Sam’s historical recipe corner: Coronation chicken

History Extra

In every issue of BBC History Magazine, picture editor Sam Nott brings you a recipe from the past. In this article, Sam recreates coronation chicken - a chicken dish dreamt up for a special royal occasion.

 Coronation chicken 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.

 At the time the recipe was widely published so it could be enjoyed at street parties across Britain. But, with postwar rationing still in place, the ingredients would have been hard to come by.

 Ingredients
2 roasting chickens (I used 2.75 lbs chicken drums and thighs) water and a little wine
1 carrot
1 bouquet garni
salt and 3–4 peppercorns

For the sauce:
 2oz chopped onion
2 tsp curry powder
1 tsp tomato purée
1 wine glass of red wine
¾ wine glass of water
1 bay leaf salt, sugar, pepper
1–2 slices of lemon
1 squeeze of lemon juice
1–2 tbsp apricot purée (or apricot jam)
¾ pint mayonnaise (I used 28 tbsp)
 2–3 tbsp whipped cream, plus a little more
1 tbsp oil

 Method
 Poach the chicken with carrot, bouquet, salt and peppercorns in water and a little wine, for about 40 minutes or until tender. Allow to cool in the liquid and remove bones.

 Cream of curry sauce: Fry the onion in oil for 3-4 minutes, then add curry powder. Fry for a further 1–2 minutes. Add tomato purée, wine, water, and bay leaf. Bring to boil, add lemon slices and juice, pinch of salt, pepper and sugar. Simmer uncovered for 5–10 minutes. Strain and cool.

 Add mayonnaise and apricot purée in stages. Season, and add more lemon juice if necessary. Mix in the whipped cream. Coat the chicken in the sauce and mix in a little extra cream and seasoning. Serve with rice salad and a little extra sauce.

 Rice salad: The salad comprised rice, cooked peas, diced raw cucumber, finely chopped mixed herbs and French dressing.

 Verdict The original version has many more subtle wine and herb-infused flavours than the bright yellow, sultana-laden, modern sandwich filler!

 Difficulty: 4/10

 Time: 1 1/2 hours

 Based on the original 1953 recipe from The Constance Spry Cookery Book by Rosemary Hume and Constance Spry.

Sam’s historical recipe corner: Vanilla ice cream

History Extra

In every issue of BBC History Magazine, picture editor Sam Nott brings you a recipe from the past. In this article, Sam recreates vanilla ice cream - a dessert enjoyed by an 18th-century US president.

 US president Thomas Jefferson’s love of ice cream is well documented, and led to its huge popularity in the US. Jefferson was in France between 1784 and 1789 and brought back lots of exciting recipes – pigs’ feet, fruit tarts, peach flambe – including this recipe. His hand-written ice cream recipe – the first of its kind in the US – still survives today.

 Traditionally ice cream would have been frozen using a salt and ice technique. I’ve included this method for those readers who fancy trying some fun food chemistry.

 Ingredients
• 6 egg yolks
 • 2 pints of cream (I used 1 of single and 1 of double)
 • 250g caster sugar
 • pinch salt
 • 2 tsp of vanilla or one vanilla pod
 • ice and salt (if you’re using this freezing method)

 Method
 Beat the egg yolks until they are thick and a pale yellow colour. Add the sugar and a pinch of salt. 

Pour the cream into a pan and bring to the boil. Take off the heat and slowly pour into the beaten egg mixture. Put over a pan of simmering water (or bain-marie) and let it slowly thicken until it has the consistency of custard.

 Strain the mixture through a fine sieve into a bowl. Add the vanilla and allow to cool.

 Freezing using ice and salt: You’ll need a plastic tub with a lid for the ice cream, and a larger container (a small bucket is ideal) for the crushed ice and salt (three parts ice to one part salt). Put the ice cream tub into the ice and salt mixture and shake every hour or so to stop ice crystals forming. The ice and salt should react, drawing heat away and freezing the ice cream more quickly.

 Freezing using a freezer: Put the tub of ice cream mix in the freezer and after around an hour give it a really good mix to get rid of any ice crystals. Continue to whisk every hour or so until the ice cream has set.

 Verdict
 I did try the ice and salt method but I must have got my ratios wrong as it didn’t seem to set – that, or I was getting a bit impatient! I ended up popping the mix into the freezer and stirring periodically. The result was worth all the effort, though: a really indulgent vanilla treat.

 Difficulty: 5/10

 Time (including freezing): 6 hours

 Recipe courtesy of DigVentures

Sam’s historical recipe corner: Chicken Marengo

History Extra

In every issue of BBC History Magazine, picture editor Sam Nott brings you a recipe from the past. In this article, Sam recreates a chicken recipe inspired by one of Napoleon’s famous battles. 

According to legend, Chicken Marengo was a dish hastily invented by Napoleon’s cook from whatever ingredients he could get hold of, following the French leader’s narrow victory at the battle of Marengo in 1800. It was more likely to have been invented in a French restaurant and named after the battle to add to its prestige. There are a number of variations on the recipe, but this one seemed like a relatively simple version.

