They are pretty and very good. They are my most recent creation in the scone department. They are a bit tender and a bit crisp, fruit-sweetened and lovingly baked. They are just about perfect.
I submitted the recipe to a contest and you can find it on this page.
I owe zucchini: for years I detested this vegetable with unmatched zeal. When I finally learned to appreciate it, I became a devout fan, and every year I try to expiate my early sin by singing its praise.
Zucchini season is in full swing, which means zucchini of all varieties are readily available at local farmers' markets and stores. Hence, this is the time to get creative with them. A bunch of baby zucchini and some basil (basilico) in a recent CSA box made me realize another winning version of my basic scone recipe (described in this post).
Once again, I reached for calendula flowers (the last ones of the season, I am afraid). The recipe can be realized without them: the scones won't have the pretty touches of orange you see in the photos, but they will still be excellent.
3 1/2 tablespoons (1.75 oz. / 50 g) unsalted browned butter (or 4 tablespoons unsalted butter and no ricotta)
2 tablespoons buckwheat flour + 2 tablespoons millet flour + enough all-purpose flour to make 1 cup OR 1 cup (130 g) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (6o g) whole-wheat pastry flour
1/2 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/8 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon ultra-fine or granulated sugar
3 oz. (85 g) baby zucchini
1/2 teaspoon thyme leaves
2 large basil leaves, finely chopped
1/2 tablespoon ricotta or cream cheese or plain kefir cheese
1/2 cup (120 ml) homemade kefir; original recipe alternatives: buttermilk (latticello), plain yogurt or sour cream (low-fat or non-fat is fine)
1/4 cup (1 oz.) chopped toasted walnuts (the way I prepare walnuts for use is described in the recent post on walnut cake)
1 tablespoon petals of calendula flowers (optional)
Take the browned butter out of the fridge and let it soften slightly while you prepare the other ingredients. Preheat oven to 425 F. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or a piece of parchment paper and dust the surface lightly with flour.
Grate zucchini using the medium side of your grater. Measure flours and sift into a bowl. Place ingredients number 2 through 7 into the food processor fitted with steel blade. Cut butter into pieces and add to the food processor. Pulse a few times for several seconds until the flour mix resembles coarse meal.
Empty the food processor bowl into a bowl, add zucchini and herbs. In a small bowl, whisk together ricotta and kefir, then add them to the drier mix. Stir with a spatula a couple of times, then add the walnuts and petals. Stir briefly until ingredients are just combined.
Turn dough onto the lined sheet and shape into a 1/2-inch thick square. Dust surface of dough lightly with flour. With a bench scrape, cut into four lengthwise and then crosswise to get 16 small squares. With the help of the bench scrape, separate the pieces, so that they are at least one inch apart. If the corner pieces are much smaller than the rest, join them, so you'll end up with 14-15 scones of comparable size.
Bake for 15 minutes, then check the bottom of one scone: if it is golden brown, they are ready, otherwise, bake for another two minutes and check again. When ready, move them onto a rack and serve warm or at room temperature.
These scones are perfect for breakfast and I like to serve them for dinner as well, as a bread substitute. They are particularly good paired with fresh chèvre (homemade, in my case).
Once cooled completely, the scones can be frozen. When I want to serve them, I put them straight in a 350 F oven for 8-10 minutes.
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Ho un debito nei confronti delle zucchine: per anni le ho detestate con zelo militante. Quando poi ho imparato ad apprezzarle, ne sono diventata una fan devota e ogni anno cerco di espiare il mio peccato di gioventù cantandone le lodi.
Siamo nella stagione delle zucchine e al mercato e nei negozi si trovano zucchine fresche di diverse varietà. Questo è perciò il momento di usarle in modo creativo. Delle zucchine novelle e del basilico in una recente cassettina mi hanno ispirato a realizzare un'altra versione vincente della mia ricetta base per gli scone (descritta nel mio post sugli scone zucca e zenzero con curry).
