Coronation Chicken recipe

Preparation time - 1-2 hours
Cooking time - 30 mins to 1 hour
Serves 4-8

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

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 (You can make your own by blending 4-5 ready-to-eat dried apricots with 3 tbsp water)
3 tbsp whipped cream

To serve
1 tbsp roughly chopped coriander
Boiled rice

Method
• Place the chicken into a large saucepan with a tight-fitting lid. Cover with water and add the spring onions, garlic, salt and peppercorns.
• bring to the boil uncovered and simmer for 30 minutes. Turn the chicken once during this time. Cover with the lid and turn off the heat. Leave for one hour. Remove the chicken, allow to cool completely, and then tear the chicken from the bones and chop into chunks.

•For the sauce, heat the oil in a pan over a medium heat. Add the onion and cook gently for 3-4 minutes until translucent. Add the curry powder and cook for a further two minutes, stirring well. Add the tomato purée, wine, water and bay leaf.
• 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 and simmer uncovered, for 5-10 minutes. Strain the sauce through a sieve and set aside to cool.
• Once cold fold in the mayonnaise and apricot purée, to taste. Add more lemon juice if required and then finally fold in the whipped cream.
• Arrange the chicken on a large platter, pour the sauce over the top, sprinkle with the coriander and serve immediately, with rice or salad.