Easter Brunch: Mini Eggs Benedict

Ingredients:

• 500 g plain flour
• 1 tsp bicarb of soda
• 2 tsp cream of tartar
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 120 g butter, chilled & cubed
• 20 g caster sugar
• 1 egg, beaten 280 ml milk
• 1 egg yolk & 1 tbsp milk for egg wash
• 12 quail’s eggs
• 4 slices pancetta, thinly sliced
• Heinz salad cream
• Dash tabasco sauce or similar hot sauce

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 180˚C (350˚F)
2. Sift flour, bicarb of soda, cream of tartar and salt into a bowl.
3. Rub in butter until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
4. Add sugar and mix well to incorporate all together.
5. In a jug mix the beaten egg with the milk then add to the flour and combine to form a soft dough.
6. Place onto a floured worktop and knead gently to form a light dough.
7. Flour a rolling pin and roll out the dough to a thickness of about 3/4 inch or 2cm. Using a 3cm round cutter, cut out scones – try to get as many as you can get out of the dough (roll scraps again and re-use until all the dough is used up) then place all scone rounds on a floured baking tray.
8. Brush the scones with egg wash (mix the extra egg yolk with a tbsp milk) then bake in hot oven for 10–12 minutes or until golden brown.
9. Fry the pancetta in a tsp of olive or canola oil and drain on paper towel, pat off any excess oil then rip into small pieces (similar in size to the circumference of the mini scones in the oven)
10. In a non-stick frying pan, add 2 tbsp olive oil and in two batches, crack open the quail’s eggs and cook in the oil over a very low heat for about 5 – 7 minutes until whites are cooked yet yolks still bright yellow and runny. Transfer eggs from frying pan to a plate using a angled palette knife.
11. Mix 2 tbsp salad cream with a dash or two (to taste) of tabasco sauce an set aside.
12. When scones are cooked and cooled, carefully cut off the very top of each one (literally just slice/skim off the rounded top retaining 90% of the scone) and place remaining bottom on a serving platter, top with a ripped piece of pancetta, a fried quail’s egg and a small dollop of pre-prepared salad cream.
13. Serve with a sprinkle of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Note*  I used Williams Sonoma Organic Buttermilk Biscuit Mix for these canapés but this is a very similar – albeit – not including buttermilk recipe which my Mum used to use all the time in Ireland when making basic scones, I feel it would work as well – Whatkateate.com