Anche in questa occasione ho usato dei petali di calendula (gli ultimi della stagione, temo). Potete realizzare la ricetta senza di essi: gli scone non avranno le pennellate arancioni che vedete in quelli delle foto, ma saranno ottimi comunque.
e fragranza saporita
Ingredienti:
50 g burro nocciola (oppure 57 g di burro normale e non usare la ricotta)
2 cucchiai [30 ml] farina di grano saraceno + 2 cucchiai [30 ml] farina di miglio + abbastanza farina di grano per arrivare a 130 g, oppure 130 g di farina di grano
65 g farina integrale fina (da dolci)
1/2 cucchiaio (7,5 ml) lievito per dolci
1/4 cucchiaino bicarbonato di soda
3/8 cucchiaino sale fino
1 cucchiaino zucchero bianco fine
85 g zucchine novelle
1/2 cucchiaino foglioline di timo fresco
2 foglie grandi di basilico tagliate a pezzettini
1/2 cucchiaio (7,5 ml) ricotta o formaggio cremoso
120 ml kefir fatto in casa; alternative: latticello, yogurt bianco o panna acida (va bene anche parzialmente scremato o magro)
30 g noci tostate tritate (nel mio recente post sulla torta alle noci ho descritto come preparo le noci)
1 cucchiaio di petali di calendula (facoltativi)
Togliere dal frigorifero il burro nocciola e farlo ammorbidire leggermente mentre preparate gli altri ingredienti. Scaldare il forno a 218 C. Foderare una lastra da forno con un tappetino di silicone per forno o carta da forno e spargere un po' di farina sulla superficie.
Grattugiare le zucchine usando il lato della grattugia con i buchi medi. Misurare le farine, passarle al setaccio e porle in una ciotola. Mettere gli ingredienti dal numero 2 al 7 nel robot con la lama d'acciaio. Tagliare a pezzi il burro e aggiungerlo agli ingredienti. Pulsare un po' di volte per diversi secondi per sabbiare.
Vuotare il contenitore del robot nella ciotola, aggiungere zucchine ed erbe aromatiche. In una ciotola piccola, mescolare ricotta e kefir e poi aggiungerli agli ingredienti secchi. Con una spatola, mescolare brevemente, poi aggiungere noci e petali. Mescolare solo fino a quando si ha un impasto coeso.
Rovesciare l'impasto sulla lastra foderata e dargli la forma di un quadrato spesso 1,25 cm. Spolverare la superficie con un pochino di farina. Con un raschietto, tagliare il quadrato in quattro per lungo e per largo in modo da ottenere 16 quadretti. Con l'aiuto del raschietto, separare i quadretti in modo che siano distanti almeno 2,5 cm. Se i quadretti d'angolo sono molto più piccoli degli altri, uniteli a due a due in modo da avere 14-15 scone di dimensioni simili.
Infornare e cuocere per 15 minuti, poi controllare il fondo di uno scone: se è bello dorato, gli scone sono pronti. Se no, cuocere per un altro paio di minuti e controllare di nuovo. Quando sono pronti, trasferirli su una griglia e servirli caldi o a temperatura ambiente.
Questi scone sono ottimi per colazione e a me piace anche servirli per cena, al posto del pane. Sono particolarmente buoni con del formaggio caprino fresco (io lo faccio in casa).
Una volta raffreddati, surgelo sempre una parte degli scone. Quando poi voglio servirli, li metto direttamente in forno riscaldato a 175 C per 10 minuti.
I have sometimes thought about the menu of my own small café. I don't believe it will ever exist outside my imagination, but I enjoy adding to the list something that I think would go well there, like these scones — or the ones with red beet, apple and pistachios I made recently.
I love scones, I always have, from the day, many years ago, when I tasted my first one during my first visit to the UK. They are flavorful and not sweet, nourishing and versatile. They prefer to charm you with their flavor and texture rather than polished looks. I could bake a batch every day. When I do bake a batch, I feel like the day starts on the right note.
