A dish fit for a queen!

 

 

Coronation chicken Salad.

Coronation chicken salad was created for the 1953 coronation of Queen Elizabeth. I thought King Charles was trying to economize a bit and did not serve it at his festivities, but I’m told that’s wrong. He did serve it, with all its traces of the long British occupation of India. According to The New York Times, the salad was wildly popular in this country in the Eighties.

Last week, as I blogged, an out-of-town author/friend was coming for lunch. Since I have some small reputation as the foodie on the listserv where we are both active, I felt under the gun to produce something special. In fact, even before the lunch, the list buzzed with questions about what I would serve. My guest told me she’s allergic to gluten, so that limited my menu somewhat. I decided on coronation chicken in lettuce cups and a small fruit salad. Another friend from the Texas writing community joined us, but there was plenty of chicken salad. This recipe serves at least eight.

Coronation Chicken

Ingredients:

6 cups cooked, diced chicken – you can boil your own or use a rotisserie chicken; I chose to brown and then simmer four half chicken breasts

½ cup mayonnaise (more if it seems dry at serving time)

½ cup sour cream or yogurt (I used sour cream, because I always have it on hand)

3 Tbsp. mango chutney (If there are large pieces of mango, chop them a bit)

1 Tbsp. curry powder

1/3 cup dried apricots, chopped, or golden raisins (I used raisins because chopping dried fruit is a pain, though I do love apricots)

3 Tbsp. fresh lemon or lime juice (I used lime, just for a different taste)

½ cup sliced almonds, toasted (no, I did not burn the first batch)

¼ cup cilantro, chopped (I forgot to add it at the last minute)

Salt and pepper to taste.

Directions:

Dice the chicken into a large bowl. Separately, mix other ingredients and taste—you may want to add more chutney, curry, or citrus juice (curries and chutneys vary wildly in taste). Pour dressing over chicken and mix thoroughly. Refrigerate at least half an hour before serving.

Leftovers will keep in the refrigerator for about three days. After that, you want to be cautious about chicken.

We really didn’t need dessert, but I got a box of bonbons from Central Market—salted caramel ice cream encased in chocolate. One bite each!

Long live the King!

PS: I saw this dessert recipe this week and plan to try it. I thought maybe some of you might like to try it too. I’ve been debating flavors, but right now I think I’ll go with yellow cake and cherry pie filling. What sounds good to you?

Are You Kiddng Me Cake?

3 eggs

1 box cake mix

1 can pie filling

9x12 pan   350 for 35 minutes.