I've created this post as a part two to my original Coal Mine Labour Day Biscuit post, as I forgot to mention this interesting tidbit:
Some Cornish coal miners' wives intended the Coal Miner Pasty to serve as a two-course meal. According to Ann Pringle Harris' 1988 New York Times Piece:
It was filled at one end with meat or fish and whatever vegetables happened to be in the kitchen,'' Betty Bucknell explained, ''and at the other with apples, plums, cherries or any other fruit that was in season.
Although I can't find a source, as the Coal Miner Pasty appears to be derivative of the Cornish Pasty, I assume the above to be the case for at least some U.S. miners as well.
My original intention was to make my Coal Mine Labour Day Biscuits half-savoury and half-sweet; split right down the middle like a Black & White Cookie. However, I only had enough flour for one, so I chose to make them in two different batches instead, starting with the savoury batch.
Here's the recipe I came up with for the sweet variety. I wish I could post the aroma of these subtle and lovely biscuits. They are just delightful. I think the strawberries add just the perfect amount of sweetness. These are biscuits, not scones, and therefore I didn't make them overly sweet. You could add more sugar, though, if that's your preference.
Coal Mine Labour Day Biscuits - Sweet
2 1/4 cups All Purpose Flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
6 Tablespoons (3/4 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 Tablespoon dried tarragon leaves
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh rosemary, chopped into small bits
2 Tablespoons wheat germ
1/2 cup dried strawberries, chopped (I extracted these from the Trader Joe's dried berry medley)
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 cup reduced-fat well-shaken buttermilk
Preheat oven to 450°F.
Whisk together flour, baking powder, sugar, baking soda, salt, in a bowl, then blend in butter with your fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in tarragon, rosemary, wheat germ, and lemon zest. Add strawberries, breaking the pieces apart if they're stuck together. Add buttermilk and stir until just combined.
Spoon dough into mounds (size depending on quantity desired. I think I made about 22 biscuits total.) about 2 inches apart onto a buttered large baking sheet. Bake in middle of oven until golden, 12-15 minutes.
Listen to this while baking:
"Paradise" written by and performed by John Prine.
Watch this while eating:
"Coal Miner's Daughter"
Tasters:
Jeremy Beck, B. Conaty, & The Sultan Family
I would question Ann Pringle's policework very slightly.
ReplyDeleteThe traditional pasty was a three course meal (designed, of course, to be eaten in the dark).
I've found it quite difficult to locate credible sources on this. How do you know so much about the subject? And feel free to add any additional details!
ReplyDeleteMy granny (who is English, although not Cornish) used to make them.
ReplyDeleteThey are also described in some detail in one of Bill Bryson's books but I don't recall which one.
It's also quite likely I'm remembering all this wrong.
So the three courses were what exactly as your granny made them? 1. veggies 2. meat 3. dessert? And was her recipe passed down through previous generations?
ReplyDeleteShe never made them like that but said that was how they used to be eaten.
ReplyDeleteHer recipe was almost certainly passed to her from her mother but as her mother was Russian it was adapted to suit those tastes.