This weekend, the Ukrainian capital, where the “Eurovision-2017” will be the center of attention all over the world. Why in honor of this event not to eat the most famous dish of Kiev?
Chicken Kiev — chicken breast with a juicy filling of butter with garlic — in the 1970-ies was one of the iconic dishes that you could find in any lunch menu. Over time their popularity faded, and chicken Kiev, along with salad shrimp cocktail and black forest Gateaux were seen as a culinary misunderstanding and forgotten.
In recent years, the prescription has experienced a kind of rebirth and timidly returned to the menu. Now this is a traditional dish offered by the chef, Coin Laundry, Straight And Narrow and Parlor.
1. No one actually knows the history of the dishes
The history of this dish is confusing and full of contradictory conjectures, his invention is credited to French, Russian and Ukrainian cooks. Some claim that the recipe was invented in the early nineteenth century in Paris during the period when French cuisine and culture were extremely fashionable in Russia and Russian chefs went to France to study culinary arts.
2. It is also not known whence came its name
The debate about whether it was a dish invented by the French or Russian chef, is still underway. Meanwhile. by the beginning of XX century it apparently wore two names: côtelettes de volaille (literally “meatballs from poultry”) and poulet à la Maréchale (that is something that is sprinkled with breadcrumbs and deep-fried). The loss of French names is explained prevailed in the Soviet Union anti-bourgeois sentiment and the need for more simple proletarian items.
Ukrainian chef Vyacheslav Gribov argues that the reason for the renaming is that the recipe has been modified Kiev chefs, and others insist that the dish was given its name exclusively for the involvement in American restaurants immigrants from Eastern Europe.
3. Before the dish came with a manual on safety and health
The dish was so popular in Soviet hotels, tourist brochures warn visitors about the risk of spatter of hot oil.
4. All cook it differently
Most modern British recipes to offer to do chicken breast pocket and stuffing it with garlic butter. According to the book of Russian cuisine, burgers shall be made of “separated from the bones chops meat chicken Breasts and have a neatly wrapped edge”. In Kiev cutlets are always served on the bone.
5. Garlic is optional ingredient
Strong taste of garlic, which is usually associated chicken Kiev may be the main reason not to order this dish on a first date, however, the Ukrainian chef Vyacheslav Gribov (who was preparing chicken Kiev for Fidel Castro and bill Clinton) insists that, in accordance with the original recipe the garlic in the meatballs do not added. “Initially this dish was served at the meetings. Garlic is absolutely inappropriate.”
6. The dish went down in history of the British food industry
What chicken Kiev was the first UK semi-finished products that Marks and Spencer’s dumped on the shelves in 1979 at a price of 1.99 pounds. This product was conceived as a more sophisticated alternative to the “telepinu” — something like a dish that a working woman of the middle class could offer who has come to visit friends.
7. Once he was involved in the study of the British economy…
The dish was considered so important to the British consumer that the Office for national statistics, the UK has incorporated it in the basket of consumer goods used to measure inflation.
8. But it very quickly lost their popularity
Chicken Kiev was one of the iconic products of the 1970-ies, but by the end of the 1980s, with the proliferation of spectacular “Nouvelle cuisin”, out of fashion.
9. The dish was the subject of recent political debate
In February of this year, a reporter for The New York Times noted in his Twitter that the dish is identical to the chicken Kiev, served in the dining room of the Russian Ministry of foreign Affairs called “burgers on Saturday morning” that some have interpreted as a statement about Russia’s claim to the Ukrainian Peninsula. The Russian Ministry hastened to clarify that we are talking about a different dish — it’s made with chicken thighs instead of Breasts.
10. We return to it in hard times
In spite of the inherent negative connotations, in recent years, chicken Kiev regain popularity. In 2011, M & S and Tesco reported over 20% growth in sales, explaining the interest in this product is the fact that in a recession consumers are in need of comfort and warmth which gives them a familiar childhood food.
