Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street Television

- This week on Milk Street, we're inspired by Olia Hercules, who grew up in Southern Ukraine that's famous for its rich soil and also its summer kitchens-- they're actually built in outbuildings.

Ukrainian food offers, really, the best of both worlds: familiar ingredients, but then new combinations of flavors.

We showcase two of our favorite recipes today, a fabulous chicken roasted with crme frache and then a simple semolina cake with caramelized apples.

Stay tuned as we explore the cooking of Ukraine.

- Funding for this series was provided by the following: - That meal.

You sauted, you seared, and you served, cooking with All-Clad, bonded cookware designed, engineered, and assembled in the U.S.A. for over 50 years.

All-Clad-- for all your kitchen adventures.

- I grew up in a small town in the south of Ukraine called Kakhovka.

In the summer, during my childhood, apart from a regular kitchen indoors, we had something else, a separate little house.

Nothing glamorous, just one-room brick structure, which we called litnya kukhnia: summer kitchen.

Apart from everyday and festive cooking, summer kitchens were where all the fermenting, pickling, and preserving happened come September: pick your fruit and vegetables by the bucketful, carry them into the summer kitchen, and start the mammoth pickling operation, leaving the doors and windows wide open.

Tomatoes, cucumbers, cabbage, peppers: whatever we grew we packed into jars filled with brine.

We cooked and ate there all summer, and it was situated in our courtyard close to the place where we grew our fruit and vegetables.

I loved sitting on the chair and watching my mom or aunties rolling out dough by hand.

This is where we congregated for food, nourishment, and stories, of course.

I live in London now, with hardly any space for a shed, let alone a summer kitchen.

But a memory of having this separate cooking workshop makes me feel like, back then, we had more than we thought.

It was a natural and seemingly unremarkable part of our lives, really.

It was only when I casually mentioned summer kitchens to my friends here that I realized they were actually a bit of a phenomenon, quite idiosyncratic and magical, and special.

I was suddenly burning to find out more about this tradition.

Little did I know, the summer kitchen story would turn out to be even more interesting than I could have ever imagined.

I'm Olia Hercules.

I'm a Ukrainian-born British chef, and today I'm going to show you how to make pot roast chicken with herb and crme frache.

So in Ukraine, we're obsessed with sour cream, what we call smetana.

We put smetana on pretty much anything in Ukraine, into your dumplings, we put it onto fish and roast, and also in the chicken, and normally, it's really quite simple.

Crme frache, a little bit of salt, a little bit of garlic.

What I do is just take it a little bit further.

Any soft herbs that you love, but especially if you've got some soft stalks in the fridge, like your soft dill stalks, or coriander stalks, or a little bit of chive that's kind of, like, looking a little bit sad, you can use them up in this amazing marinade.

So for the simple version, just blitz the crme frache with the soft herbs and the salt and the garlic together, rub it all over the chicken, cook it in the oven for an hour and ten minutes.

Then when the chicken is a little bit cooler, pull the meat off, mix it with the juices, and you're done.

But today, I'm going to make a slightly modified and fun Milk Street version.

So you'll need one chicken, some soft herbs-- I've got coriander, dill, and chives here-- crme frache, some salt, as much garlic as you love, a little bit of pepper, and that's it-- simple, really.

So I'm just going to chop through the herbs roughly just to make it easier to process them.

And the same with the garlic.

Okay, and the same with the garlic.

Just chop it roughly.

I'm using quite a lot, but it will mellow when the chicken roasts, so don't worry about it too much.

Quite a generous amount of sea salt.

It's almost like a Ukrainian version of buttermilk chicken, so it needs to be really nicely seasoned.

It will make the chicken much softer and more succulent as it marinates.

If you don't have a food processor, don't worry about it.

Just chop the garlic and the herbs really finely and mix them through the crme frache, and you're done.

(processor whirring) (processor stops) You can put this mixture in the fridge so it firms up a little bit and it's easier to kind of keep it on the chicken.

It smells delicious already.

Garlic, herbs, crme frache-- I mean, I love this.

So I'm just going to reserve half of the mixture and keep it in the fridge for later.

And the other half I'm going to pour over the chicken and massage it in.

So massage it outside and inside the cavity, as well.

And all of that crme frache, similarly to buttermilk, is going to tenderize the chicken, and of course, there's a little bit of salt in, as well, so it's almost like a brine.

It will make it so delicious and so succulent.

So this chicken can marinate for up to 48 hours.

Beyond that, there's no point, 24 hours is amazing.

We did two hours today, and it's gonna be delicious.

Just make sure that you take it out of the fridge for about an hour so it has time to come to room temperature before you put it in the oven.

So the oven's been preheated to 425 Fahrenheit.

