Coronation Chicken

Coronation Chicken was a dish devised, as the name suggests, for the banquet for the coronation of one of Britain's monarchs; in this case it was our present queen, Elizabeth II. This royal gem of a recipe was proposed by a florist, Constance Spry, and a chef, Rosemary Hume, to be put together form cold cooked chicken and a creamy curry sauce, supporting the new Queen's love of curry. It's a dish that proved immediate, and continued popularity with the British public as it is so easy to make and can be prepared in advance if required for a special celebration, or even for just a family meal. Although it was tremendously in vogue in the 1950s and 60s, its popularity has waned, but is still often found as a filling for shop-bought sandwiches.

Be a little British and serve this classic party food dish at your next gathering of family or friends.

Ingredients:

For the Chicken:
1.5kg trussed chicken, giblets removed.
½ onion.
½ stick celery.
2 bay leaves.
1 star anise.
4 cardamom pods.

For the dressing:
1 onion, roughly chopped.
1 large clove garlic, roughly chopped.
3cm piece root ginger, peeled and roughly chopped.
2 tbsp olive oil.
2 tbsp mild curry powder.
½ tsp ground coriander.
½ tsp ground cumin.
Seeds from 2 cardamom pods, crushed.
¼ tsp salt.
Freshly ground black pepper.
3 tbsp mango chutney.
120g mayonnaise.
50g Greek yoghurt.
50g raisins or sultanas, soaked in hot water to soften.

To serve:
Toasted flaked almonds.
1 little gem lettuce.

Method:
Put the chicken in a deep stockpot or saucepan and cover with cold water. Drop in the onion, celery, bay leaves, star anise and cardamom pods and cover with a lid. Bring to the boil then turn down the heat very low and poach for 1 hour, or until the leg comes easily away from the bone and the chicken is cooked through (see cook's tip below on poaching). Turn off the heat and leave the chicken in the stock until cool enough to handle.

Lift the chicken out of the stock, reserve 400ml and discard the rest. Remove the skin then remove the meat from the chicken by tearing off large bite-sized pieces and transfer to a bowl to cool. If you're making the chicken ahead, pour over a little stock then cover and chill until you're ready for the next step.

For the dressing, put the onion, garlic and ginger in a food processor and blitz until the mixture takes on a paste consistency. Heat the oil in a frying pan and gently fry the paste for 6-8 minutes to cook through. Add the spices, salt, a good grinding of pepper and cook for a few minutes more until fragrant before stirring in the mango chutney. Pour in the stock and bubble rapidly until the mixture has reduced back down to a paste, then transfer to a large bowl and leave to cool.

Mix the mayonnaise and yoghurt into the cooled paste then stir in the raisins or sultanas and toss with the chicken. Check the seasoning and adjust if necessary. Chill until needed then serve on crunchy lettuce leaves and garnished with scattered toasted almonds.

Cook's Tip:

Poaching is a very gentle technique that gives really succulent meat; the water should only break an occasional bubble. Be careful not to boil the chicken as it'll toughen like old boots.