A Vegetarian Quiche Is This Year’s Coronation Dish

The history of quiche, and how to make King Charles' official recipe

By Ellie Smith | 12 months ago

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Seventy years since coronation chicken was created for the Queen’s ascension to the throne, a new royally-approved dish has been announced to mark King Charles III’s coronation. The official recipe is (drum roll please)… a quiche.

Personally selected by the King alongside Camilla, the Queen Consort, it’s hoped that the dish will be created for street parties across the country on 6 May, when Charles is officially being crowned. The recipe, which you can find below, is described as a ‘deep quiche with a crisp, light pastry case and delicate flavours of spinach, broad beans and fresh tarragon.’ It was created by royal chef Mark Flanagan, who recommends we enjoy it alongside a green salad and boiled new potatoes.

So why quiche, you might wonder? Granted, the dish might not scream trendy, but it was picked because it’s a good sharing option, can be served hot or cold, is not too complicated or expensive to make, and can be adapted for different dietary requirements. It’s significant that the King picked a vegetarian dish too, as he is known for his commitment to environmental issues, and has previously spoken about the impact of meat consumption.

Quiche is often thought of as a French dish, but it’s actually believed to have originated in Germany, in the medieval kingdom of Lothringen – later occupied by the French, who renamed it Lorraine. The original quiche was a pie filled with egg and cream custard, and cheese was later added to the mix. Originally, the base was made from bread dough, but that changed over the years and now it’s typically made from a short-crust or puff pastry crust.

It became popular in England following the Second World War, after British troops returned and shared the recipe with their hometowns. A traditional quiche Lorraine includes bacon or ham, but the opportunities are endless when it comes to fillings.

Alongside the quiche, four other official recipes have been announced for the coronation. These are:

Prawn tacos with pineapple salsa, by Greg Wallace
Strawberry and ginger trifle, by Adam Handling
Roast rack of lamb with Asian-style marinade, by Ken Hom
Coronation aubergine, by Nadia Hussain

Recipe: Coronation Quiche

Serves 6

Ingredients

Pastry

125g plain flour
Pinch of salt
25g cold butter, diced
25g lard
2 tablespoons milk
Or 1 x 250g block of ready-made shortcrust pastry

Filling

125ml milk
175ml double cream
2 medium eggs
1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon
Salt and pepper
100g grated cheddar cheese
180g cooked spinach, lightly chopped
60g cooked broad beans or soya beans

Method

To make the pastry…

Sieve the flour and salt into a bowl; add the fats and rub the mixture together using your finger tips until you get a sandy, breadcrumb like texture.
Add the milk a little at a time and bring the ingredients together into a dough.
Cover and allow to rest in the fridge for 30-45 minutes

To make the quiche…

Lightly flour the work surface and roll out the pastry to a circle a little larger than the top of the tin and approximately 5mm thick.
Line the tin with the pastry, taking care not to have any holes or the mixture could leak. Cover and rest for a further 30 minutes in the fridge.
Preheat the oven to 190°C.
Line the pastry case with greaseproof paper, add baking beans and bake blind for 15 minutes, before removing the greaseproof paper and baking beans.
Reduce the oven temperature to 160°C.
Beat together the milk, cream, eggs, herbs and seasoning.
Scatter 1/2 of the grated cheese in the blind-baked base, top with the chopped spinach and beans and herbs, then pour over the liquid mixture.
If required gently give the mixture a delicate stir to ensure the filling is evenly dispersed but be careful not to damage the pastry case.
Sprinkle over the remaining cheese. Place into the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes until set and lightly golden.