A recipe for skinless chicken breasts 7523

Make Chicken Pojarski (can also be transliterated as Pojarsky, Pozharsky, etc.) (Pojarski, who invented this dish, was an innkeeper in Torzhok, Russia in 1820's.)

500 g (about 1.5 lb) chicken flesh (chicken breasts are often used, but the original recipe called for the whole boneless and skinless chicken; If I use chicken breasts, I sometimes add some skin for better flavour. Chicken thighs, especially boneless for easier handling, are very good) 2 eggs, separated and the whites beaten a bit salt and pepper to taste 200 g (about 0.5 lb) stale white bread, torn and soaked in water (or in milk or cream) and squeezed out 1 cup breadcrumbs about 2 tablespoons clarified butter (or even ghee) for frying

Put chicken flesh and white bread through the grinder. In a dish, mix everything well together with egg yolks and whites. Add salt and pepper to taste and mix well again. If the mixture is too dense, add some ice-cold water and mix well again. Form into oblong-shaped cakes, using about 1 heaped tablespoon or a bit more of mixture for each. Roll them in breadcrumbs, flatten them to about 1-2 inch thickness and fry in butter (or ghee) over medium heat for 4-5 minutes on each side till golden-brown. Don't overcook them. Serve with mashed potatoes, or french fried potatoes, or peas, or boiled buckwheat, or green vegetables, or cauliflower, or any combination of the above.

Variations: Add sour cream (50-75 g) (1.7-2.6 oz) mixed with finely minced garlic (3-4 cloves) to the mixture before frying (that's what I usually do). Or add some dill to the mixture. Or make Chicken 'Uzbekiston' (sic): pound a chicken fillet very flat; take some more chicken breast meat and put it through the grinder together with some onions; add to the mixture some minced cashew nuts, salt, pepper, butter, and egg and mix well. Put the mixture in the centre of the flattened fillet and roll the flesh round it, so that the mixture is sealed inside the fillet. Secure it with some toothpicks if necessary. Roll in breadcrumbs and fry in hot butter or ghee.

Victor