Feta and chive buttermilk biscuits

A savory twist on a classic treat!

If you’re a regular visitor to this site or viewer of my TV cooking show, Paula Roy’s Favourite Foods, then you likely already know how much I adore biscuits and scones. I make them often and love playing around with different styles and fillings to keep things fresh and flavourful. This latest experiment was a great success – the combination of chives and feta makes the taste of these savory biscuits really pop. I like to eat some fresh out of the oven, often with a bowl of soup, then I freeze the rest for later enjoyment. If you’re interested in more savory biscuit ideas, checkout my ham and cheese biscuits, dill pickle and cheddar biscuits or pizza biscuits.

Ingredients

• 3 cups (360 g) all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon (12 g) granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon each salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 3/4 cup (170 g) very cold butter
• 3/4 cup (177 mL) buttermilk
• 1 egg, at room temperature
• 1/3 cup (18 g) finely chopped fresh chives
• 3/4 cup (150 g) feta, coarsely crumbled
• Egg wash: 1 room temperature egg beaten with 1 tablespoon (15 mL) water
• Topping: flaky sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

• Preheat oven to 400F, with a rack in the middle. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
• Add the flour, sugar, salt and pepper, baking soda and powder, plus smoked paprika to a large mixing bowl; stir together.
• Using the coarse side of a box grater, quickly grate the block of cold butter into the flour mixture. Use your fingertips to clean out any shards of butter remaining in the grater then toss the flour and butter together with your hands.
• In a smaller bowl (or a 2 cup / 500 mL glass measure), beat together the buttermilk plus one egg until well-combined.
• Add liquids to flour mixture all at once, using a fork to stir together (there will still be some dry clumps which kneading will take care of).
• Add the feta and chives then quickly draw the mixture together with your clean hands to form a shaggy dough.
• Turn the dough out onto a sheet of parchment paper or a clean, lightly floured countertop. and knead for a minute or so. This will soften the butter and help absorb any remaining dry bits into the dough.
• Once no dry spots remain, pat out the dough with your hands into a square that is about 3/4 inch (2 cm) thick and about 10 x 10 inches (25 x 25 cm) in size. Use a sharp knife to cut into 16 squares each about 2.5 x 2.5 inch (6.35 x 6.35 cm).
• Place on prepared baking sheet. Brush the tops lightly with the egg wash and sprinkle each with just a little bit of flaky salt and black pepper.
• Bake in preheated oven for 15-18 minutes or until golden brown on top. Transfer to a wire cooling rack and serve warm or at room temperature.  

Makes 16 biscuits.