 Ingredients
• 2 skinless chicken breast fillets, each cut into two or three pieces
 • 1 tbsp olive oil
 • 1 tbsp plain white flour
 • 1 medium onion, finely chopped
 • 100g mushrooms, sliced
 • 150ml dry white wine
 • 150ml stock
 • 2 garlic cloves, crushed
 • 3 tbsp tomato purée
 • 1 tsp parsley, finely chopped
 • 150g long-grain rice
 • 2 eggs

 Method

Heat a frying pan and add the oil. Dab the chicken pieces dry with a paper towel and coat thinly with flour. Sauté over a medium heat for five minutes.

 Transfer the chicken pieces to a medium-sized, lidded saucepan.

Add the onion and mushrooms to the frying pan and sauté these for around six minutes. Once tender, add to the saucepan. Take the frying pan off the heat and add the wine, before pouring this enriched wine into the saucepan. Add the stock, garlic and tomato purée to the saucepan and stir well. Bring it to the boil and then simmer, covered, for 30 minutes. Remove the lid and simmer for another 30 minutes or until the sauce is reduced. Meanwhile, cook the rice and fry the eggs.

 Serve the chicken and sauce on a bed of rice. Sprinkle with parsley and garnish with a fried egg.

 Difficulty: 3/10

 Time: 90 minutes

Historical recipes: How to make Russian Easter sweet bread Kulich

History Extra

Often baked in a coffee tin so its shape resembles that of the hats of Russian Orthodox priests, kulich remains a tasty treat after the restrictions of Lent. Traditionally it is decorated with the letters XB – Христос Воскресе (Khristos Voskrese – Christ is risen).

 Ingredients

 Bread:
 - 20g dried active baking yeast
- 350ml warm milk
- 200g caster sugar
 - 80g sultanas
 - 50ml rum
- 750g plain flour, sifted
 - 5 eggs
 - 1tsp vanilla extract
 - pinch of salt
- 250g butter, softened
- 80g almonds
 - 80g chopped mixed peel

 Icing (optional):
 - 1 egg white
 - 250g icing sugar
- 1tsp lemon juice

 Method
 Bread:
 Dissolve yeast in 100ml warm milk, add ½tsp sugar.
Soak sultanas in rum.
 Sift 120g of flour into a bowl, add remaining 250ml milk and mix well.
 Add yeast mixture, cover, and let it stand in a warm place for 30 mins.
 Separate egg yolks and beat with sugar until fluffy and pale in colour.
 Stir in the rum, add vanilla and mix. In a separate bowl, add a pinch of salt to egg whites. Whisk until peaks form and set aside.
 Add egg yolk mixture to yeast mixture and mix. Fold in the egg whites. Add the remaining flour in small batches, mixing well each time.
 Knead until dough separates from sides of the bowl. Transfer dough to a flat surface and knead for 10 mins.
 When pliable add butter, 50g at a time.
 Knead for 2 mins and form into a ball.
 Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl, cover with cling film and wrap in a tea towel.
 Leave to rise in a warm place for 90 mins. When dough doubles in size, remove and knead for 2 mins. Knead in sultanas, almonds and mixed peel.
 Line a tin with baking paper, fill 1/3 full with dough and cover with a tea towel. Leave to prove until dough rises to the top.
 Preheat oven to 180°C.
Bake for 45–60 mins.

 Icing (optional): Mix raw egg white with icing sugar and lemon juice. Spread over the top of the bread and let it drizzle down the sides.

 Difficulty: 4/10
Time: 220 mins
 Recipe provided by allrecipes.co.uk

Sam’s historical recipe corner: A delicate chewit

History Extra

© Sam Nott 

In every issue of BBC History Magazine, picture editor Sam Nott brings you a recipe from the past. In this article, Sam recreates a delicate chewit - a meat and fruit pie enjoyed in the 16th century. 

Britain loves pies, and recipes for them can be found in cookbooks going back centuries. This month I’ve chosen a 16th-century pie called a chewit that mixes sweet and savoury flavours – a combination that was popular in the Tudor era. Recipes from that time often refer to coffins – robust pastry designed more to contain the filling than to be eaten. My version, including measurements, is based on this 16th-century recipe:

 Parboyle a piece of a Legge of Veal, and being cold, mince it with Beefe Suit, and Marrow, and an Apple or a couple of Wardens: when you haue minst it fine, put to a few parboyld Currins, sixe Dates minst, a piece of a preserued Orenge pill minst, Marrow cut in little square pieces. Season all this with Pepper, Salt, Nutmeg, and a little Sugar: then put it into your Coffins, and so bake it. Before you close your Pye, sprinckle on a little Rosewater, and when they are baked shaue on a little Sugar, and so serue it to the Table.

 Ingredients

 Pastry:
 • 400g flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 200g butter
 • 1 egg yolk
• Iced water

 Filling:
• 500g minced beef
• 50g sultanas
• 6 dates
• Zest from half an orange
 • 2 medium-sized pears, chopped
 • 100g suet
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• Salt and pepper
 • Rose water (sprinkle)
 • Sugar (sprinkle)

 Method

Pastry:
Sift the flour and salt into a basin. Cut the butter into small chunks and rub it into the flour until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Make a well in the centre. Add the egg yolk and 5 tbsp of iced water. Roll the pastry into a ball, wrap in cling film and leave in the fridge for 30 minutes.

