Cheese & Chive Scones
Photo ©Anne-Marie Minhall
It's been a tough few days for commuters in London.
A tube strike & not a train in sight. Us Londoners love to compare our struggles to get in & out of work during days like these:
What time did you leave home?"
"How long did your journey take ..?"
"How many overcrowded buses passed you by?"
"You walked here! No way! What time are you leaving work later?"
“Tea?”
Day One
Chanced my luck for a bus to town. Thought I'd hit the jackpot. Got a single seat, book out, happy days. Three stops later the driver announces we all have to get off to 'regulate the service.' I decided to walk the rest of the way. All five miles of it. Did I mention that it was raining? The city was gridlocked & more like a car park than anything else. I felt relieved not to be squashed & standing on a bus going nowhere.
Home time & I took an overground train to within walking distance of home. Never used the station before &, inevitably, got lost. Robert will tell you that my sense of direction is poor. What feels like a year passes but I do find a bus & arrive home two hours after having left work. Did I mention that it was still raining?
Day Two
No strike but severe disruption on all of the lines as they try to get up & running again. I'm blessed with a mid morning start so all is well into work & back home again.
Day Three
Second full on day long strike of the week. By now I have decided not to bother with buses & to just use my feet & legs to walk the whole way. Trainers are on & there are some tunes to accompany my journey. Then, just as I'm heading away, a bus arrives. I'm on it & one hour later find myself just three miles from work. I'm jaunty this time as there's less distance to cover, the sun is out & I'm listening to Joe Jackson. I even do a little dance on a zebra crossing. No one saw, it was fine.
Home time & I take the overground train once again but, this time, turned left & not right at the exit. I was back indoors within half an hour. Result.
Day Four
Well, this looks like being a repeat of Day Two. I'll report back at some later junction. By then, to be honest, the misery will be but a distant memory.
For some succour I made some savoury scones to take in for my friends & colleagues to share as we compared travellers' tales.
I got about sixteen cheesy delights from this mix - just choose your cutter size.
The most important thing about achieving a good scone is to handle the dough as little as possible.
Oven on at 220C/200C/Gas Mark 7
450g Plain Flour
6tsps Baking Powder
1 tsp Salt (I used Smoked Salt)
1 tbsp English Mustard Powder
100g Butter (nice & cold)
250g Strong Cheese (Pre-grated Red Leicester was my choice)
20g Parmesan
120ml Cold Whole Milk
120ml Cold Water
1 Egg beaten with a splash of Milk
1 tbsp Chives chopped
In to a large mixing bowl go the flour, baking & mustard powder to be combined
Grate your cold butter in & then rub gently with your equally cold hands until the mix becomes breadcrumb-like
Add your pre-grated cheese but hold back a good handful for a finishing touch to come
Next, the chives go into the bowl & stir to combine
Here comes the milk & the water & a big stir
You just need the dough to fall away from the side of the bowl before tipping it on to a lightly floured board
Flatten into a rectangle which should be about 2.5cm high
Fluted cutter at the ready
Gently reshape remaining dough & repeat
Put the beauties on a baking tray before brushing with the egg & milk mixture.
A last scattering of the remaining cheese on top & bake for around 12 minutes
The scones made it into work together with some butter I picked up on my walk in.
Sometimes comfort food is all it takes to change a frustrating day into one which is less so.
AMM
