Jubilee Tea Coronation Chicken Sandwiches
One of my best friend Samantha’s requests as she remembered my Mum making this for us, when we were children. In 1989 my parents rented a cottage on the Ashton estate in Northamptonshire and we spent many happy weekends, holidays and Summers there. They were perhaps some of Mum’s happiest times and she would host large family lunches, BBQs and dinners mostly at the drop of a hat and in the warmer months these would always be in the garden. These parties would involve multiple tables joined together to accommodate all the guests, hidden under a collection of blue and white tablecloths. There would always be a children’s table and plenty of food. This Coronation chicken was a favourite of hers served with a wild rice salad, but I am using this as a filling for tea Jubilee Tea sandwiches.
ingredients ~
2.2kg diced chicken
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 small onion
1 tbsp curry paste, medium or mild heat
1 tbsp tomato pureé
100ml red wine, or water
1 bay leaf
juice of 1/2 lemon
4 apricots (canned), or 10 dried apricots rehydrated with 150ml boiling water
300ml mayonnaise
100ml whipping cream
for the sandwiches ~
medium sliced brown bread
unsalted butter
watercress leaves to garnish
In a small saucepan, heat the oil, then add onion and cook for 5 minutes until soft. Add curry paste, tomato pureé, water, lemon juice, and bay leaf. Simmer uncovered for 10 minutes until well-reduced, then cool.
If using dried apricots rehydrate in boiling water for 15 minutes. Then pureé the apricots into the curry base/ sauce. Whip the cream and fold it into the cool mixture, then the mayonnaise. Taste the sauce and adjust, it’s not as sweet as shop bought ones, so you can add sugar. Stir in the cooked chicken pieces.
If making sandwiches butter bread, add the Coronation Chicken filling. Remove crusts and cut into tea sandwiches. Enjoy!