Chicken Kiev (2)

Last weekend I tried my hands at an old standby, chicken Kiev. Encouraged by the wonderful flavours but not entirely happy with the filling, I opted to make it again yesterday. This time, I decided not to take the (somewhat failed) shortcut and butterfly the chicken fillets. I also made garlic herb butter, again, my first ever attempt. 

Chicken Kiev with buttery green beans

Ingredients

3 chicken fillets
75g Kerrygold butter, softened
2-4 large garlic cloves, peeled & grated
1 tbsp mixed herbs (¼ tsp parsley, ¼ tsp tarragon, ½ tsp marjoram)
½ lemon, zested & juiced
1 large egg, beaten
50g ground almonds
pink salt, pinch, to taste
ground black pepper, to taste
coconut oil, for shallow frying

Method

1. Preheat oven to 220°C.
2. Butterfly the chicken fillets: Place the chicken fillets lengthways on a chopping board. Pressing one hand on the top of the fillet and with a sharp slicing knife, begin to cut into the middle of the fillet with a sweeping slicing motion. Once a pocket is created, pull up on the top of the fillet and keep slicing, keeping the two halves equal. Stop slicing when you are close to the edge. Do not cut all the way through! Open out the fillets.
3. Make the garlic butter: in a bowl, cream the butter, then add in the grated garlic, mixed herbs, lemon zest, and lemon juice.
   
4. Spread the garlic butter out onto the centre of the butterflied chicken fillets, leaving about 1cm/½" margin clean. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Fold the fillets back over to resemble their original shape.
   
6. Prepare the egg wash: beat the egg in a bowl and set aside.
7. Prepare the batter: mix ground almonds, salt, and pepper in a separate bowl. Set aside.
8. Dip each fillet into the egg wash and then coat with the almond mix.
9. Heat a bit of coconut oil in a pan and shallow fry the fillets for about 2 minutes on each side.
10. Transfer the fillets to the oven and bake 8-10 minutes until cooked through. 
    

The chicken Kiev was beautiful! Yes, the garlic butter was a bit of a hassle, and I'm not entirely sure I got it right (was I supposed to chill it before spreading it onto the fillets so it doesn't melt so quickly?), but the flavours were amazing. I really like my mixed herbs (may try adding in some chives next time). And butterflying the fillets was indeed a better idea - the filling went right in the centre - and it wasn't much work at all. Next time I get fillets, preferably larger breast fillets, I'll for sure make this dish again and experiment with the butter.