I have three words for all you guys: MAKE THIS RECIPE!

This was one of our two options for the Gutsy Cook club this week. Since I knew that we had a beach day planned this past Sunday, I figure this would be the perfect dish to take and eat while sitting in the hot Florida sun, enjoying the crash of the waves, working on our tans and catching up on some reading.

It was sunny.

And the waves were crashing all around us.

But, it was cold!

After unpacking half of our house onto the beach, Tom and the little man did not waste time in strip to their bathing suits and jumping in the water.

Boys are CRAZY!

I (being totally the smart one) proceeded to cover myself from head to toe in a sweater; hat, sunglasses and the blanket that was suppose to be our picnic blanket which ended up being my barrier between my legs and the cold wind coming from the ocean.

I’m a total wuss.

But, back to the chicken rolls. They are, as the book states “…synonymous with British summer picnics and garden party..” And they are right, these little morsels are perfect for quick bites and they pack quite a punch. As mention in my Gutsy pre-recap, there are tons of versions of this recipe – the filling varies and of course I had to put my own twist to it.

I replace the shallot for red onion, because that is what I had in the refrigerator, I also cooked the apricot halves on the same pan as the red onions, added golden raisins, some roasted pineapple & habanero dip that I had for ages in my refrigerator and to give it some crunch some chopped walnuts.

The end result was a chicken salad full of spiciness goodness with a bit of sweet kick, perfect for the potato rolls that I used as the vessel to served it with.

My only recommendation is to make this the day before, so you have 24 hours to develop the flavors, I made mine early Sunday morning, and while it was really good when we had our first serving at 4pm on the beach. Today we realized that it was even better, when we finished it off for dinner tonight.

CORONATION CHICKEN ROLLS
Adapted from the Kitchen Bible

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 shallot, finely chopped
1 teaspoon curry powder (either mild or hot, according to taste) Note: I added about 1 tablespoon, since I wanted it to be quite spicy
1 tablespoon tomato paste
dash of Worcestershire sauce
½ cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon of the roasted pineapple & habanero dip
¼ cup of roughly chopped walnuts
¼ cup of golden raisins
6 canned apricot halves in juice (I used 3)
2 cups diced cooked chicken (I bought a roasted chicken from my local supermarket)
8 small rolls, preferably oval, split and spread with softened butter or left plain
2 tablespoon chopped parsley

The chicken salad can be refrigerated up to 1 day in advance, and then spooned on to the rolls an hour or two before serving

Heat the oil in a small frying pan over medium-low heat. Add the shallot red onion and cook for about 2 minutes until softened but not browned. Add the curry powder and stir for 1 minute until fragrant. Stir in the tomato paste and Worcestershire sauce. Remove from heat and let cool. In the same hot pan, I sautéed the apricots with a bit of their own juices just enough to warm them up.

Process the shallot mixture, mayonnaise, drip and cooked apricot halves in a food processor until smooth and creamy. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the chicken, the dip, the raisins and the walnuts. Cover and refrigerate until needed.

Spoon the chicken salad onto the rolls, and sprinkle with the chopped parsley.

To check out the other Gutsy Cooks creations remember to visit them in their individual blogs. Or how about joining us every week to some Gutsy cooking?