Let’s be honest, coronation chicken was always going to be a tough act to follow. Indeed, until I saw a tweet from fellow food writer Sejal Sukhadwala expressing surprise that the “‘official’ coronation recipes” were so “random”, I’d assumed the palace wouldn’t even bother trying to compete with Constance Spry’s 1953 triumph. And then, just before noon, the royal family’s Twitter account casually dropped the coronation quiche into the mix.
Described as having been “chosen personally by their majesties the king and the queen consort”, on first glance it ticks more boxes than Gregg Wallace’s (official) prawn and pineapple tacos, not least because during the pandemic, Clarence House sought to comfort the nation with a recipe for cheesy baked eggs described as one of the then prince’s favourites.
As well as quintessentially British cheddar, the quiche contains two vegetables in season here in May, spinach and broad beans. The king, who avoids meat and fish for two days a week, is known to be a keen kitchen gardener (or, possibly, a keen supervisor of other people’s labour in that department).
The choice of tarragon, a herb which always screams France to me, is an intriguing one. Perhaps, like the quiche itself, it’s a nod to the couple’s first, ill-fated foreign visit, or the young Camilla’s time studying in Paris, though the queen consort has admitted in interviews that her own cookery skills run more in the direction of beans on toast. In any case, unlike the prawns (sorry Gregg), it sounds genuinely like something I’d like to eat on an early summer Sunday, so I’m delighted to have the chance to give it a test run before the big day.
The first thing I notice as I gather my ingredients is that the shortcrust pastry contains lard. Great for flaky texture, but it seems odd that the royal household doesn’t suggest substituting the same quantity of butter for those who don’t eat pork for whatever reason. The second, as I struggle to roll the stuff out big enough to line the tin, is that this is a recipe written by a professional chef, rather than someone used to catering for home cooks.
My top tips for anyone attempting it: unless you’re a pastry whizz, make double the amount suggested, put the case back in the oven for another five minutes to dry out after removing the baking beans, and make sure you squeeze every last drop of water out of your spinach before adding it or you’ll end up with egg soup. I’d also warn you it’s likely to take longer than 25 minutes to achieve the golden beauty of the palace’s version.
The result, better served warm than hot, is so packed full of vegetables it’s more like a spinach pie than a quiche, as one of my testers observes (you could reduce the amount a little if this unnerves you, and swap the tarragon for another soft herb if you’re not a fan of anise flavours), but the surrounding custard is light and creamy, and the generous helping of cheese likely to placate all but the most determined greenphobes.
Does the coronation quiche live up to my beloved curried chicken salad? Well, it’s less original, less distinctive – but it’s also likely to be less divisive, which is exactly what the country needs right now. Whether anyone will remember it in 70 years’ time is another matter.
Coronation quiche recipe
The recipe says the dish serves six.
1 x 20cm flan tin
Pastry
125g plain flour
Pinch of salt
25g cold butter, diced
25g lard
2 tablespoons milk
Or 1 x 250g block of readymade 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
1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. Preheat the oven to 190C.
5. Line the pastry case with greaseproof paper, add baking beans and bake blind for 15 minutes, before removing the greaseproof paper and baking beans.
6. Reduce the oven temperature to 160C.
7. Beat together the milk, cream, eggs, herbs and seasoning.
8. Scatter half of the grated cheese in the blind-baked base, top with the chopped spinach and beans and herbs, then pour over the liquid mixture.
9. 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.
10. Sprinkle over the remaining cheese. Place into the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes until set and lightly golden.
Read Felicity’s quiche lorraine masterclass and more of her How to cook the perfect … recipes.
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