Not having grown up in England and having the memories of iconic dishes to draw upon for inspiration, I will frequently refer to British cookbooks or the internet (Jamie Oliver is my favorite). I can spend many happy hours pouring through British recipes. When I find one that I think our customers can relate to and I think it has “WOW” factor potential, I begin the testing process. I look at all of the ingredients from at least 5 recipes and find the commonalities. I weed out the difficult procedures or the expensive or the hard to source ingredients. These things are fine for home cooking but not so much for restaurant cooking. I then find suitable substitutes. I read about the origins of the food and the current trends. I then begin the testing of procedures and the tasting process. This process doesn’t always lead to a new menu item, but when it does it is a blissful moment. It makes me so happy to find something that I can share with our guests.
Looking for fresh options for the restaurant early on, I found a recipe called coronation chicken. I had passed over the recipe several times, my American mind envisioning a fancy golden baked chicken– maybe with a paper crown on top. I thought that might be hard to recreate in our quick serve restaurant model. After more research, I found that coronation chicken is simply a chicken salad that is tossed in a silky, slightly sweet, curried sauce and it…is… fabulous! If you love chicken salad, this is well worth your time.
The original coronation chicken was created for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953 and since its introduction, it has become a classic chicken salad in the UK. If you like history search for “Tasting History with Max Miller” on Youtube. He gives a very detailed, slightly whimsical account of Queen Elizabeth II’s Coronation day. What I found most fun is that she likely didn’t even have coronation chicken that day. She had her own private lunch where she had light fare, including sausage rolls (you can get those at London Calling!). Meanwhile, the Queen’s guests received coronation chicken served cold with a rice salad. Modern Brits tend to serve it as a chicken salad served alone or as a sandwich or over baked potatoes (They call this a jacket potato—more on jacket potatoes in later segments). I have also seen it served hot over rice like a butter chicken. I haven’t tried this but I think it would be fantastic. In this case, you would need to substitute creme fraiche for cream for the mayonnaise. The ingredients may look fancy for a chicken salad (it WAS made for a queen!) and as fancy as the ingredients seem, they are not hard to source in today’s supermarkets and it is not difficult to make. And in true American form you can be as creative with it as you please. That’s not just American, that is the nature of chicken salad and the nature of cooking. If you don’t like apricots, leave them out or use apricot preserves or substitute with golden raisins. If you like almonds, toast them and add it to the top of your salad. The version I am sharing with you draws heavily from the original recipe (from Constance Spry’s cookery book) with only slight variations. If Constance Spry’s group designed a dish to serve 350 foreign dignitaries with varying tastes, I think you too will find this to be a crowd pleaser. This appeared on our London Calling menu as a limited time only item. If you try it, let me know if you think we should bring it back! Here is a quick visual of how to make coronation chicken salad.
Coronation Chicken Salad
Equipment
- 1 Medium Skillet For the Coronation Curry Sauce
- 1 Set Measuring Cups
- 1 Set Measuring Spoons
- 1 Chef's Knife To Dice Onion
- 1 Cutting Board To Dice Onion
- 1 Large Stockpot For simmering chicken breast
- 1 Can Opener For the Tomato Sauce
Ingredients
Chicken
- 5 lbs Raw Chicken Breast (This will yield roughly 2 lbs 11 oz cooked chicken)
Coronation Sauce
- 2 Tablespoons Butter
- 1 Cup Finely Diced Onion (1 medium Yellow or White Onion)
- 1/2 Cup Red Wine
- 6 Tablespoons Mango Chutney Look for Mango Chutney in the International section of your supermarket. It is typically found with Eastern Indian ingredients
- 1/4 Cup Tomato Sauce (or Crushed Tomatoes)
- 3 Tablespoons Curry Powder
- 1 Tablespoon Fresh Lemon Juice Avoid bottled lemon juice. 1 Tablespoon is about 1/2 of a small lemon
- 1 Dried Bay Leaf
- 1/2 Teaspoon Salt Or to taste
- 1/4 Teaspoon Fine Ground Black Pepper Or to taste
- 3 Ounces Dried Apricots, finely diced (Optional) You can also use golden raisins
- 1 Cup Mayonnaise Use Hellman's or Duke's or other higher quality mayonnaise. Or, use half mayonnaise and 1/2 plain greek yogurt or creme fraiche
- 1 Fresh Red Pepper, finely chopped (optional)
Instructions
Chicken
- Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to low and simmer chicken breast for 30-45 minutes or until internal temperature has reached 160 degrees. Cool and shred or dice chicken (your preference).
Coronation Sauce
- Melt 2 Tbls butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the 1 cup of onion and saute until translucent, 7 to 10 minutes.
- Add the 1/2 cup red wine, 6 Tablespoons chutney, 1/4 cup tomato sauce, 3 Tablespoons curry powder and 1 bay leaf and bring to a simmer, stirring frequently, approximately 10 minutes. The sauce will be thick.
- Add the 1 Tablespoon of lemon juice. Stir and season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove from the heat and discard the bay leaf.
- Pour the sauce into a medium, heat proof bowl and stir to release heat and then place into the refrigerator to cool for 30 minutes
- Once cooled, add the mayonnaise and stir to combine thoroughly
Making the Chicken Salad
- Add the apricots (optional) to the coronation/mayo combination, then add the chicken and mix well. This chicken salad can be served on lettuce with fresh fruit and diced red pepper and cucumbers or placed onto bread, a wrap or a pita to make a really nice sandwich. The idea of sprinkling toasted sliced almonds on top makes me want to go make a batch of right now!