Chicken Kiev/Kyiv

Let's go retro. And, in the process, a former student of the Russian language (53 years back) at last discovers why the name of the city changed. I'm not retro for the sake of it: it's just that classic dishes achieve that status for a reason. That reason is that they're delicious. Today's hero is certainly that. But then two things happen. People become bored as a result of over exposure.  Then the second raters move in, cutting corners, using inferior ingredients, turning out cut priced and nasty versions. Ah, nostalgia.

When cooking I often have a food programme on TV for background. In the last week or two I've seen this dish prepared by both Tom Kerridge and James Martin, which brought it back to mind.

But firstly, where did it come from and why the name change? Flattening meat and stuffing it is undoubtedly a French invention. In the Imperial Russian court, French cuisine was the major influence. Russian chefs trained in France brought back the technique, and it seems that the dish made its first appearance in St Petersburg in the early 1900s. As it happens, we're not going to use the flattened and rolled version today, but that's for later.

The change of name? Well there really wasn't one. When Ukraine was part of the USSR, the city was called Киев (Kiev) in Russian; however, in Ukrainian it was and is Київ (Kyiv). Does the present tragic horror show make us change the name of the dish? That one is entirely up to you.

As ever, a few preliminaries. Breadcrumbs? Make your own using stale stuff. An old chef advised me to dry it in the oven before blitzing it. The ludicrously expensive Panko version is simply oven dried to make it crispier. The French verb to coat something in breadcrumbs is paner. To learn how to paner like a good 'un, read Breaded Battered and Bewildered Part 2  from a few years ago. Top tip: use only one hand.

To deep fry or oven bake? I'm going with Tom Kerridge for the latter. The recipe is more or less his - I trust he won't mind, as I've written nice things about him in the past. I don't have a deep fryer and you need a heck of a lot of oil. Our James, who does do the deep frying, recommends doing a double layer of breadcrumbs, the better to resist the rough and tumble of the chip shop treatment.

Ingredients (serves 2)

For the butter

100g butter; large handful of chopped parsley (I prefer curly but Tom recommends flat leaf); 2 cloves of garlic, grated; ½ tsp cayenne pepper (optional); salt.

For the chicken

2 good sized skinless chicken breasts; quantity of plain flour (start with 100g and have more to hand); 2 large eggs, beaten; quantity of breadcrumbs (start with 100g and have more to hand); s & p; oil for frying (use a neutral vegetable oil).

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Soften (don't melt) the butter, and mix together with the garlic, parsley and cayenne (if using).  Remove the faux-filets (the long thin strips) from the chicken breasts and set aside, With a thin sharp knife make a hole in the chicken breast at the fattest end and gently work the knife down and round. You want to create a pocket, but be careful not to cut right through as the butter will leak out.

Into the pocket insert as much of the butter as you can. Chefs will use a piping bag, which doesn't come naturally to me. A small spoon and fingers can do it. When you are finished, cut a small section of the faux-filet and use it to plug the hole. (Keep the rest to fry in butter for a great sandwich for the chef.)

Breadcrumb the breasts. See the article for how to do it if you've forgotten. Cover and refrigerate the chicken for an hour or so.

Preheat your oven to 200°C/Mark 6. In a frying pan, in a little oil over a medium heat, cook the chicken breasts for 3 - 4 minutes on each side. You're looking to achieve a lovely golden colour all over. Then either transfer your pan to the oven, or pop onto a preheated baking tray and bake for about 12 - 15 minutes until cooked through.

Wear a large napkin to protect you from the fountain of butter when you cut into them. Lovely! Or, as the other Tom would say, proper lush!