Buffalo chicken wings with Kawarau Blue cheese sauce !

It's Rugby and Soccer madness at the moment and I love nothing more than a good warm spicy snack while cheering on my favourite team and because my other love is for Kawarau Blue I thought it best to write up this delicious recipe so you can get addicted too :)

Ingredients

• 20-24 large free-range chicken wings
• 4-6 tsp Tabasco Chipotle Sauce (widely available), depending on how hot you like things
• Olive oil for drizzling and oiling
• 100g unsalted butter
• 4 tsp cider vinegar
• 2 tsp Dijon mustard
• 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tbsp sweet chilli sauce – not the Thai version
• 2 tbsp tomato ketchup
• 2 small celery hearts, each cut lengthways into chunky wedges

For the blue cheese dip

• 75g Gibbston Valley Kawarau Blue cheese
• 4 tbsp good-quality whole egg mayonnaise
• 1 small garlic clove, crushed
• 1½ tsp lemon juice
• 4 tbsp soured cream
• 1 shallot, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

• 1 tbsp whole milk (optional)

• METHOD .  Cut the pointy tips off each chicken wing and discard. Make a slit in the skin on the underside of each wing, then add a drop of Tabasco sauce and rub it into the slit. Put the wings in a bowl with a little more Tabasco sauce and mix well. Chill in the fridge, covered, for at least 1 hour.

• For the blue cheese dip, coarsely grate or crumble the cheese into a bowl, add 2 tbsp of the mayonnaise and the garlic, then mash with the back of a spoon until almost smooth. Stir in the rest of the mayo, lemon juice, soured cream, shallot and parsley. Stir in the milk if it’s still a little stiff. Spoon into 4 small pots or ramekins, cover and chill.

• Heat the oven to 200°C/fan180°C/ gas 6. Drizzle the wings with a little olive oil and put in a lightly oiled baking tray (see tip). Season all over with salt and pepper and roast for 20-30 minutes on each side until golden brown, crisp and tender.

• Just before the wings are ready, melt the butter in a large deep frying pan. Stir in the rest of the Tabasco, vinegar, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, chilli sauce, tomato ketchup and salt to taste. Drop the chicken wings into the sauce and mix well. Serve at the table with the celery, lettuce wedges and blue cheese dip.