Chicken Kiev, Chilli Mushrooms On Garlic Toasts, Mini Cheese Souffles

Tapas Friday has come and gone, leaving only a lingering taste and a stubborn aroma of fried goodness. It was fun, tasty fun. And with the start of a new week and the menu planning already underway for this coming Tapas Friday (yeah i know this post is a bit later than usual!), let us cast a quick look back to the final Tapas Friday of winter 2010. Sit back. Get hungry and enjoy.

I haven't had Chicken Kiev since college. A long long time ago sadly. Thinking the ability to open a box, remove the contents and stick something into an oven until nicely burned was a culinary feat; I felt it was time to revisit my old college staple 'treat' and to give her the salty squid treatment. That just sounds wrong. But my theory is that nobody really reads the text so I can leave it in.

I used two chicken breasts, cut into small chunks, and filled with a garlic and tarragon butter. I then pane(d) the chicken, dipping first into beaten egg, flour then seasoned breadcrumbs, then shallow frying until cooked. Simple. Pushing the boat out presentation wise, I sliced a spud into thick discs, seasoned and roasted for about 15min in a hot oven. Voila, Chicken Kiev on a potato plate!

Being a total chili freak, and in equal measure a total mushroom freak (mushili freak or chilroom freak?), I am surprised that I didn't throw this classic out there sooner. This could not be any easier, tastier, spicier, easier or tastier and spicier dish that is so easy and tasty and spicy. Slice the mushrooms - I used Paris Browns and two small Thai green chilies as they are so hot, (Johnny Cash will be playing through your head for days after this). Get your pan nice and hot, throw in a knob of butter, add the mushrooms (be careful not to overcrowd the pan), give them a toss, season a little, add the chilies, give the pan another toss then leave it for a min on the heat. Add a dash of white wine and as much thyme as you can handle and cook until the wine is reduced. You could be really bold and throw in another knob of butter at the end to get a nice glaze on your ‘shrooms too.

Taste, season, then serve on thinly sliced baguette, toasted, then rubbed with garlic then drizzled with olive oil. Eat them all yourself before bringing them to the table.

What goes up must come down. Sadly, coming down happens a lot quicker than it takes to rise in the case of these little pots of air. Cook a finely chopped shallot in 55g of butter with a clove or two and some smoked paprika until the shallot is soft but not coloured. Add about 3 tablespoons of flour and cook for 2-3mins, before slowly adding about 225ml of milk, whisking as you add it. Return to the heat, stirring constantly, until it gets to the thickness of cream. Strain through a sieve and add your cheese and stir well until smooth. I used an Irish Comte-ish type cheese and an Irish smoked cow cheese. Add 4 egg yolks and mix well. Fold in 4 well beaten egg whites and spoon the mixture into your buttered dishes which have salt rubbed along the sides. Stick them into a hot oven (180c) for 30-40 mins.

When cooking a souffle, the hotter the oven, the higher they will rise, but they will fall quicker as they cool, likewise, a cooler oven gives a more modest rise but doesn't deflate as dramatically. We found the best way around this is to cook them in a hot oven and then actually get into the oven to eat them. If your oven is big enough to fit you and another.

The recipe here will make a lot more than the 3 portions in the photo below. Simply keep the others in the fridge, bring to room temp the next day and then back into the oven. Great for a hangover.

Shopping List:
Veg and herbs (local veg shop) €5.20
Free-range Irish Chicken breast x 2 (local friendly butcher) €3.00
Baguette (deli) €1.95

.........................................................

Total €10.15

Drinks:
Lunate, Fiana, Sicilia, 13.5% (white)
This is such a nice full bodied white, really nice with spicy foods.
Eternum Viti, Toro, Spain 14.5% (red)
Possibly my favourite red at the moment. Rich, full on, spicy wine. Really nice.

On the strereo
Ipod shuffled. Hits on the night ranged from a sedate Joan as Policewoman to Faith No More and Boo-Ya Tribe giving me hell.