Savoury Franken-scones
My kid sister has always been something of a fussy eater. When she was a little child, it was not uncommon for her seat at the table to be littered with (what she THOUGHT were) well-hidden remnants of her meal - legumes, anything that had been within 6 feet of ocean waters, bean shoots, sprouts, all members of the onion family, any form of fungii…the list goes on.
Remember, this is the kid who used to go nuts over the salt container, whilst me and my brother were tag-teaming the nutella and jam jars.
Admittedly, as she’s getting a bit older, her tastes *are* beginning to expand - she will no longer sit down and meticulously pick every single tiny piece of mushroom out of the ‘bolognese’ sauce (well, our hugely bastardized version of it!), nor is she quite so horrified when presented with a meal that involves organisms that used to swim.
We’re still working on the onions and legumes…
When I was making my first foray into the world of scones a few months ago, my sister asked me what kind of scones I was making, and the huge grin she presented when I told her made me think that there was another reason for her asking!
“Well…its just that I think scones should be sweet! Savoury scones are ewwww - I had one before and it was gross!” she explained, with a disdainful wrinkling of the nose.
Tsk tsk tsk.
Okay, so I had to admit…I had never actually tasted a savoury scone myself, but being the older sister, I felt that I had a role to play in encouraging her to expand her horizons. After all, I’m meant to be the older, wiser figurehead who is to help her learn to open her mind to new and exciting things, right? Right?
…
Sorry, I couldn’t help pissing myself laughing there 
Regardless, I thought it might be nice to try a savoury scone recipe and see whether I could get her to change her mind, so I nabbed a recipe that looked rather promising from one of my magazines and set about giving it a try. I set about chopping and mixing, merrily humming as my hands raced around to get everything together - not an uncommon sight in our kitchen, and when my sister pranced down from her room and saw me hard at work, her eyes lit up and she asked what I was making.
Gathering the biggest grin I could muster, I winked at her and told her it was something she wouldn’t like! Oh, the way her smile just crumpled almost broke my heart! Good grief - talk about looking despondent! I hoped that the recipe would’t let me down, and had my fingers crossed as I slid the tray into the oven. I set about making lunch for the siblings, whilst nervously checking the oven every 10 minutes, anxious as to how it would taste and whether my sister would like it. The moment they were done, I pulled them out, broke off a bite-sized piece and popped it into my mouth.
To say that I was utterly surprised would be an understatement. I don’t know what I was actually expecting, but it certainly wasn’t anything this good! Dense but light, soft, moist, it was possibly the biggest, most misshapen scone I’d ever seen (these f*ckers are HUGE - each scone about the size and weight of a heavy bun/bread roll!) but my god, did it pack a flavour punch! A minute after I’d removed them from the oven, my sister appeared again, led into the kitchen by her nose. She looked curiously at the giant craggy shapes on the baking tray, then lent in and took a GIANT SNIFF.
“Hey! They smell like pizza!” She picked one up and took a bite, chewed, then looked at me with a grin to confirm that she liked ‘em, and I grinned back at her as I took another bite of the scone in my hand and savored the moment.
Savoury Scones
(Adapted from Sept 2006 edition of Delicious)
Ingredients
600g (4 cups) self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cayenne pepper
100g chilled, unsalted butter, cubed, plus extra to serve
160g ham, finely chopped
5-6 spring onions, finely chopped
1/2 red bell pepper (capsicum), deseeded and finely chopped
1/2 green bell pepper (capsicum), deseeded and finely chopped
1/2 brown onion, finely diced
240g (2 cups) finely grated tasty cheddar cheese
375mL (1.5 cups) milk, plus extra to brush
1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C, and line a baking tray with baking paper and give it a light dusting of flour.
2. Sift together the flour, baking powder and cayenne pepper, then rub in the butter with your fingertips till it resembles breadcrumbs (if you have a food processor, just pulse it in there till it resembles coarse breadcrumbs).
3. Stir in the ham, spring onion, capsicum, onion and 1 1/2 cups of cheese (leave the remaining 1/2 cup) and season well with salt and pepper. Add the milk, cutting into the dry mixture with a knife till just combined - do not overmix.
4. Liberally dust your hands with flour, then scoop out the EXTREMELY STICKY batter onto the baking tray and try and form it into a rough round - about 25cm in diameter. Cut into 8 wedges and separate them slightly as they will expand, then brush their surfaces with milk and sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top.
