I like to really pull out the stops at the weekend when it comes to Saturday morning breakfast and I could hardly wait to show you what I did last Saturday. Like everything else though, it had to wait it's turn in the queue.
I had baked a pan of really tasty looking soda farls and when I saw how brilliantly they turned out I just had to have one for breakfast . . . and if you are talking a Saturday breakfast, you are talking something special, so I turned them into a couple of tasty breakfast sandwiches for the Toddster and myself, with a few leftovers to freeze and have at a later time with some soup or stew or some such . . . or maybe even more tasty Breakfast Sandwiches.
A Soda Farl is a type of Irish quick bread, or soda bread, made with soda and buttermilk, and no yeast. They are typically most often baked on a griddle or a stone, but these were baked in the oven. They are stogged full of lots of strong cheddar and black pepper, for some nice sharp flavours, that go really well with things like eggs . . . and bacon . . .
And not just any bacon either . . . some lovely dry cured organic smoked and meaty back bacon. Of course you can use regular streaky bacon as well. Just make sure it's a good quality one and meaty. I like dry cured because 'tis not pumped full of water and nasties.
Cheese and Bacon are a marriage made in the heavens don't you think?? I know! Soooo scrummy! They say everything tastes better with bacon, and I do believe that to be true. I have never had a combination of bacon and anything else yet that I did not fall in love with. ☺
I had picked up some really nice looking Italian cherry tomatoes on the vine at the store and so I took the opportunity to roast a few strings of them in the oven with a bit of olive oil, salt and black pepper. Soooo good with the eggs, bacon and those tasty farls. You need to run out before this weekend and get yourself the ingredients to make some of these for your family. Seriously!
*Cheddar and Pepper Breakfast Farls*with Eggs, Tomatoes and Crispy BaconPrintable Recipe
Delicious soda farls stogged with cheese and black pepper. Split, spread with butter and filled with crispy bacon and fried eggs, with some grilled tomatoes on the side.
For the Farls:450g self rising flour, plus extra to dust the surface (3 1/4 cups)1 tsp bicarbonate of soda1 tsp English Mustard powder, seived2 tsp yellow mustard seeds, lightly crushed150g of strong cheddar cheeese, finely grated (1 1/4 cups)280ml of butter milk (1 cup plus 3 TBS) mixed with 90ml whole milk (generous 6 TBS)fine seal salt to taste1 tsp coarsely cracked black pepper
To serve:4 strings of cherry tomatoes on the vinea bit of olive oil12 rashers of dry cured, smoked streaky bacon, or 8 slices of dry cured smoked back bacon4 large free range eggssunflower oil for shallow frying
softened butter for spreading
Preheat the oven to 220*C/425*F/ gas mark 7. Lightly flour a nonstick baking sheet. Set aside.
Sift the flour, soda, 1 tsp of salt and the mustard powder into a bowl. Stir in the mustard seeds, cracked pepper and cheese. Make a well in the center. Add the milk and buttermilk all at once. Mix together into a soft and slightly sticky dough.
Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and quickly shape into an 8 1/2 inch circle. Carefully place on the prepared baking sheet. Using a shapr knife cut into 8 wedges, and then separate them slightly on the baking tray to give them enough room to rise and spread. Sprinkle with a bit more flour and then bake for 20 minutes until well risen and golden brown.
While the farls are cooking, place the cherry tomatoes into a small roasting tin. Drizzle with some olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt and black pepper. After the farls have cooked for 10 minutes add the tomatoes and roast them alongside for the remaining 10 minutes.
Grill the bacon until it is crisp and golden and fry your eggs in a bit of sunflower oil until done to your liking. Remove the farls from the oven. Split one per person in half and butter. Place them onto warmed plates and fill with the bacon and eggs, placing a spring of tomatoes along side. Serve immediately and pass the remaining farls at the table. (They're awfully good with some butter and strawberry jam, I do admit!)
