The recipe for coronation chicken was created bef Rosemary Hume when preparing the food for Queen Elizabeth the II’s coronation banquet in 1953. It was Spry who suggested it and probably Hume who prepared it – the cold chicken with a cream curry sauce may have been inspired by the jubilee chicken served at George the V’s silver jubilee in 1935. He was treated to more or less the same thing but made with mayonnaise and curry. Interestingly Elizabeth was again given jubilee chicken for her Golden Jubilee in 2002. Here her head chef, Lionel Mann, considerately changed the recipe and marinated and then

coated the chicken in crème fraiche, ginger and lime and served it with a chillied pasta salad.

Ingredients

• 2 organic chickens poached, skins removed and set aside
• 6 dried apricots
• 500 ml home made mayonnaise
• 4 tbsp cream, lightly whipped
• 60g chopped onion
• 1 lemon, grated zest and a splash of it’s lemon juice
• 1 tbsp walnut oil
• 2 tsp mild or medium curry powder
• 1 heaped tsp tomato purée
• 100 ml red wine
• 60ml water
• 2 bay leaves
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

To garnish

• a little cayenne pepper
• chopped Italian parsley

Method

• Fry the onions in oil until translucent and then add the curry powder, the tomato purée, the wine, the water, the bay leaves, the lemon zest and juice and simmer it until it has reduced by half, strain and set aside to cool.
• Put the apricots in a pot with only just enough water to cover them and then simmer until very soft and then put in the blender to purée, adding a little more water if required, set aside to cool down.
• Combine the mayonnaise with the strained curry sauce and the apricot purée, salt and pepper to taste and then fold in the whipped cream.
• Strip the meat from the cold, poached chickens and tear into bite-sized pieces.
• Toss in enough of the flavoured mayonnaise to coat nicely and then arrange on a platter and garnish with a dusting of cayenne and parsley before serving.