The theme of opening a café is present in the book we are currently reading in our Cook the Cooks Club: The Color of Tea by Hannah Tunnicliffe. I wish I could find an elegant way to say this, but I didn't like the novel — and I don't like macarons, which feature prominently in it. The scones were inspired by the novel in the sense that they were a reaction to it. They are unadorned, crisp outside and tender inside, a bit rustic, a bit surprising with their nuanced flavor of carrot punctuated by the small pieces of candied ginger, simply irresistible. Scone are traditionally served with tea and without roses, but I was too excited about cutting the first pink rose of the season from my bush not to share it here.
Today's scones start with two pounds of freshly harvested small carrots, which I prepared using this simple yet lovely recipe by Lynda of TasteFood with a couple of minor adjustments (see below). The result was very much appreciated at the table. As I was putting away the leftovers, I thought about using some to make scones.
The morning after, I had to solve the problem of turning the roasted carrots into a form suitable for scone-making. After some deliberation, I decided to chop them and add them to the food processor after the butter had been cut into the flour. It worked and the scones were a success, so the following week, when I found more carrots in my CSA share, I was ready to repeat the sequence of roasting followed by scone making. As an aside, this time I had a smaller amount of carrots, so I added to the pan a mix of baby turnips (rape novelle) and radishes (ravanelli), a great duo of root vegetables (I will soon share a recipe featuring them).
Ingredients (see my earlier post for additional information on the original recipe and the ingredients; overall, I halved the quantities):
3 ounces (85 g) leftover roasted carrots, chopped
3 1/2 tablespoons (1.75 oz. / 50 g) unsalted browned butter (or 4 tablespoons unsalted butter and no ricotta)
2 tablespoons buckwheat flour + 1 tablespoon cornmeal + 1 tablespoon teff flour + enough all-purpose flour to make 1 cup OR 1 cup (130 g) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (65 g) whole-wheat pastry flour
1/4 cup finely chopped uncrystallized candied ginger (zenzero candito)
1/2 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/8 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon ultra-fine or granulated sugar
1/2 tablespoon ricotta or plain kefir cheese or cream cheese
1/2 cup (120 ml) homemade kefir; original recipe alternatives: buttermilk (latticello), plain yogurt or sour cream (low-fat or non-fat is fine)
How to roast the carrots The evening before I baked the scones, I prepared the carrots using this recipe with the following minor adjustments:
I used thyme leaves rather than whole sprigs
I used only 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar
I did not add the sugar in the last step
Since my carrots were more like toddlers than babies, I cut the bigger ones lengthwise and/or crosswise, and it took me some 25 minutes to get them to the tenderness I desired.
You can, of course, choose your favorite method for oven-roasting carrots.
The morning after, weigh the amount of carrots needed for the scones (making sure to incude a nice amount of thyme leaves) and chop them. Set aside.
golden mix
How to make the scones Preheat oven to 425 F. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or a piece of parchment paper and dust the surface lightly with flour.
Take the browned butter out of the fridge and let it soften slightly while you prepare the other ingredients. Measure the flours and set aside a tablespoon or so to flour the pieces of candied ginger, so they stay separate when you add them to the dough at the end. Put the rest of the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar into the food processor fitted with steel blade. Cut butter into pieces and add to the food processor. Pulse a few times for several seconds until the flour mix resembles coarse meal.
Add the chopped carrots to the food processor and continue pulsing until you see that the carrots have been finely chopped into the flour mix, which will turn into a delicate golden color (see photo above).
Pour dry ingredients into a bowl. Add the floured candied ginger and stir to distribute. In a small bowl, whisk together ricotta and kefir, then add them to the drier mix. Stir with a spatula until ingredients are just combined.
