insideKENT Magazine Issue 55 - October 2016 | Page 54

FOOD+DRINK What’s For Breakfast? Breakfast is often cited as being the most important meal of the day, but it wasn’t until the 1600s that it really became part of our daily routine. Before then, most people in Britain skipped the first meal of the day, and this was mainly due to the fact that work had to be carried out when the sun was up – there was little time for food that early when there was so much else to do. Lunch would be taken at around 10am, and dinner at around 3pm. When the sun went down, it was time for bed, so eating at times we might find strange today was a necessity, especially in the winter. The changes really came when labourers stopped working for themselves. When more regular employment came about, and employers expected their workers to start at 5am and finish at 8pm, the gap between meals grew too large – the workers were hungry and restless. So the idea of having an early morning, midday, and late afternoon meal came about. Initially, the food eaten at breakfast was little different to that eaten at all other times of the day, and it was not unusual to find that ale and wine were served. Bread, cheese, meat, and fish were also popular. King Henry IV enjoyed chicken first thing in the morning (although he was more likely to make do with a liquid breakfast if he wanted to get out hunting early). Today, with the advent of cereals, fresh fruit being more readily available, and a convention that certain foods (ale, wine and chicken are just examples) are just not ‘right’ when it comes to breakfast, what we eat has most certainly changed. We are lucky to be able to enjoy much more healthy breakfasts than we ever did in the past – the average breakfast in the 1890s came in at around 4,000 calories! Why not try some of these great breakfast recipes to kickstart your day? Bacon, Cheese & Egg Biscuit Ingredients: • 350g plain flour • 7g salt • 12g baking powder • 1/4 tsp baking soda • 15g sugar • 115g cold butter in cubes • 220 ml buttermilk • butter for brushing tops (optional) • Cheese slices • Eggs • Bacon rashers Method: 1. Mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar together in a bowl. Once combined, add the butter and rub it into the flour mixture. Don’t worry if there are lumps, this is perfectly fine! 2. Next add 150ml of buttermilk and stir. You will know when it is fully mixed when the dough comes together without kneading. Now add a little more buttermilk until the mixture looks ‘ragged’. You may not need to use all the buttermilk, but it should be sticky. 3. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and shape into a rectangle. Next, fold the dough into thirds, like you are folding a letter. Turn the dough 90 degrees and do the same again. The dough should be around 2.5cm thick. Leave to rest for 15 minutes. 4. Cut rolled dough into round discs and bake for 14-16 minutes in an oven preheated to 230ºC. Brush melted butter into the top if you prefer. 5. As the biscuits are baking, take a frying pan and fry two bacon rashers until they are nice and crispy. Fry an egg and season it well. Once the biscuits come out of the oven, fill each one with egg, bacon, and a slice of cheese. 54