CHICKEN CURRY POPCORN

Chicken Curry Popcorn

Following my recent post on how good popcorn was as a pairing with wine, I have been experimenting with other flavours. For the recent Tongham Taster’s Chablis Uncorked evening, I came up with the idea of Chicken Curry flavoured popcorn and I think it worked well both with the Burgundy Pinot Noir rosé and the Chablis that we served it with. If this combination appeals to you, here is how to make it.

Ingredients for a large bowl of Chicken Curry Popcorn:
Popcorn
Skin from 2 chicken breasts or thighs
Curry Powder.
Black Pepper
Sea Salt.
Butter
Greaseproof paper

Equipment Required:
Thermomix or food processor
2 baking trays
Oven
Microwave or pan and hob
Large bowl and large spoon to toss the popcorn

Step 1 Flavour and crisp up some chicken skin.
Take the skin off of some chicken breasts or thighs and flatten the skin as much as possible. Place the skin on greaseproof paper in a firm baking tray. Season with sea salt, freshly ground black pepper and a good quality curry powder on both sides. You can be quite generous with the seasoning. Place another piece of greaseproof paper on top of the skin and then place another similar sized firm baking tray on top. Then put some weight on the top baking tray so that the chicken skin remains flat. Put the baking trays with the skin in a preheated oven at about 190 degrees centigrade for 35 minutes.

Step 2 Crispy skin in a food processor.
Once you have checked that the chicken is nice and crispy,  let it cool on some kitchen paper to help it dry. If it is still too wet to process, you might want to leave it to dry in the cooling oven. Once dry, whizz it in a Thermomix or good quality food processor until it is powder like.

Step 3 Pop the corn.
Follow the instructions on the packet and pop your corn either in a pan or microwave.

Step 4 Melt some butter and add the chicken powder.
Melt a good amount of butter (say 50g for a big bowl of popcorn) that you will eventually use to coat the popcorn. Add the chicken powder and mix.

Step 5 Season the popcorn
Add the butter and chicken mixture to the popcorn and toss thoroughly so that it is evenly coated. Taste and then adjust the seasoning. You will probably need to add extra curry powder and also sea salt and then toss thoroughly again. Taste and adjust until you are satisfied with the taste.

Step 6 Enjoy with a nice glass of wine in the company of your partner and some friends.
Most rosé and dry white wines will go well with the chicken curry popcorn. This is definitely a better match for wine than crisps or peanuts.