Recipe: Coronation Chickpea Salad

Honestly, I’ve never been a fan of chicken salad, with one notable exception: Coronation Chicken Salad. I first had it on a trip to England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales with my bestie in 2005. Pre-made sandwiches were ubiquitous at train stations and convenience stores, and Coronation Chicken Salad Sandwiches soon became my favorite.

The original version of this British favorite (made especially for Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation in 1953) includes curry powder, red wine, tomato puree, apricot puree, mayonnaise and… WHIPPED CREAM. No joke! My version eschews chicken for chickpeas, Greek yogurt for mayo, and swaps out the apricot altogether for mango (which is, along with the curry powder and chickpeas, a reference to the UK’s colonization of India) leaving the salad lighter, healthier and full of fiber. Even better? My recipe involves NO COOKING (unless you count making toast to put it on.)20160830_183733

Coronation Chickpea Salad

  • Servings: 6
  • Difficulty: easy
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A vegetarian play on the classic Coronation Chicken Salad, this recipe is sweet, salty, spicy, creamy and delicious!

I love this on toasted Italian bread but it’s equally delicious on a bed of romaine. Choose a crunchy base, it really plays well off of the creaminess of the salad.

Ingredients

  • 2 cans chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed
  • 1 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt
  • 1 cup grated carrots
  • 1 oz dried mango, minced
  • 1/4 cup whole almonds, chopped
  • 2 tbsp curry powder (I used hot)
  • 1/2 tsp kosher salt
  • black pepper to taste
  • juice of 1 lemon
  • cilantro (optional)

Directions

  1. In a large bowl, mash the chickpeas with a fork or a potato masher until it’s coarse and flaky (kind of like canned tuna texture). I used my food processor and pulsed it for about 20 seconds total.
  2. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well.
  3. Garnish with cilantro if desired.

Happy eating!

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8 thoughts on “Recipe: Coronation Chickpea Salad”

  3. Now, if you had told me that my mouth would be watering for a mashed chick pea toast, I would have scoffed! Scoffed, I say!! But, dang…this sounds really, really good!!

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  4. This is one of the most interesting recipes I’ve ever seen. And I had never heard of Coronation Chicken Salad
    so I loved reading the history of it all. I just may have to try this one.

    Liked by 1 person

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