Chicken Kiev With a Kick

Cecily Parsley's Note:

From a library book entitled "Cynthia Wine's Hot and Spicy Cooking - Food so Good, it Hurts!" It differs from tradional Kiev in that the centre is a buttery Vesuvius of cayenne and cumin, and the outside crunches with coconut. Serving suggestion: steamed rice, green salad and crisp chilled white wine. I have served this with a side of streamed string beans and red pimiento. Tip: Refrigerating the prepared rolls prior to cooking them will help the coating to adhere - a quick way is to place them in the freezer for ten minutes, while you get the skillet ready, set the table and preheat the oven.

• Total Time: 35 mins
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 20 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

• 4 chicken breast halves, boneless and skinless
• 1/2 cup butter, chilled
• 2 garlic cloves, finely minced
• 1 tablespoon cayenne
• 1 tablespoon fresh parsley
• 2 finely chopped scallions
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 1/2 cups desiccated coconut, unsweetened
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, for frying

Directions:

1. Cut the butter into 4 - 2" x 1/2" pieces.
2. In a small bowl, mix the garlic, cayenne, parsley, scallions, cumin and salt. Roll the pieces of butter in the spices until well coated.
3. Flatten each chicken breast - between two sheets of waxed paper - to a thickness of 1/4" and cut each half in two. Place a wedge of seasoned butter in the centre. Roll each breast around the butter and tuck in the ends. Dust the rolled breast with flour, dip in the beaten egg, then in the coconut. Secure with cotton string or toothpicks.
4. Heat butter over a medium heat, in a skillet until it foams. Fry the chicken rolls until golden, turning carefully. Transfer to a casserole and bake at 275° for 10-15 minutes.

Reviews

[Love to Eat!!]

Was good. I don't think I rolled properly as most of my butter leaked out. Also, there is a difference between desiccated and shredded coconut which I did not know until googling it AFTER making this. I used sweetened shredded coconut as that's what I had on hand. These brown VERY quickly. Mine also took 30 minutes in the oven.

[2Bleu]

With a kick is right! We love trying new and unique kiev' recipes and this one did not dissapoint! The flavor is truly superb! We felt using sweetened coconut really helped tone down the heat from the cayenne and also added depth to the recipe. I changed it a littly by using turkey breast and sweetened coconut. I also prepared it a little different. I blended the seasonings all together into softened butter (traditional kiev). I floured the breast pieces first, then placed the seasoned butter onto the meat, followed with a light dusting of more flour. I then rolled them up and used toothpicks to hold them together. The recommendation of freezing them while the pan heats up works great. I used an oven proof skillet saving me from washing an additional pan. They took 30 minutes in the oven. Great recipe, but a *Warning* This is fiery! Next time I will reduce the cayenne by half to suit my tastes. Thanks so very much for sharing a wonderful and unique recipe! A definite keeper. Made for TYM game. :)