TONY STAPLES: A Father's Day feast or the ideal footie finger food?

With Father's Day and the World Cup all coming together, this man feast will tick both boxes, says Tony Staples, executive head chef at the Arora Hotel in Crawley.
Lamb koftas and spicy chicken wings with yogurt dipLamb koftas and spicy chicken wings with yogurt dip
Lamb koftas and spicy chicken wings with yogurt dip

If you’ve got mates coming around to watch the footie, then they’ll need feeding, especially if they’re settling in to watch several matches in one day.

A diet of crisps and beer just won’t do it. So, make these lamb koftas and chicken wings in advance and you’ll have perfect finger food for half time.

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Or get the kids involved to prepare a feast for dad on Father’s Day.

Tony StaplesTony Staples
Tony Staples

During the World Cup, Arora will be serving themed burgers and a pint for £12.95 from 3.30pm on match days in the Morgan’s Pub.

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Lamb koftas and spicy chicken wings with yogurt dip

For lamb koftas (makes ten):

1kg minced lamb

1 red chilli finely chopped

5 garlic cloves crushed

Zest and juice of half a lemon

Half red onion finely chopped

Quarter of a bunch coriander, chopped

2 tbs breadcrumbs

1 egg

salt and pepper

For the chicken wings:

Makes 40

2kg chicken wings

1 small pot natural yogurt

10cm piece root ginger, finely chopped

1 red chilli, finely chopped

Half red onion finely chopped

6 cloves of garlic, crushed

Zest and juice of half a lemon

Few drops of red food colouring

For the yogurt dip:

1 small pot natural yogurt

Quarter of cucumber, peeled, deseeded, finely chopped

1tsp turmeric

1tsp sugar

Half tsp of salt

1 clove of garlic, crushed

Squeeze of lime

Method

Marinate the chicken wings up to two days ahead. Mix the yogurt with the ginger, chilli, onion, garlic, lemon zest and juice, and food colouring.

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Coat the chicken wings thoroughly and leave in the fridge until ready to cook.

To make the koftas, soak wooden kebab skewers in water. Meanwhile, whizz all the kofta ingredients in a food blender – or you can combine with your hands. Take handfuls of the mix, roll into balls and shape the meat around the wooden skewers.

For the dip, combine all the ingredients and leave in the fridge for a few hours for the flavours to marinade.

When you’re ready to cook, grill the koftas for 5-8 minutes on a barbecue or under a grill, turning occasionally. Put the chicken wings on a roasting dish and bake in a hot, preheated oven, 200 degrees, for 20 minutes.

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Serve both with the yogurt dip, a squeeze of lime and some warm flat bread.

Chef’s tip

I like to give the chicken wings a bit of a kick, so try stirring two teaspoons of madras curry powder into the marinade ingredients.

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