Coronation chicken

In this jubilee year and knowing all that will be going on, street party’s, Olympic party’s or just party party’s what can you make. I say lets have Coronation chicken, a  retro classic that for some reason has stood the test of time and taste to still be around when others have not. It is good in a sandwich with a salad or even chips or just plain rice, so let’s have a go a dish that was invented for the queen herself.

You will need

1.5kg/4lb cooked chicken breast and thigh meat
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
1 tbsp curry powder
1 tbsp tomato purée
85ml/3fl oz red wine
150ml/¼pint water
1 bay leaf
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Caster sugar
2 slices lemon
Squeeze of lemon juice
425ml/15fl oz good-quality mayonnaise
2 tbsp apricot purée
3 tbsp whipped cream
2 or 3 dried apricots
Coriander optional

Now to your chicken you want a mix of two thirds breast and one third thigh meat to give it the right balance and flavour. Now if you want you can take a whole chicken and just poach it in in some water, with some salt peppercorns onion and garlic if you like. Just bring the pan to the boil and then simmer for about 30 minutes. Cover with a lid and then let  it stand for a while. Remove the chicken from the pot, then remove the skin and rip of the flesh. what you want is a ruff textured skin and bone free chicken meat put it in the fridge and let it cool down.

Now to make the sauce just slice your onion while you heat the oil in a pan on a medium heat. Then add the onion and cook till it goes soft. Then add the curry powder , tomato purée and cook the spice in the curry powder. Now add the wine, water and bay leaf bring the whole lot to the boil.

Now add your sugar, lemon slices, lemon juice, and season to taste. Then turn the heat down and simmer for about 10 minutes. Finally strain the liquid through a sieve and set aside to cool.

To finnish your sauce add the  mayonnaise, apricot purée and a little more lemon juice if you think it need it. Fold this all together then fold in the whipped cream. Add the chicken and combine that in to the mix and garnish with some thinly sliced dried apricots and  chopped coriander.