Chicken Kyiv-котлета по-київськи
I like to dedicate my today’s fare in my kitchen for to my mentor, teacher and a well known Canadian Chef Igor Sokur who came to Canada from Ukraine.
“He was a man capable of creating a feast fit for a queen. And he did. It was back in 1959 for the official coronation visit of Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh in Canada.”
Igor was a senior program coordinator of the Hospitality Management Programs at Humber College in Toronto which I was fortunate to attend. It is important to mention that he was one of the first pioneers to establish the culinary and hotel courses in Canada.
Original Toronto Star caption 12/8/1979 digital archive: Chef Igor Sokur: He's working all weekend on a sumptuous dinner for 30 people who bid on a gourmet feast in the Toronto Symphony's Dream Auction
I came across this article in the Student Newsletter called “Coven” published by Journalism Program within Humber College. This article is written about Igor Sokur by Caroline Soltys on Oct 26,1981.
“He 's a man capable of creating a feast fit for a queen. And he did. It was back in 1959 for the official coronation visit of Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh that our very own Igor Sokur, senior program coordinator of the Hospitality Management Programs, was appointed by Premier Frost to organize and serve at the Royal Garden Party for the Royal Court. Humber College President Gordon Wragg first met Sokur, a member in good standing of the Canadian Hospitality Institute, at the Provincial Institute of Trade, now known as George Brown College, where they both were employed. When Wragg became Humber's president in 1968 he remembered Sokur and asked him to join the growing staff here, to lead the organization of the Hotel and Restaurant Management Department. Over 10 years later the division has over 600 full-time and part-time credit students enrolled. Non-credit courses are also offered at the North campus and see a new enrolment every six weeks. "They're very popular and bring a lot of people to the college," says Sokur. Sokur trained as a chef in the Ukraine. He came to Canada 38 years ago and has been an asset since day one. A member of the Canadian Olympic team of chefs, Sokur and the team have placed in the top three, each year they have participated. Sokur is well known and liked around the College—he has been Santa Claus at the annual Christmas party given for the staff's children. Humber's Hospitality Management Programs are well known on the outside. Placement of students is virtually 100 per cent, says Sokur. The Hotel and Restaurant Management course prepares a student to work in any aspect of the hotel or similar surroundings. Whereas the Chefs training course is of a more practical nature, dealing specifically with food. "They are more involved in food preparation and food production," Sokur says. These are the types of jobs where you "have to like people," he says. Sukor is a pioneer. He's one of the first to start the chef and hotel courses in Canada. As John Delemere, second year Hotel and Restaurant Management student puts it, "There's no one else who can do the job quite like Igor." from Caroline Soltys desk
To celebrate Ukrainian heritage I have prepared for my family:
BEST KNOWN UKRAINIAN CLASSIC:
Chicken Kyiv
Honey Glazed Brussels Sprouts with Chestnuts and Bacon Bits
Roasted Paprika Potatoes with Caraway Seeds
Yield:12 x 90 g chicken portions before breading
Ingredients:
240 g good quality non-homogenized butter if possible, well chilled
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh dill and parsley
2 small fresh garlic cloves, minced
1.1 kg boneless chicken breast ( 6 large pieces of chicken breast without the wing bone)
sea salt and white pepper to season chicken
1 cup flour for 1st coating
2 eggs, beaten for coating
sunflower oil or olive oil
2 cups coarse breadcrumbs, called Panko type or Japanese style
12 servings Honey Glazed Brussels Sprouts with Chestnuts and Bacon Bits
12 servings Roasted Paprika Potatoes with Caraway Seeds
Instructions:
Grate the butter on the large-hole side of grater, add minced garlic, chopped dill and parsley, and season with sea salt and white pepper.
Mix quickly all ingredients. Form 12 butter logs 4 cm in length and 1cm width. Place them on the parchment paper and refrigerate them for 1-2 hours.
Cut each chicken breasts horizontally with the carving knife to make two thinner slices.
Place each breast between two pieces of parchment paper and flatten it gently with a meat mallet to even thickness. This thinner version of chicken breast is often called chicken cutlet.
Season each chicken breast with salt and white pepper.
Place a butter log lengthwise in the middle of the chicken cutlet, tuck in both ends of the chicken over the butter and then roll them up very tight.
Secure each piece with toothpick if you wish. I personally don’t use toothpicks. I try to make the chicken bundles small and tight which makes it easy to handle and prevents butter from running out, which might happen sometimes.
Refrigerate the chicken for 30 minutes.
Prepare chicken breading ingredients by placing each in separate containers.
Beat eggs in the bowl.
Remove chicken from the fridge. Dip each piece gently in following order: 1st flour, 2nd egg mixture and 3rd breadcrumbs. Make sure the chicken bundles are completely coated.
Preheat oven to 350°F or 175°C as it will used to finish cooking.
Heat up sunflower oil in a heavy duty skillet to 350°F or 175°C. Brown chicken in hot oil on both sides until brown. Don’t overcrowd the pan as you want to make sure the meat cooks evenly. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and finish cooking in the oven until internal temperature reaches 165°F or 74°C. If some butter comes out, serve rye bread slices browned in butter which is traditional side dish for a chicken Kyiv in Ukraine.
Serve with with Honey Glazed Brussels Sprouts with Chestnuts and Bacon Bits and Roasted Paprika Potatoes with Caraway Seeds. Garnish this lovely entree with fresh dill or parsley.
смачного!