 Filling:
Roll out the pastry and line a pie tin, leaving enough for the lid of the pie. Lightly fry the minced beef, then add the suet, fruit and seasoning. Pack tightly into the pie case and sprinkle a small amount of rose water on the top of the filling before adding the pie top. Sprinkle sugar on the pastry and cook for an hour in an oven preheated to 200˚C.

 Team verdict: “Delicious and moist” “Mmmmm – fruity!”
 Difficulty: 4/10
 Time: 1 hour preparation, 1 hour cooking

 This article was first published in the December 2015 issue of BBC History Magazine

Sam’s historical recipe corner: Custard tart

History Extra

Custard tart - a regal dessert fit for any dinner table. (Credit: Sam Nott)

In every issue of BBC History Magazine, picture editor Sam Nott brings you a recipe from the past. In this article, Sam recreates custard tart - a rich dessert that has graced royal tables through the ages. 

Custard tarts really are the food of and queens. They were served at Henry IV’s coronation in 1399 and more recently at Queen Elizabeth’s 80th birthday in 2006. In medieval times the tarts (also known as doucetes and darioles) could include pork too – dinner and pudding in one! Custard recipes go back to Roman times, but I used Marcus Wareing’s Queen’s birthday banquet version.

 Ingredients For the pastry:
 • 225g flour + pinch of salt
 • Zest of one lemon • 150g butter
 • 75g caster sugar
 • 1 egg and 1 egg yolk

 For the filling:
 • 9 egg yolks • 75g caster sugar
 • 500ml whipping cream
 • 2 nutmegs

 Method
Preheat oven to 170°C/gas mark 3. Add salt, lemon zest and butter to the flour and mix between fingertips until it resembles breadcrumbs.

 Add sugar, then the beaten egg and extra yolk, and form into a ball. Wrap in clingfilm, chill in a fridge for 1-2 hours, then roll out on a floured surface to 2mm thick.

 Use to line an 18cm flan ring, placed on a baking tray, and cover with greaseproof paper and baking beans. Bake for 10 mins or until pastry starts to go golden brown. Remove, then cool. Reduce oven to 130°C/gas mark 1.

 Bring the cream to the boil. In a separate bowl whisk egg yolks with sugar and mix in the cream. Fill the pastry case to the brim and grate nutmeg on top. Bake for 30–40 mins or until set. Allow to cool. 

My verdict
Delicious but extremely rich. Treat yourself to a moderate slice (rather than the robust slices I ate). You’ll find that it still works well if you reduce the sugar content.

 Difficulty:
 3/10 Time: 120 minutes

 Recipe courtesy of Great British Chefs.
 For a medieval version of the same recipe see Cook's Info.
 This article was first published in the November 2014 issue of BBC History Magazine.

Sam’s historical recipe corner: Beef olives

History Extra

Beef olives. © Sam Nott

In every issue of BBC History Magazine, picture editor Sam Nott brings you a recipe from the past. In this article, Sam recreates beef olives – a deliciously traditional dish enjoyed across Europe.

 I’ve often heard about beef olives but in never sounded that appetising. I didn’t realise though that I’ve been eating if for years. My German grandmother would often cook rouladen, which is the same as beef olives, and it’s delicious!

 I have early memories of my mum pounding meat with a rolling pin, which I’m sure was for roulade. Most parts of Europe have their equivalent recipes and one of the earliest I found was in Hannah Glasse’s 1747 book, The Art of Cookery. I based my dish on a modern version from bbcgoodfood.com.

 Ingredients
400g of beef thinly sliced (any cut)
1 tbsp of dijon mustard 1 medium onion
220g celery
150g carrot
250ml red wine
600ml beef stock
 2 tbsp of passata

 For the stuffing:
 1 small onion
3 rashers of smoked bacon
 4 mushrooms
1 tsp of thyme leaves
1 clove of garlic
1 tbsp of olive oil

 Method

Preheat the oven to 175˚C. Fry the onions, garlic and mushrooms until soft. Add to the raw bacon and set aside: this is your stuffing.

 Place the beef on a flat surface and beat with a rolling pin or food hammer until very thin – this part is very satisfying!

 Spread each beef slice with the mustard, add the stuffing and then roll the beef slice (with the stuffing inside). Secure with a cocktail stick or string.

Fry on all sides until brown and place in an oven-proof dish. Fry the remaining onion, carrot and celery in a pan for five minutes. Add passata, red wine and beef stock and stir. Pour over the beef olives and cook in the oven, with a lid on, for three hours.

 Remove the beef olives from the dish and keep warm. Blend the remaining sauce until no lumps remain.

 My verdict

This was really delicious, despite the fact I let it cook too long so the gravy vanished (as you can see from the photo). But with mashed potatoes and gravy, it’s a very hearty dinner.

 Difficulty: 5/10 Time: 210 mins

 This article was first published in the October 2014 issue of BBC History Magazine.