With the upcoming coronation of King Charles III, the long weekend is the perfect opportunity to hone your skills and impress friends, neighbours and family with the perfect coronation chicken at street parties.

The famous British dish was originally created for the late Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation in 1953 by Le Cordon Bleu London culinary school. At the time, post WWII rationing was still in place in the UK, and chicken was not an every day ingredient then, making it a luxury dish rather than the sandwich filling it’s known as today.

Now, seventy years on, coronation chicken is still a popular sandwich filler and a great dish to enjoy on royal occasions. It’s an accessible dish made with every day ingredients, and you can adjust the recipe to suit your taste, not to mention it’s a great way to use up any leftover roast chicken! Our Executive Chef, David Shaw, shares his coronation chicken recipe ahead of the King’s coronation on Saturday 6th May.

Recipe

Preparation time: 5 mins | Cooking time: 15 mins | Serves 6

Ingredients

• 6 chicken breasts (skinless)
• 2 tsp mild curry powder
• 150g mayonnaise
• 125g crème fraîche
• 3 tbsp mango chutney
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 50g sultanas
• 2 celery sticks (finely chopped)
• 75g dried ready-to-eat apricots (chopped)
• 50g flaked almonds
• Large handful fresh coriander (chopped)

Method

1. Place the chicken breasts in a large pan & cover with cold water. Bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer for around 15 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through. Drain & leave the chicken to cool completely.
2. Toast the curry powder in a small frying pan until fragrant, stirring for around 30 seconds. Tip into a large bowl and add the mayonnaise, crème fraîche, mango chutney, Worcestershire sauce, sultanas, chopped celery sticks and dried apricots, and season to taste with salt and pepper.
3. When the chicken is completely cool, cut into bite size chunks or pull apart using 2 forks. Add the chicken, most of the flaked almonds & chopped coriander to the mixture, then stir everything well. Check the seasoning & adjust if necessary.
4. Top with remaining almonds & coriander to serve.

David advises “you can get everything prepared a day ahead, up to step 3, just leave the coriander & garnish out. Cover & store in the fridge until you need it. Then stir through the chopped coriander & follow step 4 when you’re ready to serve!”

And if you’ve got leftover roast chicken, you could also use it for this recipe, skipping step 1 completely.

Whether you’re savouring your freshly made coronation chicken as a sandwich filler, served on flatbreads, or as a topping for jacket potatoes, we hope you enjoy our recipe for the extra bank holiday this year!