Mark Hix shares his modern twist on a famous fifties dish Coronation Chicken to serve at your Platinum Jubilee celebrations on toast, or go retro and fill some vol-au-vents
Surely, with the Platinum Jubilee celebrations this month it’s time for a coronation chicken revival? Constance Spry (1886–1960) is credited with inventing the dish for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II back in 1953. When made with a little tender loving care, it can make a delicious cold main course that is a million miles away from some of the ghastly versions that you might remember from buffet dinners during the Sixties and Seventies. Back then, coronation chicken tended to be made from pre-cooked chicken doused with a dubious sauce made from mayonnaise and curry powder.
This version, I think, goes particularly well on toast, or go retro and fill some vol-au-vent cases. Whatever plans you have for celebrating over the Jubilee weekend, why not pair this dish with another regal classic such as Cherries Jubilee.
Coronation chicken on toast
Serves 4
8 free-range chicken thighs, boned, skinned
500ml chicken stock
small onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
1 small, mild red chilli, chopped
1tsp ground cumin
20g root ginger, scraped and grated
1tsp ground turmeric
4-5 curry leaves
small piece of cinnamon stick
2 cloves
black seeds from 3 cardamom pods
1tsp fenugreek seeds
1tsp black mustard seeds
1tbsp vegetable or corn oil
3-4tbsp good-quality mayonnaise
1tbsp Greek yoghurt
1tbsp chopped coriander
1tbsp mango chutney, chopped if very chunky
4 slices of bloomer-type bread
couple tablespoon of toasted flaked almonds (optional)
Method: Heat the vegetable oil in a pan and gently cook the onion, garlic, chilli and all the spices for 3-4 minutes with a lid on without colouring the onions. Add the stock and the chicken thighs; simmer for 15 minutes. Remove the thighs and put to one side. Simmer the cooking liquid until it reduces to 3-4 tablespoons then blend in a liquidiser; leave to cool. Mix with the mayonnaise, yoghurt, coriander and chutney, season to taste. Cut the chicken into chunks and mix with the sauce, leave for a couple of hours in the fridge. When you’re ready to serve, toast the bread and spoon the chicken on top and scatter the almonds on top if you're using them.
British Wine Week at The Fox: Mark is hosting a four-course dinner on June 22 to celebrate British Wine Week featuring Hollis Mead Organic Dairy cheeses paired with Rob Corbett’s Devon Minnow rosé and sparkling wines by food and wine writer Fiona Beckett. Book at thefoxinncorscombe.co.uk/news-events
Click here for a Dorset Jubilee Pudding recipe
Click here for the Jubilee trifle recipe
Click here for a review of Mark Hix's Dorset pub The Fox Inn
