It is finally here.........Spring that is.......holy f*@k..........it's very exciting.....am I a bit of a foodie geek?........probably! Winter is finally over and three of the best early spring seasonal goodies are in the shops or in the woods right now. Wild garlic, local asparagus and Jersey Royal new potatoes. Ok, they are really expensive at the moment but the price will come down in the next few weeks and the wild garlic is abundant and free.
I'm not a big forager, I have a one year old son and barely have the time to eat, let alone forage. However we were on a walk yesterday and the woods were carpeted with this pungent leaf, so I grabbed some. If you are unfamiliar with wild garlic, the flavour is somewhere between spinach, garlic and raw onion. Cut your kiev and allow the butter to flow out onto your spuds and asparagus - stunning, a foodie 'money shot'!
Ingredients:
Small free range chicken supremes, skinned - 2x 150g (approx)
Wild garlic - 1 large fistful
Salted butter at room temperature - half a block
2 eggs - beaten.
Some plain flour
Breadcrumbs - a couple of handfuls
Jersey royals - a handful per person
Wye Valley Asparagus - a bunch
Method:
Wash and toss the wild garlic into a hot pan and wilt as you would spinach. Refresh in iced water and when cold, squeeze dry in a clean tea towel. Season well and toss into the food processor with the butter and a good season of salt and black pepper. Blitz until you have a really green butter. Roll into a thin sausage in cling film and chill until hard.
Remove the mini fillet from the chicken breast and set aside. Insert a knife into the thick end of the fillet to make a pocket being careful not to pierce the flesh. Repeat with the other breast. Unwrap the butter and cut off a stick about 2 inches long (you may have some butter left over for another use). Stuff into the chicken as deep as you can get it. Plug the open end with the mini fillet - you are trying to stop the melted butter escaping once cooked. Repeat with the other breast and then flour, egg and breadcrumb. I egged and breadcrumbed twice paying special attention to the hole you cut - the breadcrumbs will help hold in the butter.
Now get your spuds onto simmer, heat a deep fat fryer to 160c and turn your oven onto 180c. Deep fry the chicken until golden and transfer to the oven to finish cooking. When the spuds are almost cooked, toss in your asparagus to blanch. You can check your chicken is cooked by using a thermometer - anything over 83c is cooked. Don't cremate your chicken as the butter will boil out - you will lose a little in the oven but this can be spooned over at the end. Drain your veg, no butter required as there is plenty in the chicken, however a good seasoning wouldn't go amiss. Plate up and enjoy the moment when you cut into the kiev. It maybe old school but it is soooo good.
Now get your spuds onto simmer, heat a deep fat fryer to 160c and turn your oven onto 180c. Deep fry the chicken until golden and transfer to the oven to finish cooking. When the spuds are almost cooked, toss in your asparagus to blanch. You can check your chicken is cooked by using a thermometer - anything over 83c is cooked. Don't cremate your chicken as the butter will boil out - you will lose a little in the oven but this can be spooned over at the end. Drain your veg, no butter required as there is plenty in the chicken, however a good seasoning wouldn't go amiss. Plate up and enjoy the moment when you cut into the kiev. It maybe old school but it is soooo good.
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