For our second night of celebration dining I decided to make Jamie Oliver’s ER Diamond Jubilee Chicken, but without the chicken. Since I’ve never had the classic coronation chicken I had no idea what to expect (and then I substituted garlic tofu on top of that!)

I was worried it was going to be more of a mystery jubilee than a regal jewel, but as all of Jamie’s recipes turn out (even with my American-Vegetarian finagling) it was really good!

First I cut the tofu and marinated it juice from one lemon, some fresh pineapple chunks, a thumb-sized piece of diced fresh ginger, 4 diced garlic cloves, and some olive oil. I only let it sit for around 30 minutes. Keep the marinade! You’ll need it later.

Then I sautéed the tofu until golden and crispy in more olive oil.

Then added all the spices. Hang on to your crowns: 1 tsp of coriander, 1/2 TBSP of garam masala, 1/2 a tsp of turmeric, 1/4 a tsp of chili powder, 1/4 of a tsp of red chili flakes (add more if you want it spicier- we’re mild people at our house). Wow, it seemed like a lot more when I was making it.

After cooking in the spices ( 5 minutes or so) I added a cup of chopped fresh pineapple, a handful of cashews, 1/2 a tsp of cumin seeds, 1 TBSP of sesame seeds, and 3 or 4 sliced green onions.
I also added back in my marinating mix.

The last steps- squeeze juice from one lime and lightly stir in a TBSP of plain yogurt (don’t skip the yogurt, it adds a richness you won’t want to miss!)

Oh! And I almost forgot the mini yorkies! I made Yorkshire puddings for the first time. Jamie recommended a mini muffin pan and that’s what I went with.

They’re basically like popovers, but a little denser. The smoking hot oil in the muffin pan freaked me out a little, but it turned out to be pretty easy and yummy.

The whole meal included: the jubilee tofu on top of cucumber slices, butter onion sweet rice, salad and the Yorkshire puddings.

Ta until tomorrow!