HOW TO MAKE CORONATION CHICKEN

Good Morning to you,

Do you have a recipe, that as a young woman, you used all the time, but as time went by, and your cooking repertoire grew, the recipe was placed in the back of your cookery book and forgotten about. 

I have such a recipe. 

As a young married wife, one of my 'go to' recipes was Coronation Chicken.  

... but I did not know it's origins, until much later. I discovered that Coronation Chicken was quite a special dish in the 1950's. The creators were Rosemary Hume and Constance Spry, and they created Coronation Chicken as a celebration dish, for the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953. 

The recipe I was given many years ago, uses cooked chicken, mayonnaise, curry powder and apricot jam instead of mango chutney.... yes that's right, you read correctly, apricot jam.... because at the time, mango chutney was a very exotic ingredient. The sauce was then mixed with cooked chicken and the end result was what I know as Coronation Chicken.

I have not made Coronation Chicken for many years, and had quite forgotten about it, until last year.

The reason for the resurrection of this dish was a family New Year's party, when each of us were asked to take along a dish to add to the buffet table. Whilst I was thinking about what to make, Natasha suggested Coronation chicken.

So we bought a chicken, poached it, mixed together the dressing,  shredded the chicken and coated the chicken with the dressing. I have to tell you it was a huge hit at the party, as it was the first dish to be finished.

So it's on with the pinnie and yes, you've guessed it, today, we are making,

that blast from the past, Coronation Chicken.  I have tweaked the recipe a little.  I know this is an old recipe, but I feel it is time to bring it forward, into the year 2015.

As you know, I love country and western music, so it will come as no surprise to you when I tell you the music I am listening to is,

Rockin' the Country.  Do you know, I had forgotten I had this album.  I discovered it tucked away at the back of the shelf.  When I read the names of the artists on this album, I was surprised to read the name Blake Shelton.  Do you remember I featured Barbara Streisand's album in the New Year and I mentioned that I loved the voice of Blake Shelton, but I had never heard of him.  Well blow me down, that obviously was not true, because he sings on this album.  I really must take more notice of the names on these compilation albums.

So my first recommendation has got to be, Blake Shelton singing,

'Some Beach'

then how about

'HickTown' sung by Jason Aldean

and

then

'Billy's Got His Beer Goggles On' by Neal McCoy

So while I listen to Tennessee River Run I will organise my ingredients.

INGREDIENTS

YOU WILL 

NEED

TO

MAKE

CORONATION CHICKEN

1 kg chicken breasts (about 4)

5 black peppercorns

1 bay leaf

pinch of saffron (optional)

chicken stock

1 teaspoon of salt

THE SAUCE 

1 large onion

4 tablespoons of mayonnaise

3 tablespoons of mango chutney

2 tablespoons of curry powder

250g Greek Yoghurt

1 tablespoon olive oil

50g toasted almonds

handful flat leaf parsley

HOW
 TO MAKE

CORONATION CHICKEN

Place the chicken breasts into a deep

saucepan.

Add

the bay leaf,

salt

black peppercorns

and

saffron.

Add enough chicken stock

to cover the chicken breasts.

Place a lid on the saucepan

and

bring to a simmer.

Gently poach, until the chicken breasts

are thoroughly cooked.

When cooked, drain the stock

and place on a plate
and allow to cool. 

Set aside for the moment.

 

Place the flaked almonds

into a dry pan

and toast until golden brown.

Make sure you move the almonds
around the pan.

I would advise that you don't walk

away, as the almonds can easily become burnt.
 One minute the almonds are white

and the next minute they are brown. 

Set aside and allow to cool.

THE SAUCE

Finely slice the onion.

Place the olive oil into a pan

and

add the sliced onions.

Cook gently until
golden in colour,
then

add
the curry powder. 
Move the onions around the pan
until
 the curry powder
is thoroughly incorporated.

Remove the cooked onions from the
pan
and allow to cool.

Place the 
yoghurt,
mayonnaise
and
mango chutney
into a bowl
and
mix together.

Add the cooled
cooked onions
and

stir the ingredients 
until
thoroughly combined.

ASSEMBLING
THE
CORONATION CHICKEN

Slice the cooled chicken
into cubes

and

add to the sauce.
Mix the sauce and chicken together. 

Make sure all the chicken is coated.

Place a clean tea-towel
over the bowl
and place it in the fridge
for at least an hour.

When ready to eat,
fold in the

parsley
and
the

toasted almonds,

and

enjoy
with a nice green salad.

Just a word of advice, do not add the flat leafed parsley and the toasted almond flakes until you are ready to eat, otherwise, they will become soggy. I often place them on the table, in a couple of small bowls, so that they can be added to the Coronation Chicken as desired. 

Now here's the thing, Coronation Chicken can be used in many ways.  We have eaten it with a rice salad, with a pasta salad, boiled new potatoes with a green salad and even used left overs in a sandwich or roll.... pretty versatile don't you think?

So what do you think, should this recipe be relegated to the 1950's or is it worth resurrecting and bringing it into the year 2015.

...... personally, I feel it can make the leap into 2015 without any problem.

Take care and I will see you next Thursday.

This week I will be joining,

Robin for Fluster's Creative Muster Party

and

Miz Helen's Country Cottage for Full Plate Thursday