Slow cooker chicken wings with parsnips might sound like an unlikely pairing, but low heat and a long cook turn them into something genuinely good — the parsnips soak up every bit of flavour from the wine, the cheese, and the herbs. This recipe was born on a Wednesday afternoon in May 2021, with one eye on the slow cooker and the other on the gate, waiting for Rafa the plumber from the next village. It was also, in a small way, proof that the enthusiasm to cook and write hadn't entirely deserted me during the Brexit and Covid years.

THE STORY

It is 2.15 pm, and I am sitting here waiting for Rafa. He said he'd be here first thing yesterday. I have three bathrooms and I haven't been able to use one of them. Once I called him out on a Tuesday; he arrived at 10 pm on a Saturday night.

The slow cooker option today is deliberate — I can slow it down or speed it up depending on when he decides to appear. You can bet your bottom dollar he'll arrive either mid-preparation or just as I'm sitting down to eat.

Together with Brexit, the corrupt UK government, and the pandemic, I'd lost the will for a while. I'm blogging today just to prove I haven't completely lost it, even though the Gov.uk ads about leaving the EU on Spotify have got thoroughly on my nerves. I also learned today that a couple I know on the coast are returning to the UK — they'd been flying under the radar, and when they finally tried to register, they didn't qualify under the stricter rules for third-country nationals. They're going to live temporarily with their daughter in Devon. They sold up five years ago. I'm not sure what they'll do now.

I have been cooking throughout, and baking a great deal of bread — sourdough especially — but the enthusiasm to write about food hadn't been there. This recipe is entirely made up, born of what was in the fridge and the need to keep one hand free for the gate.

INGREDIENTS

• Chicken wings
• Olive oil and butter, for frying
• 1 onion, peeled and quartered
• ½ parsnip, peeled and quartered lengthways*
• Good glug of white wine
• Parmesan cheese
• White pepper
• Fennel seeds
• Dried chilli flakes
• Dried herbs of your choice (herbes de Provence work well)

METHOD

Brown the Wings

Fry the chicken wings in olive oil and butter over a medium-high heat. Don't crowd the pan — work in batches. When the wings are nicely coloured on all sides, remove and set aside.

Add the quartered onion and parsnip to the same pan and fry until they have taken on some colour.

Build the Flavour

While the vegetables are frying, blitz the Parmesan, white pepper, fennel seeds, chilli flakes, and dried herbs together in a blender until combined.

Add a big glug of white wine to the pan and turn up the heat to reduce by half.

Slow Cook

Return the wings to the pot and sprinkle over the cheese and herb mixture. Cover and place back into the slow cooker. Set to low and cook for 4 hours.

For general slow cooker food safety guidelines, BBC Good Food's slow cooker guide is worth a read.

SLOW COOKER CHICKEN WINGS WITH PARSNIPS – THE FLEXIBLE CHEF'S NOTES

Slow cooker chicken wings benefit from the browning step — don't skip it. The colour you get in the pan carries through the whole dish. A Crock-Pot with a hob-safe pot makes this a one-vessel operation; if yours isn't hob-safe, use a frying pan for the browning stage and transfer everything across.

*A note on parsnips: Francisco's fruit and veg shop in the village had started stocking them, so I felt obliged to buy 2kg — partly to make sure he kept stocking them, partly because the freezer was full of lockdown cooking and parsnips were something new. Parboil them first if you're planning to freeze in batches.

And yes — I forgot to photograph the finished dish. Here's a sourdough loaf instead.

For more wings, the collection is growing: Baked Chicken Wings with a Spicy Cupboard Marinade, Easy Buffalo Wings, Crispy Sesame Chicken Wings, Crispy Garlic Lemon Pepper Chicken Wings, and Baked Chicken Wings with Sticky Honey and Hot Sauce.

This recipe is part of my easy chicken dinner ideas collection — a complete guide to cooking every cut, every style, from Casa Adora and the road.

This recipe is also part of the Slow Cooker & Slow Cooking Recipes collection — every slow cooker recipe and slow-cooked dish from Casa Adora and the road, gathered in one place. Browse all recipes here.

Wonky photos, proper food, genuine adventures — The Flexible Chef.