Chicken Kiev

You will need

4 chicken breast fillets

For the filling

100g salted butter
(at room temperature)
2 garlic cloves, crushed
½ tsp lemon zest,
finely grated
3 tbsp curly parsley leaves, very finely chopped

For frying

¼ cup peanut oil
For coating
flour
2 eggs, beaten
100g bread (we used one half baguette available from Woolworths bakeries)
sea salt flakes and freshly ground pepper

Extras

toothpicks
lemon wedges to serve

Step one: Make the breadcrumbs

Preheat the oven to 100ºC. Cut the bread into pieces and process in a food processor to make rough crumbs. Spread out on a baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes until dried out but without colour. Process again until fine.

Step two: Make the filling

Process the butter in a food processor along with the garlic, lemon zest and parsley until very well combined. Spoon the butter down the length of a clingwrap sheet, roll up into a sausage shape and then press down on top so that it is slightly flattened. Place in the freezer for 20 minutes to firm up.

Step three: Prepare the chicken

Place a sheet of clingwrap or baking paper on a wooden board and place a chicken breast on top. Cover with another piece of clingwrap or baking paper and flatten slightly with a rolling pin – this is to ensure an even thickness throughout, rather than to make it thinner. Using a sharp knife, cut a pocket into the larger side of the chicken breast. Cut the butter into four pieces and place a piece inside the pocket. Close and secure with a toothpick, shaping the chicken breast over and around the seam so that it is well covered and no butter will leak out. Repeat for each chicken breast.  Refrigerate for 30 minutes or overnight.

Step four: Cook the chicken

Preheat the oven to 190ºC. Have all the ingredients for coating the chicken ready: spread a generous amount of flour onto one plate, tip the beaten eggs into a shallow bowl, spread out the breadcrumbs on a second plate. Coat each chicken breast in flour and carefully dust off the excess, dip in beaten egg and then coat generously with breadcrumbs. Season well. Heat the oil in a heavy-based frying pan over a medium-high heat. Fry the chicken for a few minutes on each side (turning gently) until golden. Place the chicken on a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Serve with lemon wedges.

Tip:

The trick is to have extremely cold butter, seal the chicken well and coat thoroughly in flour, eggs and breadcrumbs.