King Charles Coronation Quiche
This King Charles Coronation Quiche recipe is just one of the dishes on the menu for the official crowning ceremony of England’s new King. A simple and delicious filling with cheese, fresh spinach, fava beans (broad beans) and fresh tarragon all nestled inside my flaky, homemade crust.
This is the exact recipe from Buckingham Palace that was recently released. You will find a printable recipe by scrolling down this page or use the ‘jump to recipe’ button above.
Seeing a new monarch on the throne for me, as a British citizen, is something new because I’ve only ever known the Queen, but now my country is going to have a King and Queen! It’s been 70 years since Queen Elizabeth’s Coronation (by the way, her dish was Coronation Chicken!).
It is one of the dishes chosen by King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla served at the coronation/crowning of England’s new King.
There are other dishes on the menu, including a Coronation Roast Rack of Lamb, a Coronation Aubergine/Eggplant (picture below) and a Strawberry and Ginger Trifle.
How to make King Charles Coronation Quiche
What I personally like about a homemade quiche is that you don’t have to be a skilled cook to make it because you can kinda cheat and buy a premade pie crust. Whisking the eggs, milk cream and other ingredients is a simple task, then all you have to do is just bake it!
When it comes to the filling of this quiche, the King’s personal chef kept it very simple with the unusual choice of adding beans (broad beans to be precise) which are known as fava beans in the U.S. Fava beans can be sometimes hard to find but as a mini hack you can also substitute lima beans or even soy beans. The liquids used are eggs, whole milk and cream which makes for a very creamy and delicious quiche.
The cheese that’s specified is cheddar, specifically white cheddar. If you use orange cheddar, the color will be slightly different so stick with white.
The flaky pastry is similar to the pastry I use for my savory and sweet dishes like my British Steak and Ale Pie but they have chosen to add lard which I did also for this recipe. Of course, you can omit the lard and use all butter which is how I usually make it and it’s still just as flaky and good.
Spinach in Coronation Quiche
Spinach contains a lot of water. It is important to squeeze out as much liquid as you can by wrapping the spinach in a towel. If not, you will make the quiche soggy, and no one wants a soggy quiche!
Blind Baking Quiche Pastry
I’ve talked a lot about blind baking in many of my recipes and I used the blind baking method for this recipe. Blind baking is when you bake a quiche or pie crust without the filling. It is particularly essential when making a dish with a very wet filling, like this quiche. Blind baking gives the crust a chance to firm and bake before the filling is added and is an added protection against making the crust soggy. I highly recommend doing this with not only this dish but any of my other dishes or pies that require a good crust.
If you’ve made this King Charles Coronation Quiche, please leave a comment (or question) below. I love to hear from my readers.
King Charles Coronation Quiche
A flaky, homemade crust filled with eggs, milk, cream, spinach, cheese and broad beans/fava beans.
Ingredients
- For the pastry:
- 1 cup (125 grams) all-purpose/plain flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons (25 grams) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
- 3 tablespoons (25 grams) lard
- 2 tablespoons whole milk or water
- 1 pound (454 grams) dried small beans
- For the filling:
- 2 large eggs, room temperature, beaten
- ½ cup (125 ml) milk
- ¾ cup (175 ml) heavy/double cream
- 1 tablespoon fresh tarragon, chopped
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 cup (70 grams) white cheddar cheese, grated
- 1 cup (189 grams) cooked spinach, chopped (*see note)
- 1 cup (60 grams) cooked fava/broad beans or substitute lima beans
Instructions
- For the pastry:
To make the pastry in a food processor: Add the flour and salt and butter. Pulse until you get the texture of fine breadcrumbs. With the processor running, slowly drizzle in cold milk until it forms a ball. You may need more or less water or milk depending on the dough. - To make the pastry by hand: Add the flour, salt and butter to a large bowl. Using your fingertips (or a pastry cutter) rub the butter and flour until it resembles breadcrumbs. Drizzle in the water and mix using a fork until the it starts to come together and holds together when pressed in your hand. You may not need all of the water. Remove and shape into a ball on a floured board. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 375°F/190°C.
- Remove the dough from the refrigerator. Roll out the other half onto a floured surface to a thickness of 1/8 of an inch. Cut a circle from the dough 1/2 inch larger than your pan and place into the pie dish allowing the edge to hang over.
- Cut a large circle of parchment paper or foil larger than the pan or and place on top of the pastry in the pie dish. Pour the dried beans to the center to weigh down the dough.
- Bake the crust for 15 minutes. Remove and allow to cool slightly.
- Turn the oven down to 325°F/165°C.
- To a bowl add the eggs, milk, cream, tarragon, salt and pepper.
- Place the baked pastry on a baking pan (to make it easier to move in and out of the oven).
- Sprinkle half of the cheese on the bottom of the quiche crust in an even layer. Arrange the spinach in an even layer over the cheese, then add the beans on top of the spinach. Slowly pour the egg mix into the crust so it is evenly distributed between the spinach. Use a fork to gently move the spinach around so it is evenly distributed. Sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top. Bake for 40-45 minutes until the top is golden brown and the quiche is set.
- Allow to cool before slicing.
Notes
The spinach can be freshly cooked but if frozen, it must be defrosted and remember squeeze out as much water as possible!
Nutrition Information
Yield
8Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 333Total Fat 24gSaturated Fat 13gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 9gCholesterol 104mgSodium 452mgCarbohydrates 19gFiber 2gSugar 2gProtein 10g
This nutrition calculation is provided by Nutronix that is only a guideline and not intended for any particular diet.
5 Comments on “King Charles Coronation Quiche”
You have to remember that the Brits like bland food!
As a chef who’s restaurant’s signature sandwich was Coronation Chicken, I was eagerly awaiting a recipe from this coronation. The recipe looks bland and mundane. I’m very surprised. I make something similar to use up leftover veg at the end of the week. The tarragon is a nice touch, but there’s nothing celebratory in this recipe.
I think it’s a little unfair to judge the taste of a recipe based on looks alone. If a dish is seasoned correctly, sometimes you don’t need a lot of ingredients.
This Coronation Quiche recipe turns out a pretty pie that looks like it should taste savory, but is bland in flavour with beans that add unappealing lumps to the texture.
What was King Charles thinking?
This pie is like something that would be served at a rest home.
Much better would be a smoked salmon quiche or even those marvelous hand held folded over pies that are served as British pub fare and available at the airport in London.
I’m sorry it didn’t taste how you expected. Did you use the fresh tarragon? I found it to be very tasty with the fresh herbs.