The Sunday Times Magazine - UK (2022-01-23)

SERVES

2 people

INGREDIENTS

6 organic chicken thigh fillets,

skin removed

200ml sunflower or groundnut

oil, for frying

Crispy fried

chicken with

kiev cornichon

butter

This is a hybrid of fried chicken

and chicken kiev. Rather than

faff around stuffing chicken with

garlic butter, you brine and fry it

and serve it with a garlic, parsley

and cornichon butter. The carrot

salad cuts through the richness.

2

For the crispy coating

130g panko or fine breadcrumbs

2 tbsp flour

½ tsp sea salt

½ tsp caraway seeds

½ tsp smoked paprika

01 Combine all the marinade

ingredients in a bowl large

enough to hold the chicken.

Flatten out the thigh fillets, then

add to the marinade, making sure

they’re well coated. Cover and

refrigerate for at least 3 hours,

preferably overnight.

02 To make the salad, combine the

carrot ribbons with the parsley,

caraway seeds, vinegar, honey and

a pinch of salt. Season with white

pepper and stir through the oil.

03 To make the kiev butter, put

the butter in an ovenproof bowl

with the garlic, lemon zest and

herbs and smoosh everything

together well. Season with a good

grinding of nutmeg. Set aside.

04 Remove the chicken from the

fridge half an hour before you

want to cook it. Put the panko and

all the other coating ingredients

into a bowl and mix. Working one

at a time, pull each chicken thigh

out of the marinade and gently

shake off the excess brine, then

dredge in the panko mix, pressing

down until coated.

05 Heat the oven to 170C (190C

non-fan). Heat the oil over a

medium-high heat in a high-sided

pan big enough to hold two thighs

at a time — the oil should be about

1.5cm deep. Bring up to 170C (if

you don’t have a thermometer,

drop in a breadcrumb — it should

sizzle and start to turn golden).

06 Fry the chicken for 5-6 min,

turning gently with tongs every

few minutes until evenly golden.

Drain the thighs on kitchen paper

and transfer to a baking sheet and

roast for 6 min in the oven while

you repeat the process with the

other pieces. When you put the

final thighs in the oven, place the

kiev butter in there too to melt it.

Once melted, stir in the

cornichons and lemon juice.

07 Serve the chicken with the

carrot salad and the kiev butter

spooned over or served in a little

warmed bowl beside for dipping.

Buttered mash makes a great

accompaniment.

For the marinade

284ml tub of buttermilk

A splash of brine from the

cornichons (below)

1 tsp sea salt

1 clove of garlic, grated

½ tsp smoked paprika

A pinch of ground white pepper

For the carrot salad

4 carrots, peeled into ribbons

2 tsp parsley, finely chopped

A pinch of caraway seeds

1 tbsp cider vinegar

2 tsp runny honey

1 tbsp rapeseed oil

For the kiev butter

80g salted butter, at room temperature

1 clove] of garlic, grated

Zest and juice of ½ a lemon

2 tbsp finely chopped parsley

and tarragon

Nutmeg, for grating

6 small cornichons, finely chopped