DF 3: Chicken Kiev

OK, I have to admit. I did cheat a little on this one by using real butter. But seriously, how much lactose does butter contain? Wait!! Don't answer that!

Ever since 5StarFoodie published her post on Chicken Kiev, I have been dying to try her recipe. DS has always had a passion for all things Russian. Don't ask me where this came from, I have no idea. His dad has almost a second BA in Russian, but that's as far as the connection goes. One of my favorite memories is taking DS to dine at Firebird restaurant in New York when he was 5. If you ever get a chance, you should definitely go there! The whole experience is enchanting, from the breathtakingly gorgeous decor (which includes opulent costumes from the Bolshoi Ballet) to the delectable food to the impeccable service. Our favorite experience was watching the waiter prepare blinis with caviar for the table next to ours. It made such an impression I can't recall a single thing I ate that evening!

I love Eastern European food. When I'm feeling blue in the winter, nothing cheers me up like making a giant pot of borscht with beef. I could (and do) eat it for days. It is the saddest thing in the world to me that DC hates beets.

I don't know what it is about Slavic food, it's just so delicious and so comforting. I was excited when a Czech restaurant opened in downtown Cary this spring. Sadly, I was quite disappointed with my pork gulyas. DC ordered his favorite, Stroganoff, which was prepared with pickles, and quite good. But DS was disappointed with part of his order, too. So it's just dish by dish there, I guess, and expensive enough that I haven't been willing to go back for iffy food.

Here is 5StarFoodie's DAIRY-FREE-ER Recipe for Chicken Kiev. I was kind of in a hurry and didn't take many photos.

This recipe is genius, because the chicken is ground-- which means not only that you don't have to pound it thin, it will be deliciously tender.

Ingredients:

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast
1 onion
1 egg
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon
1/2 stick chilled butter
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
½ teaspoon dried tarragon

Directions:

Put chicken and onion through the meat grinder and into a large bowl.

*I don't have a meat grinder, so I used my food processor. This caused my chicken to be more of a puree. Therefore, I had to add aboout a cup of breadcrumbs to the chicken to make a workable mixture. Also, I'm not crazy about tarragon, so I used fresh dill in the chicken mixture.

Add egg, salt, pepper, and tarragon to the bowl. Mix well by hand until the mixture is smooth. Form two big patties, place on plate or cutting board and flatten them.

Cut the ½ stick of butter in half and roll each half into a thin log. Coat with tarragon on all sides.
*I used a mixture of chopped fresh dill and dried tarragon.
Place one butter log in a middle of each patty, and reshape so that the chicken mixture covers the butter completely.
*My chicken patties were HUGE!!

In a shallow dish, mix breadcrumbs, salt and pepper. Coat the chicken patties with breadcrumbs. Refrigerate for at least 10 minutes.
*Natasha's original recipe calls for an equal amount of breadcrumbs and grated Parmesan. Sigh. I left out the Parmesan and just used breadcrumbs.

Heat the oil in a skillet and brown the chicken patties quickly (1-2 minute per side).

Bake on 375° F, covered, for about 10 minutes or until golden brown

Omigod, even without the Parmesan, this was FANTASTIC!!!! We absolutely loved it. I will be making this again and again. Natasha very fashionably paired this dish with roasted tri-color peppers and truffled mashed potatoes. We had the more prosaic combination of braised baby yukon gold potatoes and green beans. DC disdained to eat the latter. But he loved the chicken! I can't wait to make this for DS! I'll just have to tell him it's, uh, bearnaise sauce! inside the chicken. If he knew it was b-----, he would refuse to eat it.

Just look how gorgeous-- and deee-licious! Here is DC's plate:

Up close and personal:


Thanks for sharing your fabulous recipe, Natasha!! It was AWESOME!!!