Watercress Chicken Kiev Recipe - Great British Chefs

Chicken Kiev is a deliciously retro dish which sees flattened chicken breasts breadcrumbed and fried, with an oozing core of garlic butter in the centre. In this recipe, watercress is added to the butter to give it colour, texture and flavour – a stunning little twist on a beloved classic.

Chicken kievs
4 large skinless chicken breasts
3 large eggs
250g of plain flour
2 tbsp of milk
200g of Panko breadcrumbs
fine salt
black pepper
olive oil
Watercress butter
85g of watercress
100g of unsalted butter, softened
1/4 tsp fine salt
2 garlic cloves
Chips
4 large potatoes
flaky sea salt
black pepper
olive oil
Watercress salad
85g of watercress
1 tbsp of lemon juice
3 tbsp of light olive oil
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 small garlic clove, crushed
salt, to taste
black pepper, to taste

print recipe

shopping List

Start by making the watercress butter. Place the butter, watercress, salt and garlic into a food processor and blend until well combined. Spoon the butter onto a sheet of cling film and roll into a sausage shape. Tighten until secure, tie at both ends and place in the freezer to firm up

Butterfly the chicken breasts by placing them flat-side down on a chopping board covered with cling film, then slice horizontally into one side. Don’t cut all the way through – you want to keep the chicken in one piece, but cut through most of the way so you can open the chicken breast in half like a book

Place another sheet of cling film on top of the open butterflied chicken breasts and gently flatten them out with a meat mallet or a rolling pin – you want the meat to be about half a centimetre thick in a nice round shape. Remove the top sheet of cling film when the breast is flattened, but keep the breast on the sheet of cling film underneath – it makes it easier to roll up the Kievs later on

Beat the eggs in a bowl and let down with a splash of milk – you want the egg wash to be quite loose rather than gelatinous

Take the butter out of the freezer and cut into four equal cylinders. Place one piece of butter inside each flattened chicken breast, pressing it into place. Depending on the size of your chicken breasts, you may need to cut the butter into smaller cubes to make this step easier. Brush the edges of the chicken with beaten egg – this will help the proteins seal, keeping the butter inside

Roll up the chicken using the cling film – fold over the edges of the chicken to make a neat parcel, and roll it tightly using the cling film. Twist and tie the edges to create a cylinder shape, ensuring no butter is exposed, and keep in the fridge for at least an hour to set – this will help seal the Kiev and keep its shape when you come to cook it

When the Kievs have firmed up, pour some flour into a bowl and season generously with salt and pepper (this is important as the meat itself isn’t seasoned). Set up your bowl of beaten egg from earlier, and finally a bowl of Panko breadcrumbs. One by one, working left to right, coat each Kiev in flour (dusting off any excess), then the egg mix and finally in the breadcrumbs, before reserving on a plate. Once you’ve done this for all the Kievs, add a second coating of breadcrumbs by coating again in egg and breadcrumbs

Preheat an oven to 200ºC/gas mark 6

Cut the potatoes into chips, toss with some oil and season generously with salt and pepper. Place on a baking tray and roast in the oven for 30 minutes, tossing occasionally

Meanwhile, put an ovenproof frying pan over a high heat and pour in a generous splash of oil. Fry the Kievs in the pan until they’re golden all over

Transfer the pan to the oven and bake the Kievs for 15-20 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through

Wash and dry the watercress, then make a simple French dressing by whisking the oil, lemon juice, dijon mustard and garlic together. Add salt and pepper to taste, then toss the watercress in the dressing

Serve the Kievs straight out of the oven alongside the chips and the watercress salad

Discover more: