Savory Mediterranean Biscuits Food

SAVORY CHEESE AND HERB BISCUITS

Steps:

• Notes on how to make STELLAR biscuits:.
• 1) Spoon flour into a dry measuring cup and level off with the straight edge of a metal knife. DON'T use a liquid measuring cup or you'll end up with too much flour and rock hard biscuits!
• 2) I find it easier to incorporate room-temperature butter into my dry ingredients but then put the bowl with flour/butter back into the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes to chill the mixture. The colder your butter is, the higher your biscuits will end up. If you want to work with cold butter, this step is NOT necessary.
• 3) Shake the carton of buttermilk before measuring and make sure the buttermilk is COLD! It keeps the butter cold, and you have a lighter, fluffier biscuit.
• 4) Dust the work surface with All-Purpose flour when rolling and shaping the dough. (Leavening in Self-Rising flour leaves a bitter taste on the outside of the biscuit.).
• 5) Cut STRAIGHT DOWN with a sharp biscuit cutter! Do NOT twist the cutter or you'll be sealing the edges of the biscuits and reduce the rise of them. Ditto on using a glass to cut out biscuits: both sides of the cutter need to be open to allow air to exit as you press down. The glass ends up sealing the edges of the biscuit.
• Directions:.
• Preheat oven to 450-degrees F.
• In a very large bowl combine all the dry ingredients: Flour, Baking Powder, Baking Soda, Sugar, Salt, Black Pepper and Cayenne Pepper. Stir well to evenly distribute the ingredients.
• Drop the cut tablespoons of butter all around the flour mixture. Cut in butter using a pastry cutter until mixture is about the size of peas or very crumbly. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes to allow the butter to become hard; this will aid in having a very flaky biscuit.
• Add the cheese chunks and chives to the chilled butter/flour mixture. Stir to coat them well with the flour.
• Stir in buttermilk only until dough holds together very slightly, about 30 seconds. DO NOT OVER STIR! THIS IS THE SECRET TO INCREDIBLY FLUFFY AND LIGHT BISCUITS! The dough should "hold together" but still be very lofty and NOT packed down!
• Turn dough out onto a floured board, kneading dough a few times (about 3-4 times) and then pat into a 5-inch x 9-inch rectangle; Sprinkle top of dough with a small amount of additional flour and fold into thirds like a letter. Repeat entire process 2 more times, beginning with pressing into a 3/4" inch-thick dough rectangle again.
• Press or pat dough into a 1/2 inch thickness on a lightly floured surface; Dip edges of 2.5-inch biscuit cutter into flour and cut out a biscuit.DO NOT TWIST THE CUTTER! JUST PRESS FIRMLY DOWN, ONCE. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet, placing biscuits side by side so they touch. Continue with existing dough. With the scraps, very lightly press dough together to form another rectangle and continue cutting out the biscuits. Caution! The MORE you work the dough and manhandle it, the tougher your biscuits will become so work with a very light hand when pushing the dough back together.
• Brush tops of biscuits lightly with cream.
• Bake for 14-16 minutes or until biscuits are lightly browned. Take out of oven by sliding the parchment paper with biscuits attached, onto table or counter top. Allow to sit for ONLY 1 minute, and transfer to a wire rack to cool for only a couple of minutes before serving. Caution! Moisture really builds up on the bottom of these biscuits, which is why they only sit on the parchment paper for 1 minute. Cooling on the rack for 2-3 minutes allows the cheese to set enough that it does NOT burn a person's mouth when eating it!
• VARIATIONS ON BISCUITS:.
• 1) Feta-Oregano or Marjoram: Stir 4-8 ounces of crumbled feta cheese and 1 teaspoon of either oregano or marjoram into the chilled butter/flour mixture before adding the buttermilk. Proceed with recipe as directed.
• 2) Bacon-Cheddar: Stir 6 cooked, drained, cooled and crumbled slices of bacon into the chilled butter/flour mixture along with 1/2 a cup of cubed Cheddar Cheese. Omit chives. Proceed with recipe as directed.
• 3) Gruyere-Rosemary: Stir in 1 cup of cubed Gruyere cheese and 1/2 tablespoon of fresh, snipped rosemary into the chilled butter/flour mixture. Use 1/4 cup of snipped chives and 1/2 tablespoon of freshly ground black peper. Proceed with recipe as directed.
• 4) Havarti-Dill: Stir in 1 cup of cubed Havarti cheese with 1 tablespoon of freshly snipped dill into the chilled butter/flour mixture. Omit chives. Proceed with recipe as directed.
• 5) Pimento Cheese: Stir in 1 cup cubed Sharp Cheddar Cheese with 1-4 ounce jar of DRAINED and patted dry Pimento into the chilled butter/flour mixture. Omit chives. Proceed with recipe as directed.
• 6) The ONE failure that I had was with Pepperjack Cheese. The actual cheese is too mild to taste in the end results and the remaining hot peppers were too much for the biscuit. Avoid this combination!