5. Bake for 20-30 mins, or till they have puffed beautifully and are golden. Remove from the oven and leave to cool on the tray for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
6. Serve warm, spread with a little extra butter.
Technorati Tags: savoury, scones, recipes, quickbreads, breakfast, snacks, easy
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Comments
Oops! Sorry Mami, I forgot to put the C in 
Thanks for picking up on that before anyone baked this at the wrong temperature! Glad you like the look of the scones - they do make an awesome brunch if I say so myself!
The recipe calls for 180 degrees celsius, which is about 350 degrees fahrenheit. Sounds reasonable to me.
These sound WONDERFUL! I can’t wait to try them–I’ve only started making scones (sweet) myself. However I have many friends who prefer no sugar, and these would be perfect. Thanks for sharing the recipe. (My recipe for sweet scones is on my blog if you’re interested!)
Ellie, your sister sounds a lot like mine. Fussy eater, oh god!
Anyway, the scones look very very good. Delicious!
These look and sound outstanding- I have never made scones, but these are extremely tempting as a first try!
Very nice. I love savoury muffins, scones. Discovered them in New Zealand, as a matter of fact. Yum!
Ooo excellent savoury scones! That’s great that you’re converting your sister into a scone lover, too! I should try making savoury scones sometime.
Matthew - It is, but when I posted this I forgot to put the C for celcius, hence the confusion 180 F would be quite low!
Deborah - Thanks hon 
Helen - Definitely a great brunch dish, next time I think I’m gonna try a few different things…maybe sundried tomatoes or even some sweet potato pieces!
Mrs W - Cheers! Will have a look at that sweet scone recipe 
Anh - It’s funny isn’t it? I can’t understand being that fussy when all these things taste so good!
Deborah - I can’t recommend them enough! They’re not called quickbreads for nothing, and make such a lovely breakfast/snack
Bea - Thanks I’m yet to try savoury muffins, but that’s definitely on my list after trying these
EMD - Absolutely! Scones are ridiculously easy, and the payoff is so good!
These savoury scones look really good…and they must have tasted fabulous for you to win over your skeptical sister! I always love seeing what new creations are being cooked up in Ellie’s Kitchen!
i’m glad your sister liked these, they look so gr8-it would’ve been a shame if she didnt have them .
I LOVE the colors in the scones!….Something different from the regular boring scones we’re all so familiar with =)
Hi there, I come to you by way of Neil’s blog at At My Table. Loved the post and am excited to try the savory scone.
Your writing is a kick in the pants!
BZ
I’m a scone-making newbie, and I think these look fantastic! And your title is (he-he) another kicker!
Ellie - I love savory scones. There’s a place where my coworkers get cheddar jalapeno scones. They are yummy. Yours look yummy, too!
Kat - Definitely! They make such a great quick breakfast when you’re on the run!
Cris - So had I, so it was interesting to try these Definitely nothing like a sweet scone though, except perhaps for the texture!
Peabody - Hehehe, I aim to please Nah, no switching, just give ‘em the occasional bit of lovin
Belinda - Hehehe, thanks hon I have to admit that I tend to know what will sway my sister’s tastebuds, so I know where her boundaries lie
Kate - I agree! Though, it would’ve been her loss, not mine
Tanna - LOL! Savoury may have scored, but the battle between sweet and savoury is still neck and neck
Amrita - I agree I have to admit that one of the things that drew me to this recipe was just how colorful the photo was!
BZ - Cheers, am glad to hear that you like the post Thanks for stopping by!
Susan - LOL, thanks hon From one scone-making newbie to another, these are dead-easy!
Ed - Thanks hon Jalapeno sounds like it would work well in savoury scones, giving them a nice kick!
What a great idea! These would be so delicious for brunch. I’ll definitely be adding this to my “to try” list.
Thanks Erin I can’t take credit for the idea, but I can most definitely recommend them as an item for any brunch menu!
Love this recipe, thanks!
I made them a few weeks ago - it was a LOT but they were absolutely delicious. So I’ve halved the recipe today and they’re just about ready to come out of the oven. Hello dinner…
Those look yummy! Did you really mean 180 degrees for the oven? that seems mighty low! Then again, I’ve never made scones… :-)I woke up this morning thinking I wanted to make brunch - multi-grain pancakes, pesto and avocado scrambled eggs, and something else. I couldn’t figure out what that something else should be…now I know!
Thanks for the idea.