Chicken Kiev

Chicken Kiev is a popular chicken preparation which has global origins. It is believed that the dish originated in Kiev, Capital of Ukraine, but that’s true. In fact the idea of dish was born in France, named in New York and perfected in Moscow. The dish has been prepared for about 100 years in New York. And it was mainly introduced in New York with the purpose of luring immigrants from Eastern Europe. Some dishes like chicken cordon bleu are inspired with chicken kiev, but prepared using the cheese and ham filling.

History of Chicken Kiev
Many historians believe that the earlier form of the dish was called Novo-Mikhailovsky cutlet. The dish pampered customers with new range of tastes and combined whole, natural and ground materials and followed the European and Eastern technologies of food processing. The food was prepared by chefs at Merchants Club in 1912. The chefs at Merchant club aimed to popularize their culinary creations throughout Europe. But unfortunately due to the onset of the First World War, the dish faded into oblivion. About thirty years later, the dish was cooked to welcome the Ukrainian delegation in Paris where they halted after signing of the treaty with Germany. Within a decade, the popularity of the dish enhanced manifolds and the cutlets were renamed Chicken kiev in one of the Soviet restaurants.

Chicken Kiev Recipe- Suggested Ingredients and Preparation Process

The Chicken Kiev dish is prepared by stuffing chicken and is mostly served with peas, potatoes and garnished with lemon. Normally, the chicken breast is used in the preparation of the dish. The chicken breasts are tenderized by crushing. Following some popular variations of the recipe of Chicken Kiev, the pockets are created in chicken breast for stuffing other ingredients. While preparing Chicken Kiev, the meat chicken is poked with toothpicks at regular places to ensure that the filling does not comes out while cooking. Following the regular recipe, the filling is prepared using salt, pepper, oregano, sage, rosemary and thyme. These seasonings are finely chopped and blended before spooning into pastry bag. The filling is either scooped into the chicken with the help of spoon or filled using pastry bag. The filled chicken breast is then rolled over the mixture of flour, eggs, and bread crumbs. The chicken kiev is chilled before cooking, as this helps in solidifying the butter, which stops it from leaking out. Then the dish is cooked at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about an hour. Also, it can be pan fried for about 8-10 minutes.

Some variations of the chicken kiev recipe suggest the use of brie, ricotta and goat cheese for filling. The cooked dish is drizzled with soup and served hot.

Miscellaneous Facts about Chicken Kiev

• Chicken Kiev entered into the British Market as the first readymade meal in 1976. The meal was introduced by Marks and Spencer.
• The term Chicken Kiev was used by Wiliam Safire for mentioning a speech delivered in Kiev by then US president George H. W. Bush, where he cautioned Ukrainians regarding the suicidal nationalism.