I'm going to put the chicken in the pan.

Metal works best, as it conducts heat in a really good way.

And I'm going to do a fun foil dome, la Milk Street method, which I love.

Okay, just put the rest of the marinade on.

And remember, we've got a little bit more marinade that's going to go in later on.

Then you get super cooked juices and also the fresher herb and garlic flavor.

And of course, crme frache loves loads of black pepper.

So... We're just gonna put quite a generous grinding over the top.

Okay, the reason why we're going to build a little bit of a foil tent on top of this chicken is because, for the first 40 minutes of cooking, it's going to kind of, like, steam-roast, which will ensure that it's super-, super-succulent.

So quite large pieces of foil.

So that we make sure that it doesn't touch the chicken.

And that it's pretty well sealed without any gaps.

So the air kind of, like, just circulates around that chicken for the first 40 minutes of cooking.

So in it goes, domed up, for about 40 minutes at 425 Fahrenheit.

It's been in the oven for about 40 minutes.

I'm just going to add a tiny bit of water to the bottom of the pan, and then we're gonna put it back in the oven for another 20 to 30 minutes until it's beautifully golden.

It smells so good.

It's got some juices inside, and I want to tip them into the pan.

Just like that.

And you can see that the juices are running clear, as well, which means that the chicken is definitely done.

And we're going to finish the sauce with these lovely caramelized bits at the bottom of the pan.

I'm just going to scrape and deglaze.

And then put the pan juices into a little pan and then reduce them down a little bit with the crme frache that I reserved before.

Okay, so the pan juices have reduced a little bit and concentrated.

I'm just going to whisk in the crme frache and herbs and garlic that I reserved earlier.

Let me just taste this.

Mm.

It's full of flavor, and it's going to season this chicken beautifully.

Arguably, you've poured hot sauce over the crispy skin, so it might go a little bit limp, but who cares?

This sauce is so good.

Okay, I'm going to try some.

And I'm going to try my least favorite part normally, which is the breast.

But I just know that I'm even going to love the breast here.

Mm.

This is just incredible.

Now I'm going to show you how to make a baked Ukrainian cheesecake with caramelized apples.

So in Ukraine, Poland, and other Eastern European countries, you'd make a similar cheesecake using this really gorgeous cheese that we call syr or tvorog.

But I've adapted it to use ricotta because it's more readily available in the U.K. and the U.S.

The ingredients are ricotta, sugar, semolina, a little bit of salt, a little bit of vanilla, three egg yolks and three egg whites, separated, butter, two apples, a little bit more butter, and some brown sugar.

So we use semolina instead of flour, because it gives it a little bit more texture.

So the first job to do is to slice the apples, and then brown them in some butter and sugar.

What's not to love about that?

Not too thinly, because you don't want them to disintegrate, and a firmer apple is better than a really mushy one, for the same reason.

All right, we're good to go.

Let's get our butter in.

And when it's nice and hot, we can put our apples in and start cooking them.

You want these apples to be really nicely caramelized in the pan.

It just doesn't happen in the same way once they are covered with the cake batter.

So make sure that you get them really beautifully golden during this stage.

(sizzling) Just make sure you nestle the apples in cut side down, so they get an opportunity to get nicely brown.

So I'm just turning the apples now.

Watch out for hot spots.

Not only ovens have hot spots.

Your pans and hobs also distribute the heat in a different way sometimes.

So some of them are a little bit more caramelized than others, but that's also not a massive problem.

Just make sure to control the heat a little bit and reduce it if needed.

You can also shift the paler apples to another side of the pan, the one where you feel like it's a bit hotter.

I'm going to add the sugar now.

Any brown sugar will work, to be honest.

I've used demerara, but I want a little bit more flavor today, so I'm just adding a bit of dark muscovado.

It smells so good.

So then just a very gentle stir so as not to break up the apples.

It's nice to see them in their slices on top of the cake.

You can use any tin.

You can use an eight-inch square tin or you can use a round tin, like I'm doing today.

Just make sure to line it with some non-stick baking parchment, just to make sure that the cake doesn't get stuck to the bottom or the sides.

So the apples.

So I'm going to layer the apples at the bottom of the tin.

Now, for the cake bit, we're going to add the three egg whites into our mixer.

And I'm gonna get them going.

(mixer whirring) (mixer stops) Once the egg whites have foamed up a little bit, I'm just going to then add a good pinch of salt.

And then gradually start adding the 50 grams of sugar.

(mixer whirring) (mixer stops) Et voil.

This is your soft peak.

So not too stiff.

Transfer the egg whites into a separate bowl.

Look at that, like a cloud.

And then we're going to mix the rest of the ingredients, the butter and the sugar first, in the same bowl.

I'm not even going to bother to wash it.