SAVOURY BISCOTTI

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Line two baking sheets with baking parchment. Put the flour, baking powder, sugar, 1 tsp salt and a grinding of black pepper in a large bowl, then mix well. Stir in the eggs until the mixture forms clumps, then bring together with your hands into a dough. It will seem dry at first, but keep kneading until no floury patches remain. Add the olives, thyme and parmesan, kneading until they are well distributed.
• Tip the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide into four pieces. With lightly floured hands, roll each into a sausage about 30cm long. Place two on each tray, well spaced apart. Put in the oven for 25-30 mins until the dough has risen and spread (it should still be pale). Remove, then cool on a wire rack for a few mins and turn down the oven to 140C/120C fan/gas 1.
• Cut into slices about 1cm thick on a sharp diagonal, then lay the slices flat on the baking sheets. Bake for 20 mins more, turn over, then bake for another 20 mins until dry and lightly golden. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Will keep in an airtight tin for up to one month.

SAVOURY MEDITERRANEAN BISCOTTI

Steps:

• In large bowl, beat eggs and sugar.
• Add olive oil until smooth.
• In bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, pepper and basil and oregano.
• Stir dry ingredients into egg mixture until blended.
• Stir in cheese, sun-dried tomatoes and olives and combine thoroughly.
• Divide dough into 2 pieces and shape each into a log about 10 inches long.
• Place on parchment-lined cookie sheet and flatten tops slightly.
• Bake in preheated 325°F oven for 30 minutes or until pale golden and not quite firm to the touch.
• Remove from oven and let cool on baking sheet for 3 minutes.
• Transfer to cutting board and slice into 1/2 inch diagonal slices with serrated knife.
• Place pieces on baking sheet and return to 325°F oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until firm and dry.
• Turn over partway through cooking time.
• Cool on rack.
• Makes about 3 dozen.
• Store in airtight container.

SAVORY MEDITERRANEAN BISCUITS

Steps:

• In a medium mixing bowl, stir together the first five ingredients (flour through salt). Using a pastry blender, cut in butter or margarine until the mixture forms coarse crumbs. Next, stir in the cheese, chopped olives, and tomatoes.
• Make a well in the center of the dry mixture and quickly pour 3/4 cup light cream or half and half over it. Stir with a fork until just moistened.
• Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Quickly knead by gently folding and pressing the dough until it's almost smooth. This should take about 10-12 strokes. Be careful not to over-knead as the biscuits will get tough. The dough will still be pretty soft.
• Lightly roll out dough into a 10-inch by 8-inch rectangle, about half an inch in thickness. Cut the dough into 2-inch squares.
• Arrange biscuits 1 inch apart on an ungreased baking sheet. In a small bowl, beat egg yolk with the tablespoon of light cream or half and half, then brush the top of each biscuit with this mixture.
• Bake in a 450 degree oven for 10 to 12 minutes or until biscuits are golden. Remove from baking sheet and serve warm with whole Kalamata olives, if you like.

SAVORY BISCUITS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°.
• In the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, sage, chives, and salt.
• Add the butter and pulse on and off until the dough resembles coarse meal.
• Add the cream all at once and pulse a few times, until the dough comes together in a ball.
• Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and gently pat into a 1-inch thick round.
• With a 2- or 3-inch biscuit cutter, cut out rounds and place on an ungreased cookie sheet.
• Press scraps together and cut out additional biscuits.
• Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes.

DADDY'S SAVORY TOMATO BISCUITS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease a baking sheet.
• Stir the flour, baking soda, salt, and sugar together in a bowl, and cut in the shortening with a pastry cutter until the mixture looks like crumbs. Mix in the vegetable juice cocktail just until moist, and turn out onto a well-floured work surface. Gently knead several times just until dough holds together, roll out to 1/2-inch thick, and cut into rounds with a biscuit cutter. Place the biscuits onto the prepared baking sheet.
• Bake in the preheated oven until risen and lightly browned, 8 to 10 minutes.

MATTRI (SAVORY FRIED BISCUITS)

Steps:

• In a large bowl mix together the all-purpose flour, semolina, salt, pepper, cumin seeds, and vegetable shortening.
• Mix lightly to obtain a bread-crumb consistency.
• Add equal amounts of milk and warm water to make a stiff dough.
• Knead the dough well for 15-20 minutes, cover, and set aside for another 20 minutes.
• Make lemon-sized balls of the dough, and roll into 3-inch diameter circles ('puris') on a floured board, using a rolling pin.
• Prick each'puri' with a fork a few times.
• Heat oil (for frying) in a heavy frying pan and deep fry the puris, one at a time (turning every minute or so for even browning), until golden brown.
• Remove from heat and drain excess oil on tissue.
• Serve plain, or with a sweet/sour chutney.
• This can be stored in an airtight tin for upto a week.