Diana Henry’s Coronation Chicken Salad with Mango and Avocado
Diana Henry is a British cookbook author whose work I like very much. This recipe comes from A Bird In the Hand a book completely devoted to chicken recipes – which is brilliant, I think! Coronation Chicken Salad probably originated in the 1970’s, at least that’s what it seems like to me. This is a deliciously updated version that is lively and bright with sweet and spicy flavors. As Rob says “It’s a slam dunk with Pinot Gris!” If you’re in a hurry, this absolutely works with leftover chicken or a rotisserie one from the grocery store.
Servings: 8
Ingredients
- For the Salad
- Kosher salt and pepper
- 2 ¼ pound boneless skinless, chicken breasts or thighs
- 4 tablespoons olive oil divided
- 2 just ripe mangos
- 2 ripe avocados
- Juice of 2 limes divided
- 3 ounces watercress or baby spinach
- 1 red chili halved, seeded and chopped
- 3 tablespoons toasted sliced almonds
- leaves from 7 sprigs of mint torn
- For the dressing
- 1 tablespoon curry powder
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 ½ cups best quality mayonnaise
- ½ cup plan greek yogurt
- 1 tablespoons mango chutney chop any big chunks
- a little milk to thin the dressing if necessary
- chili sauce to taste (I use Sriracha)
Instructions
- Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large skillet. Suate it until golden all over and then add about 3 tablespoons of water. Cover and let the chicken cook through. How long this takes depends on the size of the pieces. Cut a piece through the middle to check (it should have no trace of pink). Let the chicken cool completely and then slice into bite-sized pieces.
- Gently combine all of the ingredients for the dressing together. Season to taste.
- Peel the mangos and cut into slices about ¼ inch thick. This is hard to do neatly, but it doesn’t matter. Then peel and slice the avocados about the same thickness. Squeeze some fresh lime juice over the avocado to slow down the discoloring. Gently toss the salad leaves with the mint, mango, avocado, red chili, the remaining lime juice and 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Put the salad on a big platter or a broad shallow bowl and lay the chicken on top of it. Drizzle some of the dressing over the entire thing and scatter the almonds over it. Pass the rest of the dressing at the table in a small pitcher.
Hello, I live in WA but am from England and I make Coronation Chicken a lot because it’s such a lovely dish. But I thought you’d be interested to know this historical fact. Coronation chicken was never originally served as a salad. It was served as a main dish and usually with rice because it’s like a cold curry dish. It was created in 1953, when renowned florist Constance Spry and cordon bleu chef Rosemary Hume catered for a banquet to celebrate the coronation of Elizabeth II. It is believed to be inspired by the ‘Jubilee Chicken’ created for George V’s silver jubilee in 1935.
Thank you so much for that history – good to know! Also, sorry it took me so long to see this. P.S. the salad is delicious!