Coronation chicken

Coronation chicken

Coronation chicken was served at the banquet following the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II on June 2, 1953. The invention of the recipe is attributed to Constance Spry and Rosemary Hume, both principals of the Cordon Bleu Cookery School in London at the time. It is a cold chicken dish in a rich, creamy, curried sauce. The recipe below is an adaptation of various ‘original’ versions.

It can be made with left-over cold chicken or with chicken breasts or tenders – 1 to 2 pounds – poached in a mixture of chicken stock, white wine (optional), onion, garlic, carrot, celery and thyme, until tender.

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Coronation chicken

Cold chicken served in a rich, creamy, curried sauce.

Ingredients

• 2-3 cups cooked chicken, broken into bite-sized pieces

Elizabeth cream of curry sauce

• 2 tablespoons oil
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon curry powder
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 tablespoon tomato purée
• 1 tablespoon apricot jam
• 1 cup chicken stock or ½ stock, ½ dry red wine
• 2 bay leaves
• zest 1 lemon
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• ¾ cup mayonnaise, mixed with
• ¼ cup sour cream

Instructions

1. Heat the oil in a saucepan, add the onion and stir over medium heat until glassy.
2. Stir in the curry powder until aromatic.
3. Add the garlic, purée, jam, stock, bay leaves, lemon (zest and juice), salt and pepper.
4. Simmer, uncovered for about 15 minutes, until reduced by half.
5. Strain the sauce.
6. Combine the mayonnaise and cream and fold in the cooled sauce.
7. Check the flavoring – add a little salt or pepper if necessary.
8. Pour ⅔ of the sauce over the chicken and mix gently.
9. Refrigerate the chicken and the remaining sauce until needed.
10. Arrange the chicken on an attractive platter and top with the remaining sauce.

Serve with a green salad or a light rice salad – such as pale saffron or white rice, tossed with baby green peas, diced tomato and cucumber, and a French dressing.

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