I'm just going to give it a good wipe.

That's it.

And then soft butter goes in.

We're going to start whipping it, and then, once it becomes a little bit foamier, we're going to add the rest of the sugar in, and then the egg yolks.

(mixer whirring) (mixer stops) Okay, and at this stage, just add the rest of the sugar.

(mixer whirring) (mixer stops) So the butter and the sugar have had a minute and a bit in, and they look really nice and fluffy, and pale-- this is what you want.

So, I've just broken up the egg yolks a little bit.

I'm just going to trickle them in whilst the butter and the sugar are running in the mixer.

(mixer whirring) (mixer stops) Mm, those egg yolks are so yellow, gorgeous.

Make sure that you just give the bottom of the mixer a little bit of a scrape with a spatula, just to make sure that all of the butter bits have been incorporated really well with the egg yolks.

So now I'm gonna add the ricotta in-- just make sure that your ricotta is a nice room temp.

So we're gonna mix the ricotta in briefly with the egg yolks and butter.

And add the vanilla in.

But you can also add some lemon zest or, you know, experiment with your flavorings.

And then a very brief mix, just to mix it through.

(mixer whirring) All right, this ricotta mixture might look a little bit split, but don't worry about it.

Once you add the semolina, it's kind of going to sort itself out.

So semolina-- you can use flour, but I find that semolina adds a really lovely texture to the whole affair.

So I'm just gonna sprinkle it in.

And then give it a nice folding with a spatula.

Try not to knock too much air out of the butter.

But make sure that there's no pockets of dry semolina within the mixture.

I cannot wait to eat this.

I haven't made it in a while, and I just love it so much.

Okay, so the first spoonful of the egg white is called the sacrificial spoon, I believe.

Basically, we're going to mix it into the mixture quite vigorously just to loosen it up a little bit so the rest of the egg whites are incorporated much easier.

And now you can see it kind of, like, loosens up straightaway.

So now, one by one, I'm going to add the egg whites in.

And now a little bit gentler.

Still with confidence, but just, you don't want to knock too much air out of those egg whites.

And you don't want too many pockets of egg white in there, either.

So you kind of got to judge how gentle and confident you have to be with this.

So the oven has been preheated to 400 degrees Fahrenheit, and I'm just going to gently pour the batter on top of the caramelized apples and put it into the oven for about 30 minutes, until the cake is set, but still just a tiny bit wobbly.

And then I'm just gonna smooth it over.

The cheesecake has been cooling for a couple of hours.

I'm just going to turn it onto my serving plate and reveal the beautiful caramelized apple layer.

So my British husband always tries to add some kind of cream to Ukrainian cakes, and I'm always, like, "No, no, no, no, no, no."

In Ukraine, we just eat it like this.

I mean, you don't need anything else.

It's creamy and fluffy inside.

You've got the beautiful caramelized apple layer on top, which is your fruit, you know, no need for compote-- I think it's perfect as it is, and it actually came out so, so well.

- All episodes and recipes from this season of Milk Street Television are available for free at our website, MilkStreetTV.com.

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- The new Milk Street Cookbook is now available and includes every recipe from our TV show.

From Vietnamese braised lemongrass chicken and spaghetti with lemon pesto to hummus with chipotle black beans and chocolate torta, the Milk Street Cookbook offers bolder, fresher, simpler recipes.

Order your copy of the Milk Street Cookbook for just $27, 40% less than the cover price, and receive a Milk Street tote with your order at no additional charge.

Call 855-MILK-177 or order online.

- Funding for this series was provided by the following: - That meal.

You sauted, you seared, and you served, cooking with All-Clad, bonded cookware designed, engineered, and assembled in the U.S.A. for over 50 years.

All-Clad-- for all your kitchen adventures.

- Ladies and gentlemen, we'd like to be the first to welcome you to Tel Aviv... - Welcome to Oaxaca's airport.

- Welcome to Beirut.

(man speaking Hebrew) - (speaking world language) - Bonjour, je m'appelle Chris.

- We call it supa kanja.

It's the word for gumbo.

- Christopher, you have to make the authentic, original cotoletta alla Bolognese for me.

- So this is the Eduardo Garca blender.

- This is the no electricity.

- Next is dessert.

- That is really good.

I notice when you cook sometimes, you add a little bit of something, and then you just put the whole bowl in.

- I like to be generous with my food.

Generosity is important in cooking.

- That's true.

- Can start building bridges, and food is definitely a perfect common ground.

- This is a generational thing.

It's, it's something that you inherit.

- Yeah, that was great.

(woman speaking Mandarin) - What was this for?

What did she say?

- You get one more chance.

- Salute.

- How is it?

He's speechless.

- I'm speechless.

That's so good.