Cooking with Colm O'Gorman: My air fryer Chicken Kyiv (not Kiev) in solidarity with Ukraine

The solidarity and concern for the people of Ukraine shown by people in Ireland over the past week has been just phenomenal. By the middle of the week, more than 10,000 pledges of accommodation and support had been offered by people all around the country for people fleeing the war.

Millions of euro have been raised to support humanitarian efforts in Ukraine and it’s the neighbouring countries that have seen millions of refugees arrive so far. In the face of such inhumanity and brutality, the generosity, humanity, and simple
decency is inspiring.

As is so often the case, given half a chance, the very best of our humanity emerges when we are confronted by gross inhumanity.

We will need more of that in the weeks and months to come. Ireland will see up to 100,000 people from Ukraine arrive here seeking safety, and there are of course still people arriving from Afghanistan and Syria who also need protection.

If we come together at the community level, we can help make sure we build the capacity to provide a welcome and support those fleeing persecution and conflict.

While this is a cookery column, I hope you will forgive me for taking this opportunity to ask you to get involved if you can at all. You can find out more about how Irish communities can be powerful in responding to this crisis at t heopencommunity.ie.

Solidarity comes in many forms. Aid and practical support are vital, but so are acts of support and defiance. I was struck by one small act of solidarity that involved food this past week, and which has inspired this week’s recipe. By now most of us have learnt that Kyiv is the capital of Ukraine, not Kiev.

The latter is derived from the Russian spelling of the capital’s name, whereas Kyiv is derived from the capital’s Ukrainian language name. One of the ways people tried to highlight this over the past week was by sharing their version of Chicken Kyiv, with the hashtag #ChickenKyivnotChickenKiev. It is a small thing, but any act of respect for the Ukrainian people, their language, and their culture at a time when it is under such a violent onslaught is important.

So this week I am bringing you my recipe for Chicken Kyiv. I had not made or eaten this for years, but it seems like the right time to resurrect this 1980s classic. I developed this as part of my short series of recipes for air fryers. It is delicious. Have it with a jacket potato and a fresh salad, or if you want to be a bit fancy, make Hasselback potatoes instead. Panko breadcrumbs are essential for this recipe, you will find them easily enough in most supermarkets.

Chicken Kyiv not Kiev

recipe by:Colm O'Gorman

I had not made or eaten this for years, but it seems like the right time to resurrect this 1980s classic

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 20 mins

Cooking Time

 30 mins

Total Time

 50 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

• 125g butter

• 3 cloves garlic

• 4 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

• 1 large egg

• 125g plain flour

• 125g panko breadcrumbs

• 1 tsp smoked paprika

• Salt and fresh ground black pepper

• Olive oil cooking spray

Method

1. Soften the butter at room temperature. Grate the garlic, wash and chop the parsley. Pop the butter, garlic and parsley into a bowl and use a fork to combine it thoroughly. Roll the butter into a sausage shape about eight centimetres long, wrap it in cling film and put in the freezer for about fifteen to twenty minutes to firm it up.

2. Butterfly the chicken breasts. To do this, put one hand on top of the breast and carefully slice through the middle of the breast from one side, without cutting it through completely to the other side. Open the breast up, placing it flat on your chopping board and use a meat mallet or rolling pin to gently pound it until it is about one and a half centimetre thick.

3. When all four chicken breasts are flattened, remove the butter from the freezer. Remove the cling film and cut the butter in half lengthways, and then cut each half lengthways again to make four equally sized pieces of butter. Place a piece of butter in the middle of each piece of chicken. Fold from the sides first and then roll the chicken from end to end, as if making a burrito, to make a tidy parcel. Wrap each portion in cling film, twisting the ends to tighten the parcel and pop them into the freezer for thirty minutes. 

4. Put the flour in a bowl, add some salt and pepper to season. Beat the egg in another bowl. Combine the breadcrumbs and paprika in a third bowl.  When the chicken parcels are well chilled, remove them from the cling film. Set up a little assembly line with the three bowls and dredge each parcel first in the flour, then in the egg and then finally in the breadcrumbs, making sure the chicken is well coated in breadcrumbs. Pop the coated chicken in the fridge for five to ten minutes and heat your air fryer to 200°C.

5. Spray the chicken with a little olive oil and put it in the fryer. Cook for ten minutes, and then spray it again with some olive oil and cook it for another eight minutes. Remove the chicken form the air fryer and let it rest for five minutes before serving.