Corinne Rachelle calls it
"Quiche me quick!"
Quiche Me Quick!
This week the UK is preparing for the coronation of King Charles & Queen Camilla, for many it’s the first coronation they have seen or remember.
According to.to my mother I should know all about a coronation because, I watched the last one. wearing a white silk dress; the fact that I was two weeks shy of being two years old on the 2nd of June 1953. makes it unlikely I have any memories of the last coronation!
However, I am aware of the dish that was created for the lunch after the coronation of Queen Elizabeth was coronation chicken. King Charles apparently loves anything to do with eggs and cheese and is having a slightly retro dish of quiche filled with spinach, tarragon, cheese, and broad beans as his coronation dish.
When did quiche come to England?
Quiche became popular in England sometime after WW2 when the servicemen & women returned to the UK and brought the recipe with them. The popularity travelled to the USA during the 1950s. During the 70’s and 80’s there was always some variety of quiche restaurants menus
Making The perfect Quiche.
The crusts must be super flaky plus the custard should be creamy with a good strong cheese flavour.
This recipe makes an 8-portion quiche.
Ingredients for the pastry case
175 grammes of plain flour
100 grammes of a vegan block margarine cut into small pieces.
one egg
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 tsp cold water
The easiest way of making pastry is to do it in a food processor.
Place the flour, margarine cut into squares, salt together in the food processor pulse, until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. add your cold water, and the egg and pulse again until the mixture comes together and resembles pastry.
Carefully take out the blade, then remove the pastry.
Place the pastry on to a lightly flowered board then roll it out as thinly as you can you need to cover a 9 inch lose bottomed fluted flan tin. easy the pastry onto the base.
Trim the pastry edge so it's slightly above that in level therefore when it shrinks it shouldn't go belong below the tin level, press the pastry into the flutes and lightly prick the base with a fork then chill for 10 minutes in the fridge.
Pre heat your oven to 200 centigrade or 180 for an oven fan gas 6.
Line the pastry with baking parchment fills with either baking beads or beans oh or anything you use when you blind bake for at least 15 minutes.
Then remove the paper and the beans or the baking beads, bake for a further 5 minutes until the pastry is pale golden.
You must blind bake quiche or it will get a dreaded soggy bottom.
Remove the pastry case from the oven and let it cool slightly.
Meanwhile prepare your filling. (Back in the late 1970s I ran a cottage industry making quiches for sale from my own kitchen the following fillings were the most popular)
- Asparagus tips, green peas, leek & fresh dill
- Red onion, tomato, and courgette with basil
- Mushroom, leek, and thyme
- Sweet corn, red kidney beans, chilli, and red pepper fresh coriander
- Spinach with red onion and strong cheddar
- Tuna, red pepper & sweet corn with fresh parsley
You can use any combination for a quiche, but you need to have at least 250 grammes cooked weight of your favourite vegetable and fresh herb combination.
Hint the vegetables need to be al dente as you do not want them to turn to slime when you bake them.
For the custard
3 large free-range eggs
200 ml double cream
200 ml creme fraiche, sour cream, or milk (choose what you prefer)
100 grammes of good quality cheddar cheese
half a teaspoon very good ground black pepper
half a teaspoon of sea salt
a pinch of ground nutmeg
Place your vegetables filling of choice in the bottom of the flan dish.
sprinkle 1/4 of the cheese directly over your mixture place the flan dish on a baking tray.
In a separate bowl beat up your cream, eggs, ½ of the remaining the grated cheese and your crème fraiche, (or cream milk etc) together adding in your salt and pepper, nutmeg.
Carefully pour the custard mix over the vegetable mixture.
Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top.
Carefully transfer the quiche to the oven. set to the oven temperature at 190 centigrade or 170 for a fan oven.
Bake for about 25 minutes until the quiche golden and softly set.
The quiche centre should not feel too firm.
Quiches are delicious served fresh freshly baked and at room temperature with a side salad they are also good cold.
Although making a proper quiche can be a bit time consuming it's well worth it!
Have a wonderful Coronation weekend!