Royal Chicken Recipes

Hello, dear friends,

I found today a recipe that I would like to share with you.

I find the story behind it very interesting and evocative of the times that the western world faces today.

It is also evocative of the mentality behind the absolute well off, 

probably more symbolically rather than in real terms,

the kings and queens.

Poulet reine Elizabeth, 

 as it was originally known,

 concocted for the banquet for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in June 2,1953,

was a deliberate and tactful compromise between the luxurious and the thrifty for a country still under the dreary yoke of postwar rationing.

 Coronation Chicken was invented for the foreign guests who were to be entertained after the Coronation. The food had to be prepared in advance, and Constance Spry, who also helped with floral arrangements on the day, proposed a recipe of cold chicken in a curry cream sauce with a well-seasoned dressed salad of rice, green peas and mixed herbs. Constance Spry's recipe won the approval of the Minister of Works and has since been known as Coronation Chicken.

Ingredients

• 1.5kg/4lb free-range chicken
• 4 spring onions, sliced
• 6 garlic cloves, peeled, left whole
• 1 tbsp sea salt
• 10 whole black peppercorns

For the sauce

• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 tbsp curry powder
• 1 tbsp tomato purée
• 85ml/3fl oz red wine
• 150ml/¼pint water
• 1 bay leaf
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• caster sugar
• 2 slices lemon
• squeeze of lemon juice
• 425ml/15fl oz good-quality mayonnaise
• 2 tbsp apricot purée (made by blending 4-5 stoned, dried apricots with 3 tbsp water)
• 3 tbsp whipped cream

To serve

• 1 tbsp roughly chopped coriander
• rice, cooked according to packet instructions

Preparation method

1. Place the chicken into a saucepan with a tight-fitting lid, cover with water and add the spring onions, garlic, salt and peppercorns.
2. Bring to the boil and simmer for 30 minutes, turning the chicken once during the cooking process. Cover with a lid and switch off the heat. Leave for one hour, then remove the chicken, allow to cool completely, and tear the chicken from the bones into rough pieces.
3. Meanwhile, for the sauce, heat the oil in a pan over a medium heat. Add the onion and cook gently for 3-4 minutes. Add the curry powder and cook for a further two minutes, stirring well. Add the tomato purée, wine, water and bay leaf.
4. Bring the mixture to the boil. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, then add the sugar, lemon slices and lemon juice, to taste. Reduce the heat until the mixture is simmering and simmer, uncovered, for 5-10 minutes. Strain the sauce through a fine meshed sieve and set aside to cool.
5. Gradually fold in the mayonnaise and apricot purée, to taste. Add more lemon juice, as necessary.
6. Fold in the whipped cream.
7. To serve, arrange the portioned chicken on a large platter, pour the sauce over the top, sprinkle with the coriander and serve immediately, with rice.
   
   

For the Queen's Golden Jubilee in 2002, another version was made, with a more tangy sauce.

RECIPE FOR JUBILEE CHICKEN

Preparation time: 20 min, plus 2-3 hours marinating.
Cooking time: 25 min. Serves: 4.

INGREDIENTS
4 chicken breast fillets, about 18 oz (500g) in total
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Freshly grated nutmeg
2 tbsp olive oil
Bunch flat leaf parsley
1 lime quartered

For marinade:Half lime, juiced and zest grated 3cm fresh root ginger, peeled and grated 1 clove crushed garlic 1 shallot, finely chopped 2 tbsp olive oil

For dressing:3fl oz (100ml) creme fraiche 6 tbsp mayonnaise Half lime, juice and zest grated 2in (5cm) piece fresh root ginger

METHOD

Mix the marinade ingredients together in a shallow dish. Add the chicken and turn to coat thoroughly. Cover and refrigerate for 2-3 hours. 

To make dressing, place creme fraiche, mayonnaise, lime juice and zest in a bowl. Peel and grate the ginger, then twist in a piece of muslin, or press through a sieve to extract the juice. Add 2 tsp of the juice to the dressing. Stir, cover and chill to allow the flavours to develop.

Scrape marinade from the chicken and pat dry with kitchen paper. Season the chicken with salt, pepper and nutmeg, and place in a roasting tin. Drizzle over olive oil.

Roast in oven (pre-heated to 190 degrees Celsius / 375 degrees Fahrenheit / Gas Mark 5) for 25 minutes, baste occasionally until the chicken is cooked through. Leave to cool completely, then cut into bite-sized pieces.

Combine the chicken and dressing, adjust the seasoning, and refrigerate. Serve with a pasta salad, lime quarters and chopped flat leaf parsley.

THE CORONATION BANQUET

If you wish to recreate the banquet held at Buckingham Palace after the Coronation in 1953, you may be interested in the menu:

Consommé Royale
(Chicken consommé garnished with cubes of royale)

Filet de Boeuf Mascotte
(Fillet of beef garnished with quarters of artichoke bottom tossed in butter with cocotte potatoes and slices of truffle)

Salade

Glace à la Mangue
(Mango ice cream) 

Thus, dear frineds, we may be inspired for a royal banquet.

God bless us all!

Sources

50 facts about the Queen's Coronation

Coronation Chicken Recipe