Slightly adapted from ‘The Pastry Queen’, this recipe makes the ultimate cheese scone; served warm with gently melting salted butter, this is the most satisfying savoury tea.

You can make these in a mixer, but I prefer to make them by hand – you get a better ‘feel’ for the dough that way and it’s not exactly difficult.

In a large bowl, out 3 cups plain flour, 1 tbsp baking powder, 1 tsp salt and a hefty 2 tsp black pepper – more if you like.

Mix that well together and set to one side.

Meanwhile, chop 10 or so slices of streaky bacon and 4 spring onions. Put a drizzle of oil in a frying pan and get them frying.

Once they’re coloured and getting an air of crispiness, turn off the heat. I like to set the pan at a jaunty angle to draw the oil away from the onions and bacon.

To the flour mix, add 4 oz (1 stick) unsalted butter that you have cut into 1″ pieces

Using a pastry blender, cut the butter into the flour until it’s rubbly.

Next, add 150g (1 ½ cups) grated cheddar – make it a punchy Cheddar – and stir it in.

Then add the cooled bacon and spring onions and stir them in too.

To bind the dough together, add some buttermilk.  Start with ¾ cup and if that isn’t enough, add more tbsp by tbsp. The most you would use would be about 1 ½ cups, so I always make sure I have the maximum amount, just in case.

When your dough comes together (I use a wooden spoon and then my hands, using the fewest strokes I can) place it on a lightly floured surface and roll it out to a thickness of around ½”.

I like to roll it into a rectangle and cut irregular squares and rectangles from it so that people can select the size they fancy. You could also roll it into a circle and cut into wedges, or use a cookie cutter for uniformity.

Brush them with 1 small egg beaten with a tbsp of water (be careful to not let the egg wash spill down the sides off them – it hampers the rise) and for kicks, sprinkle a little more cheese on top.

Bake at GM6 /400F. The author suggests 18 to 20 mins, but mine have never yet been ready before 22-24 mins. Keep an eye on them from 18 mins, though.

Golden brown, filling the house with a warm salty, savoury scent. these scones are terribly more-ish.

Sorry about that.

Don’t forget the butter!

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Bacon, Onion and Cheddar Scones

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3 cups plain flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 tsp ground black pepper (more if you’re a pepper freak)

4 oz (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 1″ pieces
150g (1 1/2 cups) grated strong Cheddar

4 spring onions (scallions), finely sliced
10 or so slices streaky bacon, chopped
3/4 – 1 1/2 cups buttermilk

1 small egg
1 tbsp water

Preheat oven to GM6 / 400F

Put the flour, baking powder, salt and pepper into a large bowl. Set aside.

Meanwhile, heat a drizzle of oil in a frying pan and fry off the spring onions and bacon until coloured and the bacon is crispy. Set aside to cool with the pan at an angle to drain the excess oil away from the bacon and onion.

To the flour, add the butter and cut in with a pastry blender until it is rubbly.
Stir in the cheese.
Stir in the cooled bacon and onion.

Stir in 3/4 cup of buttermilk with a wooden spoon. If that’s insufficient, add more buttermilk a tbsp at a time until the dough comes together. Lightly, gently use your hands at this stage.

Place the dough onto a lightly floured surface and roll out to a thickness of around 1/2″.
Cut out squares, rectangles or use cookie cutters. Alternatively, roll into a circle and cut into wedges, pizza style.

Beat the egg and water together and brush the top of each scone with some egg wash – being careful not to dribble it down the sides. Top with a little extra grated Cheddar, if you wish.

Place on a baking sheet, leaving some room around each scone and bake for 18 – 24 minutes.

Serve warm, encouraging the devourers to split each scone and spread with salted butter.

(adapted from a recipe in ‘The Pastry Queen’)

Creamy, with a chilli kick, big flavours, a fantastically easy and delicious crust, maybe the perfect chicken pot pie? Certainly the best way to use up leftover roasted chicken, although it’s so good, I have before now, cooked chicken specifically in order to make these. It looks time consuming and to a degree it is, but it’s EASY. You fry stuff, make a sauce that is so thick you can’t have a problem with it, make a cream cheese pastry (in the food processor) that rolls out as easily as playdoh, stir 3 mixtures together, dole them out into pots, cut your playdoh circles out to slap on top and bake them. Simples.

This recipe is one that I have adapted from Rebecca Rather’s ‘The Pastry Queen’.  She calls them ‘All-Sold-Out Chicken Pot Pies’; try this recipe and you will see why.
The main changes I have made are to the quantities because most of the recipes I have tried in the book have been a) fantastic, but b) yielded far too much for the pan/tin/whatever indicated. My version made 4 x 1½ cup capacity pots and 1 x 1 cup capacity pot.

Make them!

Melt 1oz butter in a large saute pan. Add one small chopped onion and fry until coloured and softening – about 5 mins.  Then add 2 crushed cloves of garlic and continue to fry gently.

Add ¼ tsp dried crushed jalapeno and a handful (well, about 6) brown cap mushrooms that have been sliced or chopped and fry them down too – that’s more like 10 mins.

