3.15.2011

Extra Basil leads to...

The finished biscuits complete with basil garnish.
    
     After making what felt like a gourmet meal of poached chicken breasts in a lemon herb bath with an herb sauce, I had a ton of basil left over.  After making pesto and still having extra, I flipped through my trusty Tassajara Bread book and found this recipe for Basil and Parmesan biscuits.  There is something really wonderful about adding ingredients (especially fresh ones) to a batter or dough.  The basil provided a beautiful pop of color, and also served as a reminder that my favorite color, which I call spring green, would be popping up all over the place shortly in the form of grasses, leaves, and trees. 


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     These biscuits are delicious, but are a little heavy to have in the morning.  Perhaps a different combination of cheese and herbs would be more appropriate for the coffee hour, but these are quite wonderful with dinner or lunch.  You can make these into small sandwiches, or serve alongside a soup, or as a dinner roll, and they are especially good with a fried egg or two, topped with pesto and a drizzle of good olive oil.  One of the things I love most about this bread book, is that it gives you the basic tools to master, from which you can start to improvise.  I think the combination of gouda and parsley would be nice, or perhaps cilantro and mozzarella or jack, and even gruyere with tarragon or marjoram would be lovely too.  


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Adding the eggs to the well inside the flour butter mixture.

Mixing up the eggs with a fork,
incorporating a little flour at a time.




Mixing the dough until just combined

Folding the dough for flaky layers


Cutting out the biscuits using my favorite cup

Close up

On the sheet, ready to bake
Ta-dah!

#48 Basil and Parmesan Cheese Flaky Biscuits

Ingredients for Flaky Biscuits #47 (here)
1 1/4 cups grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons minced fresh basil leaves

Follow the directions for Flaky Biscuits, stirring the grated cheese and minced basil leaves into the flour-butter mixture before adding the eggs and milk.  Follow the same procedure for shaping and baking the biscuits.

-Other cheeses (cheddar, provolone, smoked) and herbs (rosemary, oregano, sage, thyme) may also be added.
 

2 comments:

  1. hey katie,

    those biscuits look amazing. i wanted to try making them (i made gnocchi with fresh basil last night and have some left over) but didn't see any ingredients or procedures...could you send them to me?

    i have been dying to try a bunch of other stuff from your blog but I am bread making virgin, so i am a little intimidated. plus i have a tiny kitchen and no supplies. one day i will test something, though!

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  2. Hi Jamie!

    I forgot to include the recipe on this post by mistake. I have added it above and included a link to my original biscuit blog (which has a video also). I promise these are easy, as are most of the breads in this blog, they just take some time and once you get used to the ingredients, it's a breeze! You also need almost no equipment and not a lot of space either.

    http://bakingmywayproject.blogspot.com/2010/12/biscuits.html

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