Parsley Cheese Scones

Parsley thrives in fall weather; fresh, it is known for its potent flavour and high vitamin C content. Usually I just add whatever various fresh herbs are in the share to salads of all kinds (green salads, warm potato or beet salads, roasted or grated veggie salads, coleslaws, Tabbouleh, etc). I think this practise keeps salad interesting. But this recipe provides a bit of a different way to use herbs!

I found this scones recipe online and thought some of you might be able to use it to coax those reluctant parsley eaters in your life into giving parsley another try.

I liked these scones and I found that best part about them was the veggies, particularly the strong taste of the onions. Warm out of the oven with butter these were good enough to go back for a second!

I didn’t find it “easy peasy” as the author suggested. The step requiring that the oats be boiled 30 minutes in advance was cumbersome, as was making the measuring with a scale when I am used to working with cups. I also found that the scones took longer than 20 minutes to bake. I did make a few substitutions (noted in brackets below), so that may have had an effect on cooking time.

This recipe comes from Dan Lepard at The Guardian.

Parsley Cheese Scones

Ingredients

  • 75 g rolled oats plus more for the top
  • 50 ml buttermilk
  • 1 large egg
  • 50 ml sunflower or corn oil (I used melted butter)
  • 1 large bunch parsley leaves picked and finely chopped
  • 5-6 spring onions finely chopped (I used 1/2 a medium red onion, finely chopped)
  • 200 g mature cheddar coarsely grated
  • 350 g plain flour plus a little extra for shaping (I used a 40:60 combination of Sonset Farm whole spelt and organic white corn flour.)
  • 3 tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp salt
  • Beaten egg or milk for brushing

Instructions

  1. Put the oats in a saucepan with 150ml water, bring to a boil, then spoon into a mixing bowl, stir in the buttermilk and set aside to cool for 30 minutes.
  2. Once cool, beat in the egg and oil until smooth, stir in the parsley, spring onions and cheddar, then add the flour, baking powder and salt, and mix into a soft dough.
  3. Cover a baking tray with non-stick paper, or sprinkle it with flour, and heat the oven to 220C (200C fan-assisted)/425F/gas mark 7. Flour a worktop, pat the dough to about 4cm thick and, using a sharp cutter, cut out 6-8cm rounds. Place these 4-5cm apart on the prepared tray, brush the tops with egg or milk, sprinkle over a good pinch of oats.

  4. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until puffed and golden.

Recipe Notes

I've lowered the fat and increased the flavour, fibre and moistness in these easy-peasy cheesy scones – good for picnics. Makes eight to 10.