Zucchini-Cheddar Biscuits

One of the advantages of selling at the local farmer's market is that you have access to some of the best produce around and you make friends with the farmers who grow them.  The great thing is that most of them are usually willing to swap and goat's milk soap "buys" a lot of really great veggies!!!  This is what I got yesterday - summer squash . . .

And I knew the perfect recipe for them. Our adventure today comes from Serving Up the Harvest by Andrea Chesman.    I had seen this recipe and thought it would go great with soup (which I am having for dinner tonight - AMAZING how these things work out!!).

Ingredients

2 cups shredded zucchini or summer squash

1 tsp salt

4 ounces bacon (I don't have any so I am going to omit this)

3 cups all purpose flour

1 T baking powder

2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp black pepper

4 T unsalted butter, cut up

1 cup grated Cheddar cheese

3/4 cup buttermilk **

** if you don't have buttermilk - just take a scant cup of milk and add either a T of lemon juice or white distilled vinegar to the milk and let sit for 5 to 10 minutes - Viola!  you have buttermilk!!

I shredded the zucchini/summer squash in my food processor.  Combine the zucchini/summer squash and salt in a colander and set aside for a half hour. 

Squeeze out any excess moisture and place in a small mixing bowl.  You should have about 1/2 cup of zucchini/summer squash.

If you are using bacon (which I don't have), you would cook that now and let it drain on paper towels.

Preheat oven to 400F.

Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda and pepper together into a large bowl.  Cut in the butter until the mixture resembles crumbs.  Add the cheese, bacon (if using) and zucchini.  Toss with a fork to mix well. Add the buttermilk to form a stiff dough.

Transfer the dough to a lightly floured countertop and knead briefly until the dough is smooth,.  Roll out until about 1 inch thick.  Using a 3 inch round cutter, cut out biscuits and place on a baking sheet about 1 inch apart.

Bake for 15 minutes until golden brown.  Serve the biscuits hot out of the oven with butter - YUM!!!

VERDICT:

I had one right after it came out of the oven.  Yep, this is a keeper recipe.  I think the addition of the bacon would make this more a "breakfast" type of biscuit - not one that I would serve would soup.  So it is up to you whether or not you want to add the bacon or not.  I thought they were quite good as I prepared them (of course, I haven't tasted them with the bacon - so I might feel differently).  I was surprised at how well the biscuits rose in the oven.  Overall, I was very pleased with the recipe and will probably make these again.

We did have these for dinner last night along with Paula Dean's Bean Soup and my husband loved them!  He ate three!!  Yep - I am definitely going to make these again!