ON 2 JUNE, it will be 60 years since the coronation, and the banquet for which Coronation chicken was invented. There is much debate over what is considered to be the authentic recipe. Here is the cheat's variant.

15 chicken thighs and drumsticks,  or six chicken pieces
1 onion, peeled and chopped
1 tablespoon curry powder
1×400g can of chopped tomatoes
juice of ½ lemon
black pepper
1 chicken stock cube
1 small (200g) tub of crème fraîche
6 tablespoons of mayonnaise
4 tablespoons of mango chutney  (or apricot jam)
1 tablespoon flaked almonds

Poach the chicken in a pan of simmering water for 20 minutes with a stock of celery, bay leaf, and a carrot. Drain, and set aside to cool, then strip the meat off the bones into chunks. Or just lightly fry about six diced chicken breasts, and set aside.

In a frying pan, fry the chopped onion in oil for a few minutes until pale gold. Add the curry powder and mix through, along with the stock cube, then stir in the tin of tomatoes. Fill the empty can with water and pour this in, too, with the lemon juice and a good twist of black pepper. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 15 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Stir the crème fraîche and mayonnaise through the sauce with the jam or chutney. Add the chicken, and combine everything together. Serve in a large dish, with a few flaked almonds scattered over the top. God save the Queen!

Queen Victoria had Maids of honour for her coronation banquet in 1838. A few strawberries go very nicely with these.

½×500g pack of puff pastry
225g (8 oz) curd cheese/fromage  frais
40g (1½ oz) chopped candied peel
40g (1½ oz) caster sugar
grated zest of 1 lemon
25g (1 oz) ground almonds
1 egg plus 1 egg yolk, beaten
2 tablespoons lemon curd
icing sugar for dusting

Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/ Gas 6. On a floured surface, cut the pastry into two squares. Sprinkle with flour, and roll each one out to the thickness of a £1 coin. Using a cutter, get nine circles out of each pastry sheet, and use this to line the indents of a bun tin.

Combine in a bowl the curd cheese, sugar, lemon zest, ground almonds and chopped peel, then the beaten egg and yolk. Ensure everything is well blended. Spoon a teaspoon of lemon curd into each pastry case, then a dessertspoon of the curd mixture over the top. Bake in the centre of the oven for 20-25 minutes until puffy and golden-brown.

Transfer to a wire rack to cool. They will deflate a little as their temperature drops. Dust with icing sugar, and serve alongside finest English strawberries and a dollop of clotted cream, or just with a cup of tea - Royal Blend, perhaps?