Coronation chicken
35 min · 42 g protein · 331 cals / serving
Britain's favourite sandwich filling, made the way it tastes best: juicy poached chicken in a gently spiced curry sauce with sweet mango chutney, plump sultanas and fresh coriander, finished with toasted flaked almonds. The sauce is mostly Greek yoghurt with a spoonful of mayonnaise, so it is creamy and bright rather than heavy. Spoon it into little gem leaves or into wholemeal bread.
Ingredients
- 600 g chicken breast, about 4 small breasts
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 scant tsp salt, divided
Coronation sauce
- 1 tbsp curry powder, mild or medium
- 200 g nonfat Greek yogurt, 0% fat Greek yoghurt
- 2 tbsp light mayonnaise
- 2 tbsp mango chutney, any large pieces chopped
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- 25 g raisins, sultanas
- 3 spring onions green onions, thinly sliced
- a small handful fresh cilantro, coriander, chopped
- a few grinds black pepper
To finish
- 15 g almonds, flaked
To serve
- 2 little gem lettuces romaine lettuce, leaves separated
- 1/2 cucumber, cut into batons
- 200 g grape tomatoes, cherry tomatoes
Steps
- Put the chicken in a pan in a single layer, cover with cold water by 2 cm and add the bay leaf and half the salt. Bring to a bare simmer, then cover and poach very gently for 12–15 minutes, until 165°F in the thickest part. Leave it in the liquid for 15 minutes off the heat (this keeps it juicy), then drain and tear or dice into bite-size pieces.
- Toast the curry powder in a dry frying pan over a low heat for 30–60 seconds, stirring, until it smells fragrant. Tip it into a large bowl straight away so it does not scorch.
- Stir the yoghurt, mayonnaise, chutney, lemon juice, sultanas, most of the spring onions and coriander, the rest of the salt and the pepper into the curry powder, then fold in the chicken. Taste and add a squeeze more lemon or a pinch of salt.
- Toast the flaked almonds in the same dry pan for 2–3 minutes, shaking, until golden, and let them cool.
- Pack the chicken in a tub with the rest of the spring onions and coriander on top, the almonds in a little pot, and the little gem leaves, cucumber and tomatoes in another box. At lunch, spoon the chicken into the leaves and scatter over the almonds.
Good to know
How long does it keep?
Three days in a sealed tub in the fridge, and the flavour deepens overnight as the sultanas soak up the sauce. Keep it cold in your lunch bag with an ice pack.
How do I pack it?
Keep the almonds separate so they stay crunchy, and the lettuce in its own box. For a sandwich, wholemeal bread is fine if you add a lettuce leaf between the bread and the filling and build it in the morning.
Can I use leftover roast chicken?
Yes, it is the traditional way: about 450 g of cooked meat, skin removed. Skip the poaching and start at step 2.
Alternatives
Per
- Calories
- 93
- Protein
- (53%)
- 12 g
- Fat
- (24%)
- 2 g
- Carbohydrates
- (23%)
- 6 g
- of which sugar
- 4 g
- Fiber
- 1 g
- Sodium
- 201 mg
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Computed from the ingredients with our published formula, not yet kitchen-tested. How
As written, 1323 kcal goes into the pot and 1565 g of ingredients comes out as about 1420 g of food: 93 kcal per 100 g. Cooking moves water and energy density is the score's biggest lever, so the dish is scored as cooked, not as an average of its parts. Every ingredient links to its food page, with the same data and score. The label's percentages are each macronutrient's share of the calories. The full formula.