Coronation chicken

Name: Coronation chicken
Prep time: 50 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 1 h 30 min
Yield: 6
Ingredients: 2 small chickens; 1 carrot, cut into chunks; 1 bouquet garni; 1 pinch salt; 4 black peppercorns; 300 ml white wine

Originally created in 1953 for the Queen’s Coronation, this creamy curried chicken is delicious served with a rice salad. Any leftovers make the perfect sandwich filling.

4 out of 5 stars(5) Rate this recipe

1 of your 5 a day

Serves6
CourseMain meal
Prepare50 mins
Cook40 mins
Total time1 hr 30 mins
Pluscooling overnight

Please note, we take every care to ensure the product, allergen and recipe information displayed is correct. However, should a product be unavailable, alternatives may be displayed and/or a substitution provided. If you have an allergy or intolerance, please always check the product label before use.

Ingredients

For the chicken

2 small chickens
1 carrot, cut into chunks
1 bouquet garni
1 pinch salt
4 black peppercorns
300ml white wine

For the cream of curry sauce

1 tbsp sunflower oil
½ small onion, chopped
1 tbsp mild curry powder
1 tsp tomato purée
100ml red wine
1 bay leaf
1 pinch sugar
1 lemon, 2 slices plus squeeze of juice
300g mayonnaise
2 tbsp apricot jam
50ml double cream. lightly whipped
1 pinch salt
1 pinch ground black pepper

For the rice salad

250g white long grain rice
200g frozen petits pois
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 pinch salt
½ tsp Dijon mustard
½ cucumber, diced
20g pack parsley, chopped

Method

Put the chickens in a casserole large enough to hold them. Add the carrot, bouquet garni, salt, peppercorns and wine, and enough water to just cover. Bring to the boil, cover, reduce to a gentle simmer and poach for 40 minutes or until tender. Leave to cool in the liquid; this takes some time, so you could even leave them overnight.
To make the sauce, heat the oil in a saucepan over a medium heat, add the onion and cook gently for 3-4 minutes. Add the curry powder and cook for 1-2 minutes. Add the tomato purée, wine, bay leaf and 100ml water. Bring to the boil, add salt, pepper and sugar to taste, the lemon slices and juice. Simmer, uncovered, for 5-10 minutes. Strain and leave to cool. Remove the lemon slices.
Add the curry mix to the mayonnaise, a little at a time, then add apricot jam to taste. Adjust the seasoning. Stir in 2-3 tbsp of the whipped cream. Take half the sauce and mix with the remaining whipped cream.
Joint the chickens, removing the bones with care, and cut the meat into bite-sized pieces.
Mix the chicken with the creamier half of the curry sauce. Arrange on a dish and coat with the extra curry sauce. Serve with a rice salad.
For the rice salad, rinse the rice, place in a pan, cover with cold water, add the salt and bring to the boil. Cook for 5 minutes, then add the frozen petits pois and cook for 5 minutes more. Drain in a colander and refresh under cold water. Leave to cool fully. Meanwhile, whisk together the olive oil, white wine vinegar, Dijon mustard and some seasoning. Tip the rice and peas into a bowl, stir in the diced cucumber, chopped parsley and dressing.