King Charles III has officially unveiled his signature coronation dish, underwhelming royalists everywhere. The ‘Coronation Quiche’, which is to be served at the palace’s ‘Big Lunch’ event on May 7, was personally chosen by the King and Queen Consort, giving us great insight into how dull mealtimes must be at Buckingham Palace. 

Easily adapted to different tastes and preferences, the Coronation Quiche – featuring spinach, broad beans, cheese and tarragon – encourages you to get involved with the #CoronationBigLunch!

Click below for the full recipe. 👇https://t.co/oEnWgjCzee

— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) April 17, 2023

Related story: 35 simple quiche recipes for stress-free dinners

The shortcrust-pastry-encrusted egg dish features spinach, broad beans, cheese and tarragon, though Buckingham Palace chef Mark Flanagan says that people wanting to bake their own can easily make adjustments to their liking (hot tip: save yourself the disappointment and make one of these instead). 

Imagine you’re head of the British Commonwealth, and you get to choose any dish you like to mark the very solemn occasion of your coronation. Consider the options at your disposal! Which is why the choice of a bland quiche that doesn’t even have bacon in it has fallen a tad flat, with one online detractor calling it “absolutely grim”. This is supposed to be an historic occasion, after all. Where’s the pomp? Where’s the pageantry? Where’s the pancetta? 

whats the matter babe? you’ve hardly touched your coronation quiche pic.twitter.com/3FZZwzMEZz

— Jake Johnstone (@hijakejohnstone) April 17, 2023

The King’s mum at least had the nous to choose something a little unusual for her big day in 1953. Coronation Chicken (AKA Poulet Reine Elizabeth) was created by Le Cordon Bleu London, and was pretty racy for its time. The country was just emerging from post-WWII dreariness and rationing, and the combo of chicken, curry and cream or mayo became a smash hit that’s still a popular sandwich filling to this day. 

Charles and Camilla apparently chose the quiche because it’s a convenient sharing dish that can be served hot or cold at Coronation street parties across the country. And while it’s nice that they’re trying to keep things simple for their humble subjects, they’ve also shown just how out of touch they really are with the great unwashed. 

Yes, absolutely grim the quiche may be, but what has most perplexed UK punters is that their king has chosen an egg dish when the country is in the middle of an egg shortage. Egg production is at its lowest level in over a decade – with almost one billion fewer eggs packed in 2022 compared to 2019 – after British producers were hit by the double whammy of rising production costs and a catastrophic outbreak of bird flu. It’s been in the news. A lot. Yet somehow this crucial info appears to have slipped His Majesty’s notice. 

The UK:

– There’s a shortage of eggs in the supermarkets.

Royal Family:

– The “Coronation Quiche”.
#CoronationBigLunch #coronationquiche pic.twitter.com/xjEtjiUCuS

— Pauline (@tlnlndn) April 17, 2023

Needless to say, people were quick to jump onto Twitter to point and laugh at the couple’s choice.

Fortunately we have no egg shortage here, and so for those staunch royalists who still plan to make the King’s choice on his coronation day, you can find the recipe for Coronation Quiche below. You’ll need a 20cm flan tin. 

Coronation Quiche recipe: 

Pastry (you can also use 1 x 250g block ready-made shortcrust pastry)
125g plain flour
Pinch of salt
25g cold butter, diced
25g lard
30ml milk

Filling
125ml milk
175ml thickened cream
2 medium eggs
1 tbs 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 fingertips 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 190°C.
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 160°C.
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

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