Coronation Quiche

Coronation Quiche

Coronation Quiche was created to celebrate the coronation of King Charles. The Royal Family shared the recipe for Coronation Quiche, which follows. In creating the recipe, the King’s royal chef, Mark Flanagan, made the unusual choice of adding fava beans, also known as broad beans. Fava beans have a rich, buttery flavor. Fresh fava beans require a bit of work to shell and peel, but they are well worth the effort.

Start by looking for light green fava bean pods. You may store the beans, still in their pods, in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for several days. Before cooking, fresh fava beans must be shelled or removed from their pods. Shell them by first snapping off the stem and pulling away the tough string on the side of the pod. Then, pop each pod open by pressing your thumbnails along its seam.

Fava Beans

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The skin that covers each shelled bean must be removed before eating, as it is tough and bitter tasting. To remove the skins, drop the shelled beans into a pot of boiling water and plunge for 1 to 2 minutes, then blanch the shelled beans in an ice bath. 

Pinch each bean opposite the end where it was attached to the pod and squeeze; the bean should pop free. The result is bright green fava beans.

Coronation Quiche has a light crust filled with the delicious flavors of spinach, fava beans, cheddar cheese, and fresh tarragon. Enjoy!

Serves 6

Ingredients:

1 cup plain flour

Pinch of salt

1 ¾ tablespoons cold butter, diced

1 ¾ tablespoons lard, diced

½ cup + 2 tablespoons whole milk, divided

2 medium sized eggs

⅔ cup whipping cream

1 tablespoon fresh tarragon, finely chopped

Salt and pepper, to taste

3.5oz cheddar cheese, grated

1 cup cooked spinach, chopped

½ cup broad beans, ready cooked

Directions:

1.Make the pastry…

a)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. For a vegetarian quiche, swap 1 ¾ tablespoons butter for 1 ¾ tablespoons lard.

b)Add the milk a little at a time and bring the ingredients together into a dough.

c)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.

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 375 F.

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 325 F.

7.Beat together the milk, cream, eggs, tarragon, salt, and pepper.

8.Scatter 1/2 of the grated cheese in the blind-baked base, top with the chopped spinach, fava beans, and tarragon, 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.