Plat du Jour

Roquefort and Potato Scones with Sage

 

For the next recipe in our scone-athon, we've made a sort of savoury-sconey-bun (that actually looks more like a rock cake than a scone). The resulting little cheesy wonders are incredibly tasty and make an excellent addition to a picnic. This recipe will make six scones. For a bit of guidance on scone-making, have a look at my fruit scones post from a couple of weeks ago.

Ingredients:

7 oz (200g) parboiled potatoes

6 oz (175g) self-raising flour

1 teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon mustard powder

2 oz (50g) Roquefort cheese, crumbled into little lumps

2 oz (50g) cottage cheese with onion & chives

1 dessertspoon chopped fresh sage

1 large egg

2 tablespoons milk

6 sage leaves

 

Cooking Instructions:

Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 5, 375F, (190C).

Begin by grating the potato into a mixing bowl (see photo below), then sift in the flour, salt, cayenne pepper and mustard powder and add the cottage cheese, chopped sage and half of the Roquefort.

Break the egg into a bowl and beat it together with the milk, then add this to the flour and cheese mixture. Give everything a bit of a mix around with a palette knife, then bring the mixture together gently with your hands to form a rough dough. Don't worry if this one is a bit sticky... It's all that cheesy goodness that makes it so squidgy.

Separate the dough into six portions and form each portion into a round shape with your hands. Don't worry if they look somewhat irregular... These are very laid back (and not terribly image conscious) scones.

Move the scones to a baking tray that has been lightly greased with butter and dusted with flour. Press one of the sage leaves into the top of each scone, then sprinkle the remainder of the Roquefort onto the scones, pressing the pieces into the dough so they stay put (see photo above).

Place the tray on the middle shelf of the oven and bake for 35-40 minutes (we left them in for 35 minutes, which was perfect for our fan-assisted oven), until they're a nice golden brown colour. Once they're ready, remove them from the oven and place them onto a wire rack to cool.

Bon appétit!

Cheshire Cheese and Chive Scones

 

This week's scone recipe is a savoury one that will make six lovely scones. I'm actually more of a savoury scone kind of gal, and I can never resist a nice cheesy one. These have got a little kick, thanks to the cayenne pepper. Ooh, lip-smackingly good. For a bit of guidance on scone-making, have a look at my fruit scones post from the week before last.

Ingredients:

6 oz (175 g) self-raising flour, plus a little extra for dusting

½ level teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

½ level teaspoon mustard powder

1 oz (25 g) unsalted butter, cut into small lumps (at room temperature)

3 oz (75 g) Cheshire cheese, grated

1 rounded tablespoon of freshly snipped chives

2½-3 tablespoons buttermilk

1 large egg

 

For the topping:

1 oz (25 g) Cheshire cheese, grated

a little milk for brushing

a good pinch cayenne, for dusting

 

Cooking Instructions:

Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 7, 425°F (220°C).

Begin by sifting the flour into a large bowl, then sift in the salt, cayenne pepper and mustard powder. Give everything a good mix, then add the lumps of butter and rub them gently into the flour with your fingertips until the mixture looks like lumpy breadcrumbs. 

Add the 3 oz of grated cheese and the chives and mix in (see photo above).

Break the egg into a bowl and beat it with 2½ tablespoons of buttermilk, then add half of this to the flour and cheese mixture. Give everything a bit of a mix around with a palette knife, then bring the mixture together gently with your hands to form a dough. Add more of the egg and buttermilk as needed, until you have a dough that is soft but not sticky; it should come together and leave the sides of the bowl clean (see photo below). If it seems a little dry, add the other ½ tablespoon of buttermilk.

Carefully move the dough to a floured rolling board and gently roll it out (don't forget to be gentle) to a depth of 1 inch (2.5cm) - no less... Don't be afraid to use a ruler. Next, use a 2½ inch (6 cm) fluted cutter to cut out the scones (push down, pull up, tap the dough out... no twisting). Gather any pieces that are left over together, lightly roll the dough out and continue cutting out scones until more or less all of the dough is used. Move the scones to a baking tray that has been lightly greased with butter and dusted with flour. Brush them with a little milk, sprinkle over the remaining 1 oz of cheese, then add a very light powdering of cayenne pepper (see photo below).

Place the tray on the highest shelf of the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes, until they're a nice golden colour. Once they're ready, remove them from the oven and place them onto a wire rack to cool.

Bon appétit!

Fruit Scones

 

Is there anything that says British summertime quite so well as a fruit scone? Ryoma says not, and he's quite the expert on scones... Just ask any National Trust property within two hundred miles of Weston-super-Mare and they'll tell you that their supply of scones diminishes greatly when my husband is in the vicinity! He also gives each tearoom marks out of ten as he goes along, with points taken off for insufficient fluff or runny cream, but that's another story altogether.

Anyway, this post marks the commencement of our scone-athon. We've decided to devote the next few weeks to sconey adventures, and I'll be posting the recipes here. This recipe will make eight scones.

For the sconey novice, a few tips:

According to my grandmother, it's important not to man-handle the dough too much when making scones. Using unnecessary violence whilst wielding a rolling pin will lead to pathetic little flatties with not an ounce of fluffiness. The dough shouldn't be poked and prodded too much, or flattened to within an inch of its life with a malevolent piece of turned wood... it should be gently persuaded to form the right shape. In addition to this, Delia (hallowed is the Delia) tells us that we must not roll out the dough to a thickness of less than an inch. She also prefers to use butter that's at room temperature; other cooks recommend chilled butter, but I think that cold butter is harder to rub in and therefore involves much more man-handling.

Ingredients:

8 oz (225 g) self-raising flour, plus a little extra for dusting

½ level teaspoon salt

3 oz (75 g) of unsalted butter, cut into small lumps (at room temperature)

1 oz (30 g) caster sugar

6 oz (175 g) sultanas

1 large egg

2 tablespoons buttermilk, and a little extra for brushing

 

Cooking Instructions:

Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 7, 425°F (220°C). 

Begin by sifting the flour and salt into a large bowl. Add the lumps of butter and rub them gently into the flour with your fingers until the mixture looks like lumpy breadcrumbs (see photo below).

Add the caster sugar and mix it in, then mix in the sultanas (see photo above).

Break the egg into a bowl (or measuring jug) and beat it with the 2 tablespoons of buttermilk, then add half of this egg mixture to the flour and sultanas in the large mixing bowl. Give everything a bit of a mix around with a palette knife, then bring the mixture together with your hands to form a dough. Add more of the egg and milk as needed, until you have a dough that is soft but not sticky; it should come together and leave the sides of the bowl clean (see photo below).

Carefully move the dough to a floured rolling board and gently roll it out (don't forget... no undue violence!) to a depth of 1 inch (2.5cm) - no less... Don't be afraid to use a ruler. Next, use a 2½ inch (6 cm) fluted cutter to cut out the scones (push down, pull up, tap the dough out... no twisting). Gather any pieces that are left over together, lightly roll the dough out and continue cutting out scones until more or less all of the dough is used. Move the scones to a baking tray that has been lightly greased with butter and dusted with flour. Brush them with a little buttermilk, then dust them with a little flour (see photo below).

Pop them onto the top shelf of the oven and bake for 10-12 minutes, until they're a nice golden colour (we left them in for 10 minutes, which was perfect for our fan-assisted oven). Once they're ready, remove them from the oven and place them onto a wire rack to cool.

Bon appétit!