Coronation Chicken

Photo: flickr user I See Modern Britain

Ingredients

2 celery sticks

1 onion

kg chicken bouquet garni

1 level tsp salt

1 level tsp black peppercorns

125 grams ready to eat dried apricots

2 shallots

1 tablespoon oil

2 level tsp curry powder

2 level tsp tomato paste

100 mls red wine

bay leaf

2 lemon slices

450 mls homemade or bought thick mayonnaise

2 level tbsp double cream

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 pch cayenne

lime and coriander sprigs to garnish

wild rice and bean salad to accompany

Preparation

Place chopped celery and onion in an ovenproof pan with chicken bouquet gami salt and peppercorns.

Pour in enough cold water to just cover thighs of the chicken; cover pan.

Bring slowly to the boil on the boiling plate; then cook on the grid shelf in the roasting ovenfor 50 minutes to 1hour.

Transfer chicken to a bowl; strain hot stock over.

Sit bowl in ice cold water cool.

Place the apricots in a small pan and cover with freshly boiled water leave to soak for 30 minutes.

Finely chop the shallots.

Heat the oil in an ovenproof pan add the shallots and cook on the simmering plate for 1 minute.

Add curry powder fry for 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in tomato paste; fry for 1 minute. Pour in red wine and 100ml water.

Bring to boil on the simmering plate; add bay leaf and lemon slices.

Cook for 20 minutes in the simmering oven.

Strain through a fine sieve pressing to extract the juices; reserve curry liquid and set aside (discard contents of sieve).

Bring apricots to boil cover and simmer for 15 minutes until soft: drain and puree; set aside.

Remove skin and bones from chicken and cut flesh into thick strips.

Mix mayonnaise with 3 to 4 tbsp reserved curry liquid 4 to 5 level tbsp apricot puree and the cream.

Dilute with boiling water to give a coating consistency; season.

Add lemon juice and more curry liquid or apricot puree to taste.

Mix chicken with some curry mayonnaise; serve the rest separately. Garnish and serve with rice and salad.

To check the chicken is cooked pierce the thickest part of the thigh with a sharp knife; the juices should run clear. The chicken is more moist if it cools in stock. The chicken bones can be added to the stock and simmered again for 1 hour to make an intense stock for soups and sauces.Use a mild Korma style curry powder. Freeze the remainder of the curry liquid for future use. Many variations of this disk exist Originally served by the cordon bleucookery school to the visiting dignitaries of the coronation of the Queen it is also known as chicken elizabeth.

Serves 8