SEVENTEEN : FETA, OLIVE AND SUN-DRIED TOMATO SCONES

Delia Smith's Winter Collection

FEBRUARY 19 2012

SEVENTEEN : FETA, OLIVE AND SUN-DRIED TOMATO SCONES

scone o'clock!

Good morning, scone! You perfect, compact, savory little breakfast nugget. Salty, cheesy, yummy.... and so easy. I want to eat you all but that would well exceed my daily sodium intake, thanks to all the salty, salty feta, olives and sun-dried tomatoes packed into each little guy. Oooh! These would be even better (and saltier) with crumbled bacon. Maybe next time...

combining ingredients, with a knife...

no cookie cutters, so must improvise!

And there will be a next time because they're just so quick to toss together. Basically stir everything into the flour (with a knife... which is stupid) then add the liquids until it comes together. Roll it out and stamp into circles. Then bake 15 minutes.

into the oven!

Yummmmm... I think I'm gonna go have another :)

breakfast is served

2/21/12 UPDATE: after enjoying the entire batch over the last few days, I have one change I would recommend for this recipe. Replace the tablespoon of sun-dried tomato oil with plain olive oil. Using the infused oil is just too intense and the sun-dried tomato flavor completely dominates each bite.

FETA, OLIVE AND SUN-DRIED TOMATO SCONES

Makes 12

These are lovely served as a snack or savoury at teatime. They also go very well as a companion to many soups for lunch.

3 oz Feta, cubed small
10 black olives, pitted and roughly chopped
2 oz sun-dried tomatoes, drained of oil and chopped (reserve 1 tablespoon oil)
6 oz self-raising flour
2 oz wholewheat flour
¼ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
¼ teaspoon mustard powder
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1½ level teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
1 large egg
2 tablespoons milk

For the topping:
Milk for brushing
2 oz Feta, crumbled

~~

Pre-heat the oven to 425°F.

First sift the flours and baking powder into a large, roomy bowl, tip in any bran left in the sieve, then add the cayenne and mustard powder and, using a knife, work in the 2 tablespoons of olive oil, plus the reserved tablespoon of oil from the sun-dried tomatoes.

When the mixture looks like lumpy breadcrumbs stir in the chopped thyme, cubed Feta, olives and sun-dried tomatoes.

Now in a separate bowl beat the egg with the 2 tablespoons of milk and add half this mixture to the other ingredients. Using your hands, bring the mixture together to form a dough, adding more of the egg and milk as it needs it – what you should end up with is a dough that is soft but not sticky.

Now on a floured board, roll the dough out to a depth of 1 inch. Then stamp out the scones using a 2 inch cutter, either plain or fluted. Put the cut-out pieces on a baking tray and brush them with the milk.

Finally top each scone with the crumbled Feta, and put the tray on the highest shelf of the oven to bake for 12-15 minutes or until they've turned a golden colour. Then remove them to a wire rack until they are cool enough to eat.

This recipe is taken from Delia Smith’s Winter Collection.