It's getting cold outside. Where I live, the wind chill factor has kicked in over the past few days, bringing frequent – albeit highly exaggerated – comparisons with Eastern Europe in the middle of winter.
It's the time of year when I pull out the thick coat, beanie and scarf and fire up my favourite heater to warm up the room, after it first burns away six months' worth of dust. And at this time of year, I always start thinking fondly of Eastern European food.
During the warmer months, my preferences for European cuisines tend to favour the Mediterranean, but as the temperature drops, I start looking eastwards. When I’m at the point where I have to rug up every time I go outside, I start pining for those heartier meals that were designed to get people through an unforgivingly bitter winter in a part of the world where a zero degree day feels like a welcome respite from the real cold.
The food of the old Austro-Hungarian empire always appeal as my body starts longing for piping hot comforting food, and I start longing for Wiener-Schnitzel, crusty potato rösti and an at least somewhat healthy side of sauerkraut.
But further east, though, they serve equally tasty food for the chillier months, and one that always delivers is chicken Kyiv.
Chicken breast is flavoursome even on its own, of course. But when it’s stuffed with, or rolled around, garlic and parsley butter, it may lose its lean reputation, but if anything it’s even more delicious. Wrap it in a golden crust of breadcrumbs, shallow fry it and/or bake it, and you have comfort food so downright soothing that it'll practically hug your tastebuds.
Mashed potato is the perfect side, as it'll soak up all of the juices, and of course a token green like some wilted spinach will balance out the meal - perhaps with even more butter in order to achieve consistency, along with calorificness.
As with so many regional recipes, the origin of chicken Kyiv (often seen as chicken Kiev on menus) is somewhat disputed, and given the enduring popularity that sees it remain a staple on the menus of Eastern European restaurants, it’s not surprising that it’s inspired a few arguments over the years.
Ukraine and Russia both claim it, but it's also been suggested that its true origins are French, which is certainly credible when one considers the sheer amount of butter in it.
What cannot be disputed, though, is its status as an iconic food. It was rather fashionable in the 1970s in particular, and remains so popular that the frozen food aisle in any major Australian supermarket inevitably contains a number of different frozen versions. But rather than that, you’d be well advised to make it from scratch (try our recipe for the golden-crumbed chicken shown below) or seek it out at your local regional restaurant.
For garlic lovers, try this recipe where roasted garlic is added to the butter:
You could also put a spin on it with Adam Liaw's chicken Kyiv nuggets (recipe here).
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