Throughout history many cultures have developed a favorite dish that they enjoy or a specific restaurant where a breathtaking allure of nostalgia pours into their tastebuds. The feeling of home never seems to be forgotten and it is always missed. In America many cultures opened establishments that resembles their home country to bring the authentic food from there to their mouths. However some foods are fabricated and made to look like an authentic selection but it is a fallacy. Specifically , Russian food is widely popular and is often fabricated by the United States and sold frozen in supermarket chains around the country. But don’t let that fool you hence that will never and can’t be the way Russian food is prepared will love and home cooking passed down from generations of ancestors to what it is today . However, Russian food is not one of the healthy choices in a good meal but there are options. The aroma is one of the qualities of this food as it is filled with numerous ingredients.
My family’s origin from Ukraine which was once part of the Soviet Union before the break in 1990 due to the Cold War. We came to this country in 1992 in search for a better opportunity in life because at that time Jews were poorly treated in Ukraine. Thousands of Jews fled the country in search for a safe haven.
When we came there were many Russian speaking neighborhoods like sheepshead bay. Many Ukrainian and Russian restaurants were opening up at that time period. A recent one that opened up was Glechik. Glechik is a restaurant primarily of Ukrainian food. Some of its top choices are vareniki with mushrooms and cheese, grechnivaya kasha, julien, and vareniki with meat. Vareniki are generally pieces of dough wrapped around chicken or cheese and are eaten with sour cream and they are a very good appetizer . Grechnivaya kasha is buckwheat so it shows the connection between American and Ukrainian culture as it is seen that everything has a similarity of some sort. Julien is a sort of treat made of a generous amount of olive oil, massive amounts of cheese , and mushrooms . It’s very filling and fattening . These dishes have been in my family and in Ukranian culture for thousands of years and have been enjoyed by all. Glechik is located on 1655 Sheepshead bay road Brooklyn,NY 11235.
It’s a casual restaurant with two floors and my family goes there to reminisce an enjoy he food from home. A home cooked meal is always better than a frozen meal. There is another location but it closed down for renovation on Brighton beach.
Ukranian food has a lot of different options and there are recipes that are don’t even appear in restaurants . There are recipes that are passed down from generations. My grandma ,from my fathers side, makes the tastiest Kiev chicken cutlets . But this is not like all Ukranian restaurants do it . Instead of butter she cooks them with Finnish cheese and olive oil. And it comes out mouth watering . She uses store bought chicken breast from the Russian supermarket, breaded crumbs, olive oil, pepper, salt, lemon juice for taste, and a little honey mustard. Normally Russian restaurants make Kiev cutlets with butter, and use olive oil. My grandmother bakes them. And it tastes more authentic. Authentic to me means original and made from the heart and soul. It means that person wanted it to be unique and from scratch. Authentic means the blood sweat and tears of memories from our ancestors and how hard it came to get these ingredients to make the only thing that they could afford to feed their families . THe recipe has changed over time, as honey mustard wasn’t available at that time. For my grandma it is very important to get these ingredients from Russian supermarkets as their products are shipped overseas from Russian and Ukraine. The authenticity is very important and it’s important for the particular taste and aroma of the particular meal or cuisine .
The recipe for the Kiev Chicken Cutlet:
3 table spoons coconut oil
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh herbs
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh dill
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh arugula
Dab of sea salt and pepper
8 small skinless, boneless chicken breasts (about 2 1/4 pounds)
1 cup whole wheat flour
4 egg whites
1 tablespoon honey mustard
2 cups Sukhiye kubiki (Russian bread crumbs)
Mix the cheese, coconut oil , arugula, parsley, chives, dill,1 teaspoon seasalt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a bowl. Pour the mixture onto a piece of plastic wrap or parchment paper and roll into a 1-inch-thick log. Wrap and freeze until solid, at least 3 hours and up to 3 days.
