A flavourful smoked cheese and sage biscuit with peameal bacon and poached eggs for the morning after.

 

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp mustard powder
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, cold
• 3 oz smoked Canadian cheddar, cut into tiny cubes, divided
• 3 oz smoked Canadian Gruyère, cut into tiny cubes, divided
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh sage
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 6 slices peameal bacon
• 6 free-range organic eggs
• 1/4 cup honey Dijon mustard

Directions

1 In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, mustard powder, salt and pepper. Using a box grater, coarsely shred the cold butter into the dry ingredients.  Add half of each cheese and work it in with your fingertips until a sandy cornmeal texture is achieved. Add the sage and the buttermilk and stir just until the dough comes together into a ragged ball.

2 Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface with a rolling pin into a rectangle three times as long as it is wide and about 1⁄2" thick. Scatter the surface evenly with the remaining cheese and fold the dough’s outer ends over into the centre in thirds to envelope the cheese and form a square.

3 Press down with your palms to help the dough stick together and then roll out to a 5" x 7" rectangle about 1-1/2" thick. Cut the dough into six round biscuits. Transfer the biscuits to a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and place the sheet in the freezer for 30 minutes.

4 Bake at 425°F for 22 to 25 minutes, until the biscuits are golden and puffy.

5 Meanwhile, cook the bacon in a skillet over medium heat for 2 or 3 minutes per side.

6 To cook the poached eggs, heat a small pot of water with a dash of white vinegar to barely simmering.  Break an egg into a small cup, swirl the simmering water with a large slotted spoon and slip the egg into the centre of the swirl. For a soft poached egg, cook for 2 minutes until the white is just firm and the yolk is still runny.

7 Assemble the sandwiches by splitting the biscuits in half and spreading the bottom with a little mustard and then layering each one with a slice of peameal bacon topped with a poached egg. Serve warm.

Serves 6.