A Right Royal Relish Coronation Quiche

Whether you are going to the Coronation (like Donna-Marie) or not, or planning on watching it on TV, King Charles III has launched his choice of recipe for the upcoming Coronation on May 6. Chosen personally by Their Majesties, they have opted for a simple, traditional quiche to commemorate the big day. While quiche might seem more French than British, they chose it because it's a good sharing dish as the Brits are encouraged to gather after the ceremony for The Big Lunch with friends and neighbours. The Royal Family's website shared the full recipe of the dish which involves spinach, broad beans (which we refer to as fava beans), cheddar cheese and tarragon. We have substituted leeks in place of the broad beans as they are harder to find here in Canada and we've adapted some ingredients to make it a little more "Canadian recipe friendly". 

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Ingredients...

• 1 unbaked flaky pie crust dough OR see recipe below for homemade pastry

Pastry:

• 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 8 tbsp (1 stick) cold, unsalted butter, cut into chunks
• 1/4 - 1/3 cup cold water

Filling:

• 1 package (250 - 300 g) frozen, chopped spinach, thawed*
• 1 leek, white and light green part, trimmed washed and sliced in half moons
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh tarragon
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp butter
• 4 large eggs
• 1 1/4 cups whipping (35%) cream
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup edamame beans, optional (see substitutions note at end of recipe)
• 1/2 cup shredded aged white Cheddar cheese (see substitutions note at end of recipe)
• 2 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

Method...

1. Pastry: (If using a store-bought pastry dough, skip Step 1). Combine flour and salt in a large mixing bowl, then whisk. Add butter and incorporate into flour using a pastry cutter until butter pieces are the size of peas. Add 1/4 cup cold water a tablespoon at a time, stirring with a wooden spoon until the dough begins to clump together. (Only add additional water if dough is really dry and not coming together). Dump dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead with your hands for 1-2 minutes or until smooth and pliable. Form into a 6-inch disc. Wrap in plastic wrap, then let sit in fridge for 30 minutes to rest.
2. Filling: Meanwhile, if your frozen spinach is not already thawed, thaw it in the microwave as per package directions. Drain the spinach in a fine, mesh sieve and press out as much remaining liquid as possible. Set aside.
3. Clean and slice leek into half moons. Heat olive oil and butter in a skillet over medium heat. Saute leeks gently until softened and wilted about 5 to 7 minutes. Set aside.
4. Chop tarragon and divide in half. Mix half with cooked leeks and use the other half with egg/cream mixture (see Step 5).
5. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, cream, 1/2 tsp of salt and remaining tarragon; set aside.
6. Preheat oven to 375 F.
7. On a floured work surface, roll out the disc of chilled dough. Turn the dough about a quarter turn every few rolls until you have a circle 14-inches in diameter. Carefully place the dough into a 9-inch springform pan or deep French tart pan patching any tears or cracks to prevent leakage. (You could also use a deep dish pie plate). Tuck the dough into the edges then line dough with parchment paper (see Chef's Tip below)*. Cover the parchment paper with ample pie weights, dry rice or dried beans. You want to use enough weights so that your edges don't fall in. Bake on centre rack for 20-25 minutes or until all visible edges are golden. Remove pie weights and parchment. (Blind baking can be done up to a day in advance; store crust uncovered at room temperature).
8. Assemble Quiche: Sprinkle grated Cheddar on the bottom of the crust then add drained spinach, cooked leeks/tarragon mixture and finish with Parmesan cheese over leeks. Pour over egg/cream mixture. Place pan on a baking sheet and set in the oven. Immediately reduce oven temperature to 350 F.
9. Bake until set but not puffed, 25 to 30 minutes. Let stand for at least 30 minutes before cutting into wedges to serve.

*Chef's Tip:

• Take a large piece of parchment paper and scrunch into a ball, then run ball under warm running water, scrunching it up with your hands until parchment is completely softened. Ring out all the excess water well with your hands then unfold the parchment paper and easily place over the dough for blind baking.
• This recipe uses frozen spinach. I like to purchase the frozen spinach that are packaged in 500 g size bags are are sold as cubes. I use about 1/2 the package. If you can only find frozen blocks of chopped spinach, they are generally about 300 g. Use the whole package if you are using the 300 g size.

Substitutions:

• Edamame Beans: The original recipe calls for broad beans which are harder to find in Canada. They are more commonly know as fava beans here. I decided to substitute edamame beans for colour and availability (found frozen without the pod). However feel free to substitute chopped sun-dried tomatoes or even kalamata olives here in place of the beans. Or skip it altogether...really it's about what you feel goes well with spinach. You can find broad beans in the can at a good Middle Eastern grocery store.
• Cheese: I used a good British cheese (Wendsleydale) for this quiche. It was a mild, easily grated cheese. Feel free to substitute feta if you wish or a good aged white cheddar.