Glazed Lolipop Wings
This week has been a bit of a bonanza week with our daughter selecting recipes from three of her cookbooks. The books were Masterchef Junior by various Junior Masterchefs, The Glucose Goddess by
Jessie Inchauspé, and Without the Calories – Quick and Easy Justine Pattison.

Masterchef Junior had a bunch of interesting recipes that we tried. First up was the Glazed Lollipop Wings. These were chicken lollipops – a technique where you push the chicken wing meat (from the piece of the wing that joins the main part of the bird) up from the “elbow” towards the shoulder, creating what then looks like a lollipop. These were glazed with a combination of asian flavours, including ginger and soy and honey to make a truly delicious starter. The original recipe deep fried them but we went for a shallow fry and a finish in the oven.

Next up was a rack of lamb with a herb and lemon crust, which we accompanied with Charred Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Toasted Hazelnuts from the Glucose Goddess book. The lamb was good but nothing really remarkable, and the Brussels sprouts were good but definitely not a patch on the roasted Brussels sprouts from the Founding Farmers cookbook.

The final Masterchef Junior number was Five Spice Duck Breast with Cucumber Pasta. Much like the adults, the kids can sometimes have a bit of an off day. The five-spiced duck was tasty, no doubt, though I feel a little sweetness could be added to the butter and five-spice glaze, perhaps with honey or maple syrup. However, the cucumber pasta was odd. It was sliced into ribbons and then dressed with a “pesto” of rocket and olive oil – this was really rather bitter and bordered on unpleasant

The last two recipes of the week came from Without the Calories – Quick and Easy. I think these last two will be ones that we come back to, in all honesty. The Lemon Chicken was a zesty light number, which we served with cauliflower rice and was much more vibrant than perhaps what you may imagine for lemon chicken served in average Chinese restaurants with a cloying sauce. This was not that.

The Salmon Provençal did pretty much what it said on the tin. Salmon baked with provencal vegetables (peppers, tomatoes and courgettes and garlic), olive oil and balsamic vinegar. A simple midweek supper dish and was pretty good.

All in all quite the selection from one of our junior master chefs.