Deconstructed Chicken Kiev Food

INSIDE-OUT CHICKEN KIEV

Steps:

• Place the chicken on a baking tray, rub with a little of the butter, season and cook under the grill for 15 mins, turning once until cooked through.
• Mix together the remaining garlic butter and breadcrumbs. Remove the chicken from the grill and top each breast with a smear of the breadcrumbed butter. Return to the grill and cook 3-5 mins until the breadcrumbs are golden and the butter melted. Serve any buttery juices, alongside new potatoes and peas or broad beans.

CHICKEN KIEV

Steps:

• For the compound butter: Add the butter, cream cheese, pepper jack, dill, parsley, paprika, garlic, 2 tablespoons salt and 1 tablespoon pepper to a food processor and pulse, occasionally scraping down the sides, until well combined. Place the compound butter on a piece of plastic wrap and roll it in a tube shape about 2-inches in diameter, twisting the ends to secure. Place it in the freezer until completely solid, at least 3 hours.
• Divide the chicken into four 8-ounce patties. Remove the log of compound butter from the freezer and place it in the center of the chicken. Wrap the chicken around the compound butter and seal to form it tightly and evenly around--like a large egg shape.
• For the breading: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place a rack on top of a baking sheet.
• Set up a dredging station with the flour, beaten eggs, seasoned Italian breadcrumbs and panko. Season each with 2 tablespoons salt and 1 tablespoon pepper. Dredge the chicken lightly in the flour, egg, then Italian breadcrumbs. Pass the chicken back through the egg and then finally in the panko for a second coating. Place on the prepared rack.
• Fill a pot with 2 to 3 inches of oil and heat to 350 degrees F. Fry the chicken until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Place the chicken back on the rack and bake until cooked through, 5 to 6 minutes. Let the chicken rest for 1 to 2 minutes before serving.

DECONSTRUCTED CHICKEN KIEV

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Toss potatoes with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Roast for 20 to 25 minutes before adding chicken (follow next steps to prepare chicken before roasting).
• Add the bread to a food processor. Pulse until it turns into crumbs. Take the breadcrumbs out, and set aside. Pulse the garlic and parsley until finely chopped. Add the breadcrumbs back, and pour in melted butter. Pulse again until it coats all of the breadcrumbs.
• Press the bread mixture onto the chicken breasts. Put the chicken into the oven with the potatoes and bake until cooked through, about 15-20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, halve the tomatoes, toss with olives, lemon zest, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, salt, pepper and parsley. Stir in Feta. Set aside.
• Layer arugula on the bottom of the plate. Add the chicken breasts, top with tomato and feta salsa. Serve with roasted potatoes.

MODERN-DAY CHICKEN KIEV

Steps:

• To make the butter, tip all the ingredients into a bowl and season generously with pepper and a little salt. Beat until completely combined, then tip onto a sheet of cling film and roll into a log. Refrigerate until hard. Can be made up to three days in advance or frozen for up to one month.
• One breast at a time, lay them smooth-side down and remove the mini fillet. Make an incision down the middle of the fillet half way into it to make a pocket; it is essential that you don't cut all the way through the meat. Lay a piece of cling film over the breast and, using a meat mallet or rolling pin, flatten it out slightly. On another part of the board bat out the mini fillet slightly.
• Divide the butter into four and squash into flattish discs. Stuff each of the pockets that you made with a disc of butter. Cover each with the mini fillet and fold the sides of the breast over it. Set aside.
• Tip the flour, eggs and breadcrumbs into separate shallow containers. Working methodically, completely coat each breast in flour, then egg, then breadcrumbs, then dip back into the egg and finally again in the breadcrumbs. Set aside. The chicken can be prepared the day before and left in the fridge or frozen for up to one month - defrost completely before cooking.
• To cook, heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Heat a decent layer of oil in a large frying pan and, once hot, turn the heat down to medium. Fry the kievs for 2-3 mins on each side until dark golden. Lift them onto kitchen paper to absorb any excess oil then transfer to a roasting tin. Cook in the oven for 20 mins or until the kievs feels firm when prodded at the widest part. Serve immediately with the lemon wedges and watercress, plus your favourite retro side dish - Russian salad is good.