Italian Herb Wings with Goat Cheese Dip

These crunchy chicken wings with a creamy goat cheese dip are packed with Italian flavours and are the perfect pick-me-up. To achieve the crispiness you need to dry off the wing well. Otherwise the moisture will keep them from browning. Besides that, roast the wings at a high temperature. These wings are baked at 250C/500F degrees for about 30 minutes. After baking, heat the broiler and broil for a couple more minutes if necessary. Mine turned out really brown and crisp, so I didn't broil them. You can also bake them on a metal wire rack.
Italian seasoning is a blend of dried herbs that are “characteristically Italian,” such as basil, marjoram, oregano, rosemary, thyme, sage and savoury. If you don't have the mix, you can easily make your own substitute at home. Simple combine equal amounts of each herb. But if you don't have all the herbs listed, just use basil and oregano, equal parts.

	Goat Cheese Dip
1.2 kg Chicken wings without tips, split at the joint 3 tbsp Olive oil 4 Garlic cloves, minced 30 g Parmesan cheese, grated 2.5 tsp Italian seasoning 1 tsp Sea salt 1 tsp Freshly milled black pepper 1 tbsp Flat parsley leaves, chopped for garnishing	120 g Goat cheese log 3 tbsp Yoghurt or sour cream 1 tbsp Olive oil 1 tsp Minced garlic 2-3 tbsp Fresh basil leaves, chopped Sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper

Combine the goat cheese, yoghurt, olive oil and garlic in a blender and process until smooth. Transfer to a small bowl and mix in the fresh chopped basil leaves. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour or overnight. Keep chilled until ready to serve.
Preheat oven to 250C/500F. Line two baking trays with parchment paper and set aside.
Prepare chicken wings by separating them into 2 parts: drumette and flat. Using a paper towel, dry off the wings as much as possible. This will remove excess moisture, which will make wings nice and crispy. Add wings to a large bowl. Add olive oil, minced garlic, grated Parmesan cheese, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper to the wings and toss with your hand, massaging the chicken as you mix. Place chicken wings on the prepared baking trays in one even layer.
Bake wings for 15 minutes in the upper rack of the preheated oven. Rotate the baking sheet and bake another 15 minutes. Remove and transfer to a large serving plate and scatter the chopped parsley over. Serve the wings with dipping sauce.