NO ROYAL occasion is complete without a ‘Big Lunch’ event or street party of some kind and King Charles III’s coronation is no different.
The Big Lunches being held across the Midlands and the whole of the UK over the bank holiday weekend – from May 6 to 8 – will bring neighbours and communities together to share friendship, food and fun.
Back in 1953 when Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II had her coronation luncheon, it was thought that a special dish needed to be created to mark such an historic occasion.
Le Cordon Bleu London was tasked with finding such a dish and came up with ‘Poulet Reine Elizabeth’ which is now widely referred to as ‘Coronation Chicken’.
With its curry sauce, Coronation Chicken gave a nod to some of the Commonwealth countries Her Majesty The Queen presided over.
Its popularity since its introduction has continued with, as well as people making their own, shops and supermarkets also stocking Coronation Chicken sandwiches and wraps and even selling it on its own so customers can use it how they see fit.
Fast forward to King Charles III coronation and a new dish was needed to mark this historic occasion – step forward the Coronation Quiche.
The deep quiche created has a crisp, light pastry case and delicate flavours of spinach, broad beans and fresh Tarragon.
It can be eaten hot or cold with a green salad and boiled new potatoes – perfect for a Coronation Big Lunch!
It is believed to have been chosen as it contains some of the King’s favourite ingredients, it can be served hot and cold, is straightforward to bake and, in a cost-of-living crisis, will not be too expensive to create.
Although lard is contained in the recipe listed below that can be switched to make it adaptable for vegetarians.
Coronation Quiche Recipe (serves six)
This should be cooked in a 20cm flan tin
Ingredients
Pastry
125g plain flour
Pinch of salt
25g cold butter, diced
25g lard
2tbsp milk
Or one x 250g block of ready-made shortcrust pastry
Filling
125ml milk
175ml double cream
2 medium eggs
1tbsp 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…
1. 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.
2. Add the milk a little at a time and bring the ingredients together into a dough.
3. Cover and allow to rest in the fridge for 30 to 45 minutes
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. Preheat the oven to 190°C.
7. Line the pastry case with greaseproof paper, add baking beans and bake blind for 15 minutes, before removing the greaseproof paper and baking beans.
8. Reduce the oven temperature to 160°C.
And the filling…..
9. Beat together the milk, cream, eggs, herbs and seasoning.
10. 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.
11. 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.
12. Sprinkle over the remaining cheese. Place into the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes until set and lightly golden.
