This past month has been insane – I can’t believe it’s already March. It started with two days out of my usual surgical routine, namely in the life of an Anesthetist, because why not. A perfect base specialty for going into emergency medicine – a potential career goal after (hopefully) successfully becoming a surgeon. It continued with a few crazy days of Fasnacht (= my local carnival), the highlight! Have you been? If not, add it to your bucket list. Apparently it’s even listed in 1000 Places to See Before You Die, the city goes insane, who thought Swiss people could actually have fun? Fasnacht lasts for just 3 days, but what glorious days these are. One calls them the “drey scheenschte Dääg” (= three nicest days of the year). I don’t think I would go that far, but they are fun. In a nutshell – parades of giant burning wood pieces, booze, confetti ALL OVER, parades of crazy people throwing oranges, flowers, alcohol and again, confetti, at you, flour soup (ew), booze, cheese tart, cellar bar hopping, booze, more confetti, amazing brass bands, schnitzelbängg (satirical poetry), crazy costumes. Also, very little sleep. Retrospectively it would have been wiser to take the days off work before my 10 day shift……

Now, after all this booze, my roommate and I were not in the best of states, understandably. Ideal culinary hangover cure? 1. Bacon, 2. Garlic, 3. Bacon, 4. Garlic, 5. Alcohol (always), 6. Panko breadcrumbs. Turn that into something crispy and satisfying? You end up with Chicken Kiev. There is a debate going on whether this dish is of American, Ukrainian or Russian origin…. honestly, who cares, thank you to whoever invented it, it’s delicious.

P.S. Apologies for the picture – blaming it on the hangover.

Chicken Kiev with BACON

makes 2

You’ll need

2 chicken breasts
2 rashers of streaky bacon or 50g diced bacon
two large knobs of butter (do with that what you like), softened
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1/2 bunch of parsley, preferably flat leaf, or rosemary, finely chopped
cayenne pepper
1 egg, beaten
a bit of flour
a few handfuls of breadcrumbs or panko breadcrumbs for epicness
salt & pepper to taste

1. First, make your butter: work the garlic, parsley, and pinch or two of cayenne pepper into your butter. Place into the fridge to let it harden.
2. Fry the bacon in a frying pan until crispy. Set aside to cool.
3. For the Kiev’s: slice each chicken breast horizontally, creating a large pocket. Stuff half of your butter into the pocket, along with one rasher of crispy bacon (crumbled). Seal the breasts with tooth picks.
4. Place your breadcrumbs in a deep plate. Season with salt, pepper and some cayenne pepper. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
5. Cover your chicken breasts in flour, then dip in the beaten egg. Finally turn in the breadcrumbs until completely covered and place into a deep baking dish. Drizzle all over with olive oil.
6. Bake for about 20-25 minutes until golden and slightly crispy.
7. Serve with a fresh salad. Be sure to drizzle the chicken with the garlic/butter sauce created while baking.

Rating: 7.5/10

Delicious, but I have yet to perfect the sealing perfection.. too much of the stuffing always oozes out while cooking…