What is coronation chicken, the coronation dish

On May 6, 2023 it was celebrated the coronation of Charles III and Camilla, successors of the late Queen Elizabeth II. For the occasion, some classic recipes have been recovered, including the coronation chicken. Actually this dish, whose literal translation is coronation chicken, for some years it has become part of the typical English cuisine. Outside the island, however, few people know it and it is interesting to understand what coronation chicken is and what its history is.

Coronation Chicken: The Story of the Royal Dish

It is quite natural to wonder how a chicken-based dish, an ingredient in common use today, could have become such a popular recipe for British royalty. To do this, it is necessary to contextualize the nascita del coronation chicken.

We are in the period following the end of the Second World War and many nations were still living in situations of hardship. However, the United Kingdom seemed to be the one where the aftermath of the war was least felt. In 1953 the Minister for Employment Sir David Eccles, asked the cookery school The blue cordon of London to organize a menu for the 350 foreign guests who arrived in the city on the occasion of thecoronation of Queen Elizabeth II. From the hands of Constance Spry and Rosemary Hume, the Chicken Queen Elizabethnow known as the coronation chicken.

Contextualized the period, it is therefore clear that chicken was not a food within the reach of all budgets. The same goes for curry, a blend of Indian spices that the British had thanks to the colonies. But the extraordinary nature of the dish lies in the fact that no one noticed the presence of the spice.

However, the curiosities do not end there. The banquet would have been served at Westminster School whose kitchen was unable to handle such a large number of dishes. So it was necessary to devise one recipe that could be served cold. Thus was born this sort of chicken salad served covered with a sauce made from mayonnaise, sour cream and ketchup, skilfully flavoured, and accompanied with a rice salad.

Coronation chicken, the original recipe

The preparation of this typical English dish is really simple, especially after having clarified what coronation chicken is. So let’s find out Ricetta from Le Cordon Bleu step by step to prepare it at home and thus celebrate such an important event too.

Ingredients for 2 people:

• 1 smoked chicken breast
• 1 spring onions
• ½ teaspoon curry powder
• ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
• 60 g of mayonnaise
• 15 g of sour cream
• 1 teaspoon Ketchup
• 15 g of apricot glaze (replaceable with extra-fine jam)
• 1 lime
• Salt and Pepper To Taste
• 1 bunch of coriander
• 50 g of snap peas (manda)
• 2 brioche buns
• 20 g of coconut flakes

Begin fraying the chicken by hand or by cutting it into thin strips. If you can’t find the smoked one, you can cook the escalopes in a pan or boil them whole in salted water. Then transfer it to a large bowl and add the finely sliced ​​spring onions. Season all with the curry and turmeric and finally incorporate the other ingredients provided: mayonnaise, sour cream, ketchup, apricot glaze and lemon juice then mix well to distribute the flavours. Finally add the coriander fresh minced (or some parsley if you can’t find it).

Cut the shell off the sandwiches and hollow out the inside. Stuff them with the chicken salad, the snow peas trimmed and cut into chunks and completed with flaked coconut and freshly chopped parsley. Close and serve.

This is the way coronation chicken is served after 70 years of history as well as the way it can also be found in many establishments in the Kingdom.