At that point, add 3 baby cooked and now cold potatoes that you have sliced. Gently fry them for another 5 mins.
If you haven’t got any cooked potato, just dice up a raw one and fry it, until tender,  in with the onion at the start of the recipe.

To that, add 2 small carrots that you cut into batons and cooked, and a handful of frozen peas that were cooked too. Gently turn to combine, then turn off the heat and leave to one side.

Melt 2 oz butter in a medium saucepan. Once melted, add ½ cup of flour and stir to make a smooth paste.

Gradually add 450 ml chicken stock and stir to make a beautiful, thick sauce.

Stir in ¼ cup single cream (this is optional, btw)

… and a dash of Tabasco. I stirred that splatter in, then did the same again

Add some cooked, cold chicken to the vegetable mix. I used the leftover meat from our roasted chicken – it was the meat of one breast, leg, thigh and the bits and bobs from the back. Shred or chop it into bite-sized pieces.

Pour the sauce over the lot and fold it all together. Unctuous.

Divide the mixture amongst 4 or 5 pots. 4 of these have a capacity of 1 ½ cups, the last one is 1 cup.

Preheat the oven to GM5/375F.

Now the crust. This is so quick.

Into a food processor, put 4oz butter that you’ve cut up into pieces and 1 ½ cups plain flour. Pulse until it is crumbly.

Add 5oz cream cheese and pulse again until the dough comes together in a ball. Done.

Turn the dough out onto a piece of baking paper that you have floured. Roll it out to a thickness of around ¼”. Maybe a little thinner, but don’t lose sleep.

Cut circles of pastry out that are about 1″ wider than the diameter of your pots.

Drape them over the pots. Do not press them down, crimp them, stick them to the sides. Nothing like that. NO! Just drape them over the top, brush them with a little beaten egg and let the oven sort it out.

Bake for 25-35mins until golden, bronzed, fabulous.

See the knife marks? I made these once, they looked just like this but were a little cool in the middle. Yes… I didn’t make that mistake again. Stick a knife in to check they’re piping hot!

Oh yes.

Dive in!

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Chicken Pot Pies
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(adapted from ‘The Pastry Queen’ by Rebecca Rather)

Filling:
1oz butter
small onion, chopped
3 small potatoes, cooked, chopped and cooled
2 cloves garlic, minced
6 brown cap mushrooms, chopped
2 small carrots, cut into batons, cooked and cooled
2 handfuls frozen peas, cooked and cooled
1/2 tsp dried crushed jalapeno

cooked chicken, cooled (I used the leftovers from a roasted chicken – one breast, leg, thigh and back meat all chopped into bite sized pieces)

Sauce:
2oz butter
1/2 cup flour
450ml chicken stock
1/4 cup single cream
tabasco to taste
salt and white pepper

Crust:
4oz butter
1 1/2 cups plain flour
5 oz cream cheese
salt and white pepper

1 egg, beaten to brush over pies.

Start with the filling.
Melt the butter in a large saute pan.
Add the onion and fry for about 5 mins.
Add the garlic, jalapeno and mushrooms and saute until tender.
Add the potatoes, carrots and peas, salt and pepper and turn to combine. Turn off heat and leave to one side.

The sauce.
Melt the butter in a medium saucepan.
Add the flour and stir or whisk in to make a smooth paste.
Gradually stir or whisk in the chicken stock and cook, stirring, until you have a thick smooth sauce.
Add the cream and tabasco. Add salt and pepper to taste.

You can also leave this to cool until later, or go ahead and assemble now.
Add the chicken to the fried vegetables, combine, then pour the sauce over the top and gently turn the mixture over to combine and coat thoroughly.
Fill individual dishes about 3/4 full. I filled 4 x 1 1/2 cup capacity dishes and 1 x 1 cup capacity. Set aside whilst you make the crust.

Preheat oven to GM5/375F

The crust. This is the most delightful, easy crust to handle, it’s like your best friend in the pastry world.
Cut the butter into pieces and place in a food processor. Add the flour.
Pulse until the dough is crumbly.
Add the cream cheese and salt and pepper, then pulse again until the dough comes together in a ball.

Flour a piece of baking paper and roll the dough out to a thickness of around 1/4″ – maybe slightly thinner than that.
Measure the diameter of your pots and cut out circles that are about an inch larger.
Drape the dough over the pot – don’t press it down, crimp it, fiddle with it – nothing! Just drape it over and leave the rest to the oven.
Brush the tops with the beaten egg.

Bake for 25-35 mins until golden brown. Stick a knife through the pastry into the filling to be sure that it is hot all the way through – I have had a just-warm filling lurking beneath that magnificent bronzed pastry before now.

Notes.
If you haven’t got any cooked potato handy, use a raw potato. Dice it and fry it with the onion.
You can, obviously, use any vegetable you like!
I never used to be a fan of hot, chilli food, but the dried jalapeno (or use crushed red chilli flakes, to taste) and tabasco takes these pies to a different level. I have made them without either and whilst nice enough, there wasn’t the same wow factor. Just alter the heat to suit you.