander and wash well. Plunge the leaves into boiling salted water and wilt for a few minutes. Drain well and refresh under a cold running tap. Put all the dressing ingredients, except the pomegranate seeds, in a jar with a tight-fitting lid and shake to emulsify.
Toss the polenta in half the oil on a foil-lined tray and bake for 10 minutes. Set the grill to high and grill the polenta for 4 minutes until golden in spots and crispy. Heat a wok and add the remaining oil and the garlic. When the garlic fizzes add the curly kale (remove from heat, because it spits) and stir-fry for about 1 minute until tender.
Put the kale and polenta crumbs in a serving dish and pour over the dressing. Scatter with pomegranate seeds and add the roast chicken and crispy walnuts. Toss together and dust with sumac. Serve immediately.
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