The Royal We

That would be me and Elizabeth. Yes, that Elizabeth.

The Sovereign Lady. HRH. Mrs. Windsor. The Queen. Of England.

I have this dream of dining at her table. For once, I could lift my fork without fear.

Well, perhaps there would be fear... of a royal faux pas, such as lifting my fork at the wrong moment.

Or, worse yet, using the wrong fork. I hear that sends one straight To the Tower of London.

No, the fear I would lack is encountering garlic in my meal. You see, the Queen does not eat garlic. At all. Ever. There is no garlic to be found in Buckingham Palace (or Windsor Castle, I presume), according to her chef. Such a sensible lady...

I was at Windsor Castle last year, so I thought I would toss these in...
I don’t know why she doesn’t eat it. Is she allergic like me? Does it disagree with the royal digestive system? Does she fear garlic breath at a state occasion? Is she a vampire? We may never know.

In her honor, and in honor of our friends Maura and Bleu who are about to be married, we served a Royal Wedding dinner. The recipes had to come from a royal occasion (weddings included).

Someone loves his queen!
As host, I chose to serve the original version of the Coronation Chicken Salad, created in 1953 by Constance Spry and Rosemary Hume (both principals of the Cordon Bleu Cookery School in London) for a luncheon that followed the coronation

I even used my mother's wedding china and silver.
There are many versions to be found online, but this is the original. And it is ESL. (Ever So Lovely.) And hasn’t a trace of garlic.

~ David

Coronation Chicken Salad
3 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1 carrot, sliced
1 rib celery, sliced
1 medium onion, cut into quarters
2 cups white wine
1 tablespoon oil
1 small onion or large shallot, finely chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder
1 heaping teaspoon tomato paste
7 ounces red wine
6 ounces water
1 dried bay leaf, or 3 fresh
1 teaspoon sugar
salt and freshly ground pepper
2 slices of lemon
1 squeeze of lemon juice, possibly more
2-3 tablespoons apricot purée *
1 1/2 cups prepared mayonnaise
3 tablespoons lightly whipped cream
a little extra whipped cream 

   * made by blanching, peeling, then puréeing 4 small or 2 large apricots.

Start by poaching the chicken. Place the chicken, carrot, celery, and onion in a large stock pot. Add the wine, and then add enough water to cover the chicken by at least 1 inch. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes, or until chicken is done. Drain the chicken (reserving broth for another use) and let it cool.

While chicken is cooling, make the cream of curry sauce. Heat the oil in a medium saucepan, add the onion, cook gently 3-4 minutes. Add curry-powder and cook another 1-2 minutes. Add tomato paste, wine, water, and bay-leaf. Bring to a boil and add sugar, lemon slices and lemon juice, then season with salt and pepper. Reduce the heat and simmer with the pan uncovered for 8-10 minutes. Strain out the solids and cool. It will have a syrupy consistency.

Stir the curry syrup bit by bit into the mayonnaise, and then add the apricot purée to taste (I used the full 3 tablespoons). Adjust seasoning, adding a little more lemon juice if necessary. Finish with the whipped cream.

Cut the cooled chicken in 1/2-inch cubes, and mix in the curry sauce little by little. Do not overdress the salad. When it tastes just right, add a dollop more whipped cream to soften the flavors.

Serve chilled on a bed of greens by itself, or with a rice salad on the side.

Serves 8.

Note: For the coronation meal, the salad was served on oval plates with the chicken salad on the left and a rice salad on the right. The rice salad, which I also made, calls for peas, diced cucumber, herbs (tarragon and chervil) and a light French dressing. In 1957, a French dressing consisted of oil and vinegar. I used a light, but fruity, olive oil and an herbed white wine vinegar. Should you decide to make the rice salad, make sure your rice is completely cool before dressing it.

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