scones - more than a tea-time treat

mostly people think of scones with cream and jam, for tea - but when you notice the similarity between them and american biscuits their horizons widen


a basic scone mixture is an excellent and quick vehicle for all sorts of flavours, both sweet and savoury - i often make savoury scones to accompany soups, stews and casserole instead of bread, dumplings or potatoes - both sweet and savoury versions can also be used as a lower fat replacement for a pastry crust or as a "cobbler" topping - more about this in another post, or two ...

basic scone mixture

• 8oz plain flour
• a pinch of salt
• 1 level tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 2 level tsp cream of tartar
• 2oz butter 
• 1 tbsp sugar (for sweet scones only, adjust to taste)
• 5 fl oz milk (or milk/yoghurt/kefir/buttermilk & water)

method

• set your oven to Gas 8, 230C, 450F (adjust for fan assisted ovens)
• sift the flour into a fairly large bowl and add the salt, bicarbonate of soda and cream of tartar
• rub or cut in the fat like you would for a crumble - i grate the butter, dipping it into the flour to stop it melting on my hand
• for sweet scones add the sugar and any fruit or other flavourings
• for savoury scones add cheese or other flavourings
• add almost all the liquid, hold back a little in case you need it - fork it in until the mixture just holds together, it should not be a smooth dough if if you still have lots of dry mixture add a little more liquid - it's better to have a few crumbs of dry mix than an over-wet mix 

Note: this can be done in a food processor, use blades to rub in the fat then change to a hook for adding the rest of the dry ingredients, the egg and milk (if needed) in controlled pulses

• flour your hands and work surface, tip the dough out and lightly pat the dough together, so that any dry mixture gets incorporated 
• now you can shape the dough with your hands or with a rolling pin - for scones i cut the dough in 2 and make round cakes, deeply scored into 4 quarter each - they spread so space them well on a baking tray - they don't rise much so make them 3/4 -1 inch high
• bake for 10 - 15 mins, until beginning to colour - check after 9-10 mins 
• cool on a rack

variations

flour: substitute up to 2oz cornflour, i find this makes them nice and light with a crisp-ish crust, or 1oz wholemeal flour & 1 oz cornflour for a bit more fibre
baking powder can be used instead of 'bicarb and tartar', but i find i get a better result with 'bicarb and tartar'
brush scones with a little milk or beaten egg before baking
fruit scones: add about 2 oz  of  sultanas, currants and/or chopped glace cherries

savoury scones:

• cheese scones - 2-3oz grated or finely chopped cheese, a strong cheddar or mix of cheddar and parmesan is good + 1/2 tsp mustard or marmite in the milk or mustard powder + a pince of chili powder
• cheese & herb - 2oz grated cheese (as above) or crumble feta, + fresh herbs to taste - if using dried herbs add them to the milk earlier and warm the milk a little to help them infuse
• cheese & walnut - 2oz grated cheese including some blue cheese - a tablespoon of roughly chopped walnuts
• cheese & olive - 2oz feta or goats cheese + 8-12 chopped olives
• also try chopped sun-dried tomatoes, after soaking in hot water (not the ones in oil - too heavy) 
• syrian pinwheel scones

........ now make up your own variations

tips

the most important points with scones are:
      1. minimum liquid - use just enough to bring the mixture together
      2. minimum handling - be light and airy and your scones will be too!
      2. a very hot oven - this gets them rising fast so remember to turn it on before you start

use a food processor - if you use the dough hook instead of a blade this does the rubbing in beautifully - after adding the liquid do short pulses to mix it in, this way you can avoid over mixing

there are some good video demonstrations of scone making online if you feel unsure about the method

avocado and mushroom pasta

there was a glut of avocados on the market recently so we've had them in salads, as guacomole and now in a warm pasta salad - of course some of them have been very ripe and others a bit brown and spotty (see photo) but they still taste good
i always keep some sun-dried tomatoes in the cupboard, they work much better than fresh ones in this dish, their concentrated flavour and sharpness complements the softer flavours of avocado and mushrooms - and they are handy in winter when tasty fresh tomatoes are expensive and imported
the pasta i had was three coloured swirly things, the extra colour was good as the dish can look a bit bland with plain white pasta - shaped pasta works best for this
i'm not give precise quantities here as it's a question of taste

ingredients

• sliced raw mushrooms
• 2-3 sun dried tomatoes per person
• balsamic & sun-dried tomato dressing
• 1/2 avocado per person
• pasta shapes

method

• a couple of hours beforehand: soak the dried tomatoes in boiling water and marinate the sliced mushrooms in some of the dressing in your serving dish
• cook the pasta, while it's cooking drain and thinly slice the dried tomatoes, peel and slice the avocado, tip the tomatoes and avocados in with the mushrooms and mix gently
• drain the cooked pasta and add to the other ingredients, add more dressing if you want to and a few grinds of pepper - serve warm or cold, but not chilled