Scallops Benedict on Chive Buttermilk Biscuits with Brown Butter Hollandaise

Scallops Benedict on Chive Buttermilk Biscuits with Brown Butter Hollandaise

My youngest sister is visiting from Alberta for a few weeks and her recent mini quest to find some decent scallops at local eateries had hit a couple of snags. She showed up at my house with some freshly bought plump scallops and announced, "We're eating these later," which really translates, "You're cooking these for me later." I speak fluent Belinda.

Since there was already a set menu for the rest of the day, she upped her demanding ante and said, "Well, I guess they are just going to have to be breakfast then, aren't they?"

Scallops for breakfast? I'm game for anything brunch related so the wheels started turning. Breakfast = bacon, bacon's great with scallops, so that's a no-brainer. I love using fresh buttermilk biscuits as the base for Eggs Benedict and with the first shoots of fresh chives popping up in the garden I decided to use those too. To give a little punch to the Hollandaise sauce I added some more of the fresh chives and added a slightly nutty element by using brown butter to make it.

The culmination of all those efforts and wonderfully delicious components was just outstanding; the light fluffy biscuits, the sweet scallops, the salty bacon and the fresh lemon scented Hollandaise sauce turned out to be a terrifically balanced combination and little Sis declared it to be one of the best things she's ever eaten....it really was incredibly delicious but then again, maybe she's just buttering me up to cook for her again.

Chive Buttermilk Biscuits

Makes about 6 large biscuits

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

In a food processor, blend together

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 4 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda

Pulse in:

• 1/3 cup very cold salted butter, cut in small cubes

Do not over incorporate the butter into the flour. Similar to making a flaky pastry, small pieces of butter should be visible in the flour. 

Transfer this mixture from the food processor into a large mixing bowl and add:

• 3 tbsp chopped fresh chives

Toss together and make a well in the center. Pour in

• 1 cup buttermilk

Working very quickly with a wooden spoon, fold the dry mixture through the buttermilk, only until the flour disappears, then stop immediately. Drop the sticky dough onto a well floured counter top or bread board. Sprinkle the top of the dough with additional flour as well as flouring your hands to handle the dough. After folding it just a few times, I don't even use a rolling pin for these biscuits, the dough is soft enough to pat it out gently with floured hands to a thickness of about 1 & 1/2 inches . Using a large sharp  biscuit cutter cut the biscuits out an place them well spaced out, on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. I recommend aluminum baking sheets because they tolerate the higher oven temperature without burning the bottom of the biscuits. An alternative to using a biscuit cutter is to form the dough into a round and simply cut it in wedges, like a pie.

Bake in the 425 degree F preheated oven for about 10 minutes before lowering the temperature to 375 degrees F and baking for an additional 10-15 minutes or until the tops of the biscuits are evenly golden brown.

Easy Brown Butter Hollandaise Sauce

• 3 egg yolks
• 1/2 teaspoon yellow mustard
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 tsp chopped lemon zest
• 1/2 cup hot brown butter
• 1 tbsp chopped chives

To brown butter just melt it in a small saucepan over medium heat and watch it until the color turns light golden brown. Pour it off immediately into a heat proof measuring cup, leaving the sediment behind.
In a blender combine the egg yolks, mustard and lemon zest and juice for only a few seconds. With the blender on medium speed, slowly pour in the hot butter in a thin stream. The sauce should thicken quite quickly. Pour into a bowl and keep the bowl warm in a warm water bath while preparing the other components of the Scallops Benedict.

• 2 dozen large fresh scallops
• 2 tbsp butter
• 2tbsp olive oil
• 9 eggs, scrambled and cooked
• 12 slices crisp cooked bacon roughly chopped 

Season with salt and pepper and pan sear the fresh scallops in a hot pan with the butter and olive oil for only a few minutes per side.

To construct the dish, slice a biscuit in half and use one piece as the base. Add the scrambled eggs and top them with the seared scallops. Pour on some of the Hollandaise sauce and sprinkle with the chopped bacon and additional chives for garnish. Top with the second half of the biscuit if you like.