Steam Combi Recipe: Easy Coronation Chicken Pie

Coronation chicken is an old fashioned salad recipe, invented by Constance Spry, the founder of the Le Cordon Bleu cooking school. It was part of the banquet for the coronation of the  Queen in 1953. It has an unusual combination of sweet and savoury . The original recipe uses dried apricots and here Ive used mango chutney in place of them but you could chop up half a dozen dried apricots instead if you don’t have the mango chutney on hand. You can also swap out the curry powder for a tablespoon of your favourite curry paste.
You can  also choose to use precooked left over chicken if you like for an even quicker cook.
This recipe is great for a lunch dish, the combination of savoury with a touch of sweet also makes it perfect for a picnic.
You can also choose to make individual pies by cutting the pastry sheet into 6 rectangles.

METHOD

1. Set the oven to 100 C full steam and cook the chicken breasts ( use the meat probe if available set to 75C )
2. After 5 minutes, set a tray above the chicken with the diced onion, then after 5 more minutes add the spinach leaves.
3. While the chicken is cooking mix the mayonnaise, curry powder, and mango chutney in a medium sized bowl
4. Remove the chicken and vegetables from the oven,
5. Set the oven to 200C Bottom and Fan Forced and preheat
6. Squeeze the spinach to remove excess water.
7. Set one sheet of pastry on a baking paper lined oven tray
8. Distribute the spinach then the onion on the pastry, leaving a 3cm border around the edge
9. Dice chicken and add to mayonnaise and toss to coat well then top the spinach with the chicken mixture.
10. Lay the other sheet of pastry over the chicken mixture and seal the edges with a fork
11. Beat egg in a small bowl and brush over pastry then sprinkle with poppy seeds.
12. Cook in the bottom half of the oven for 18-20 minutes or until the pastry is golden and crispy.