Slice the frozen coconut oil into 6 equal pieces. Put a chicken breast between 2 pieces of plastic wrap. Pound to 1/4 inch thick with a heavy skillet or mallet. Transfer to a clean piece of plastic wrap and season with salt and pepper. Put a piece of coconut oil in the center of the chicken; tightly roll up the chicken starting at a long side, putting in the short sides as you go. Tightly wrap the chicken roll in plastic wrap. Do the same with the remaining chicken and coconut oil. Refrigerate the rolls at least 2 hours or overnight.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and set a wire rack on a rimmed baking sheet. Put the flour in a shallow dish. Mix the eggs and honey mustard in another shallow dish. Put the kubiki in a third dish. Unwrap the chicken rolls and generously season with sea salt and pepper. One at a time, dip the chicken rolls in the flour, then dip in the egg whites and roll in the kubiki to coat.
Heat 1/2 inch of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Bake the chicken rolls in 2 batches, turning, until golden, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer to the prepared rack and bake until cooked through, about 10 minutes.
All of these ingredients have been carefully selected by my family over generations to emit the perfect taste of Kiev chicken cutlets to put a smile on your families’ faces for years and years. It hasn’t been a disappointment so far. All Of these ingredients have their place in history and have an origin . Every little ingredient has a meaning and adds to the overall of any food.
The term coconut dates back to the 16th century. It derives from the Spanish and Portuguese word coco, meaning “a grin”, “a monkey face” respectively, since there is a slight to a human face or a monkey head because of the three tiny indents on the hairy shell of the fruit.
There are two types of coconut oil.
Type 1. oil is manufactured industrially and it comes from copra, which is a low grade dried flesh of the coconut. The flesh is then taken to major buyers and warehouses all over the United States and Europe. Because transportation takes so long and the shelf life of coconut is limited, the flesh is sprayed with pesticides and chemicals in order to keep it from becoming rotten. Copra oil is then Refined, Bleached and treated to make it edible. This is not the coconut oil I use nor should you.
Type 2. Cold Pressed Virgin Certified Organic coconut oil.
Virgin because it comes straight FROM fresh mature coconuts Dried and pressed, Settled and filtered IT Hasn’t been in a state of bleach deodorized.no chemical additions .it is certified organic because there are no pesticides and no chemical additives .
Parsley has been around for a long time. It originates near the Mediterranean. It was in use by the Greeks before history was recorded. According to Greek Mythology that parsley “sprang from the blood of the forerunner of death” Archemorus. It was made into wreaths and hung on ancient tombs and was also used to crown the victors at the Isthmian Games.
Dill is part of the parsley family and is also found in the meditarrean. All the plants of the dill weed are edible .
Arugula is also called Eruca sativa also called salad rocket. Coles from the mediate rain as well. From Morroco to Portugal to Syria . Arugula comes from the Italian word rucola. It usually grows up 9 inches in height.
Flour is a powder made by grinding uncooked cereal grains or other seeds or It is the main ingredient of bread, which is a general food for many cultures, making the availability of adequate supplies of flour a major economic and polotical issue at various times throughout history. Wheat flour is one of the most important ingredients in Oceanic European South American, North American middle eastern, Indian and zNorth American cultures, and is the major ingredient in their styles of breads and pastries
While wheat is the most common base for flour, maize flour has been a staple of Meso American cuisine since ancient times and remains a staple in the Americas. Rye flour is a constituent of bread in central Europe. The other ingredients that were posted are of general material however eggs are popular amongst all cultures. It can be eaten in many different ways . The healthier way is separating the yolk from the egg whites as the yolk is very high in cholesterol. However it has good fats and can be eaten in moderation.As a whole food, with all the ingredients fused into this dish, the chicken Kiev cutlet Was discovered by a Russian chef in the early 1800s. Kiev is the capital of Ukraine but Chicen Kiev did not get its name from there. It got its name when it was sent across Russian restaurants in Europe and America. This is an example of creolizartion, which in anthropological terms means that cultures come together and share values , especially food, and live as one in society. For example, everyone uses ingredients like eggs and wheat because it has been passed around and easy to obtain, and it’s very popular . They are the basic ingredients for most food to start with , such as the Kiev cutlet . Because of creolization, Many cultures use the same ingredients especially ingredients that are a general base for their cuisines . Without this event, we wouldn’t have the pleasure of having the same ingredients other cultures have. Anthropology gave us an inside scoop of how everything is connected , from food through our ancestors and how everything bring us to where we are today. Our ancestors, from the beginning, did the same thing we do but simpler. Yet we still have the primal instincts that they do and that will never change.