Hello, everyone!

We are so much now focused on fancy recipes from the books that often we forget what our parents or grandparents have cooked for us. I remember from my childhood that we didn’t have any fancy ingredients, and in my town in 90’s was hard to find oranges or bananas (we had them only for Christmas) and they were so expensive. So in my family all recipes were based on the ingredients that you can ‘grow yourself’. And everything was so delicious!

Not so long time ago I also have understood that many dishes we cooked at home are not so original, and you can find fancy names for them. For example, every celebration we had on the table ‘bytky’ (Ukrainian name) from the pork or chicken meat, and it appears that they are kinda version of a well-known schnitzel. Nowadays, we have more opportunities, wider choice of the ingredients and started thinking about the complexity of how to cook something (“Oh, it’s schnitzel – so it is hard to make – not for me”).

I would like to remind everyone that behind all fancy dish names are hidden simple and delicious recipes that anyone can make.

Here it is my own recipe of so called “Ukrainian style chicken mini schnitzel”, but you can change type of meat and play around with seasoning (e.g, add chilli, garlic, thyme or whatever you like).

The ingredients:

1. Chicken – ca. 400 g
2. Eggs- 2 or ca. 100 g
3. Flour – ca. 50 g
4. Salt and pepper
5. Dry basil (optional)

Step 1. Pounding chicken with a meat tenderiser

I like schnitzel made of chicken meat cause it is delicious, easy to make and the least expensive choice of the meat. First we need to wash chicken breast, cut off veins and slice it. Don’t skip none of the mentioned steps because it makes the difference when you eat the meat. When we buy chicken, usually there are some parts that looks awfully and you may be feel disgusting and it is ok (use some gloves, take a sharp knife and just cut them off and through away). On the pictures below, I have shown which parts I always cut off and through away, but it also depends on the quality of the meat you can find in the store.

• 

• 

• 

In order to start pounding chicken with a meat tenderiser, first we need to slice it and sizes of my slice I illustrated below. When we pound the meat, we don’t want totally to destroy it. Therefore, I use a plastic film. Cover chicken slice with a plastic film, then pound it with a meat tenderiser and put ready slice aside. Repeat it until you are done with all slices.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Step 2. Let’s season the eggs

The next step is to prepare beaten eggs with seasoning of your choice. I love a combination of chicken and basil, therefore I am beating eggs with salt, pepper and a bit of basil. How to choose amount of salt?

Version 1. You just salt eggs and don’t salt the meat. Then your eggs needs to be salted a bit more than you like, because chicken with flour will bring the balance to that saltiness.

Version 2. You salt eggs so they are tasty (but not to much) and then you salt the chicken meat as well (less then usually because salt will also come from eggs).

I personally like version 2 but I always start seasoning eggs first, because if I add to much salt, then I can skip adding salt to chicken (kinda version 1). If I salted eggs perfectly (I can use left over to fry an omelette and enjoy it), then just add a bit of salt to chicken. And similarly with black pepper. This way of seasoning eggs helps you to benefit from some mistakes and have very delicious meat in the end.

• 

• 

• 

Step 3. Frying schnitzel

Put the flour on the plate similar to mine. Place all your meat next to the flour and beaten eggs. Since each slice of chicken we will cover in the flour first, then in the egg and then put it onto the hot pan, put all plates in the needed order. Warm up the pan (I like to use teflon pan because we almost don’t need an oil then) with a bit of oil (for the first round and add a bit more oil before every next round id you have pan that is not teflon) and put one by one slicing of chicken covered in the flour and eggs. Fry them on the heat 7 out of 9 for a bout a minute on each side. That’s all.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

How to serve them: eat them warm or cold, alone or with a pice of bread. In Ukraine we serve them warm with a bit of potato puree and fresh salad.

Enjoy your food!