WHAT IS it about mustard that makes it such a must? Is it the warm heat, the golden colour, the creamy texture? Or just the way it goes with so many different things, adding character to the bland and even more pungency to the already piquant? Yes, yes, yes and yes, please.
Mustard has such a stranglehold on our palates that we cannot imagine rare roast beef, a good steak or even a humble snag without textured grain mustard à la ancienne of Meaux, the more subtle, smooth mustards of Dijon, the sweetened mustards of Germany and America or the fluorescently turmeric- yellow, hellishly hot mustard powder of Britain.
Prepared mustards are made by soaking mustard seeds in cold water to activate the myrosinase enzyme that creates the pungent heat, then adding acidic liquids such as vinegar, white wine or verjuice (the juice of unripened grapes) to deactivate the reaction and control the heat. My addiction is to the subtle Dijon style epitomised by Maille, but if you are a yellow-powder snorter, always mix your Colman’s with cold water because hot water or vinegar has a different effect on the enzymes, and may become bitter.
Unless you are among the terminally bored, it is best to buy prepared mustards unaffected by additives such as honey, green peppercorns and mayonnaise, to make your own marinades and sauces. The honey-mustard-lemon juice mixture in today’s recipe, for instance, is as good with chicken as it is with pork or rabbit, forming a sunny, golden coat — almost a crust — of “mustardness”.
MUSTARD CHICKEN WINGS
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Prep: 10 mins + marinating
Cook: 30 mins
Serves 4
8 chicken wings
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp lemon juice
sea salt and pepper
2 bunches watercress
1 orange
4 crisp baby radishes
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
METHOD:
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Trim the chicken wings and pat dry. Mix the honey, mustard, lemon juice, salt and pepper in a bowl, and toss the wings well until coated. Leave to marinate for 30 minutes.
Heat the oven to 200C/Gas 6. Place the wings on a rack set above a sheet of foil, which will help to stop the drips from burning, and bake for 30 minutes or until sticky and golden.
Trim the cress, wash and spin dry. Peel the orange thickly, removing the white pith, and cut into segments. Finely slice the radishes. Toss the cress, orange and radish in the olive oil and balsamic vinegar and serve with the chicken.
jill.dupleix@thetimes.co.uk
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for previous recipes from T2