Turn dough onto the lined baking sheet and, with your hands, shape into a 1/2-inch thick square. Dust surface of dough lightly with flour. With a bench scraper, cut into four lengthwise and then crosswise to get 16 small squares. With the help of the bench scraper, separate the pieces, so that they are at least one inch apart. If the corner pieces are much smaller than the rest, join them, so you'll end up with 14-15 scones of comparable size.
Bake for 16 minutes, then check the bottom of one scone: if it is golden brown, they are ready, otherwise, bake for another two minutes and check again. In my experience, these scones take a bit longer to bake than other types of scones I made with the same base recipe, so besides checking the bottom, I also tap on the top to make sure it is crisp, before deciding that the scones are ready and I let them sit for a minute on the baking sheet before moving them onto a rack to cool. Serve warm or at room temperature (temperatura ambiente).
These scones are perfect for breakfast and I like to serve them for dinner as well, as a bread substitute, with creamy homemade kefir cheese or a spread, like my roasted red pepper and almond dip. As I said above: they are simply irresistible.
Once cooled completely, the scones can be frozen. When I want to serve them, I put them straight in a 350 F oven for 8-10 minutes.
This is my contribution to the current edition of Cook the Books, hosted by Deb of Kahakai Kitchen. You can find the guidelines for participating in the event here, and here is the announcement.
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The recipe started with yet another batch of small red beets freshly harvested and promptly roasted. It went on with an apple too large to eat all as my breakfast. En route, it picked up some fresh dill (aneto) and to complete the party, it invited pistachios to join: what a success!
I had a hard time setting up this shooting session, even within the realm of my minimalist style of food photography. I baked four batches of these scones and every time, my camera wanted to be outside, focusing on large landscapes rather than small edibles.
On the other hand, the scones have a kind of rough beauty that comes across in the photos and that I find quite attractive. I like that the color is not uniform, but somewhat marbled. Above all, I like how the scones taste.
I keep using the same scone recipe, making small adjustments to accommodate each variation I come up with.
Ingredients (see my previous post for additional information on the original recipe and the ingredients; overall, I halved the quantities of the original recipe):
3 1/2 tablespoons (1.75 oz. / 50 g) unsalted browned butter (or 4 tablespoons unsalted butter and no ricotta)
2 tablespoons buckwheat flour + 2 tablespoons cornmeal + enough all-purpose flour to make 1 cup OR 1 cup (130 g) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (65 g) whole-wheat pastry flour
1/2 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/8 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon ultra-fine or granulated sugar
1/4 cup grated roasted red beet (use the medium side of your grater)
1/4 cup grated apple (use the extra-coarse side of your grater)
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh dill (aneto)
1/2 tablespoon ricotta or cream cheese or plain kefir cheese
1/2 cup (120 ml) homemade kefir; original recipe alternatives: buttermilk (latticello), plain yogurt or sour cream (low-fat or non-fat is fine)
1/4 cup (1 oz.) roasted and lightly salted pistachios, chopped
How to roast beets Preheat the oven to 375 F. Rinse and scrub well beets, then wrap each one in foil, place on a baking sheet, and bake until easily pierced with a knife. Alternatively, place clean beets in a baking pan or dish, add 1/4 inch of water to the pan and cover tightly with foil or dish's lid, then proceed as with the other method. Let beets cool until easy to handle, then slip off the skin.
Note: If you are like me and prefer to buy bunches of beets with their greens still attached, cut the greens an inch above the beet, then proceed with the preparation. I usually bake a number of beets at a time, for efficiency's sake. There are many ways you can use them, for example, this soup or this spread. I also set aside the greens to make a frittata or to add to kale in this dish. And I prepare the stalks in this way.
How to make the scones Preheat oven to 425 F. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or a piece of parchment paper and dust the surface lightly with flour.
Take the browned butter out of the fridge and let it soften slightly while you prepare the other ingredients. Grate red beet and apple. Measure ingredients number 2 through 8 and put into the food processor fitted with steel blade. Cut butter into pieces and add to the food processor. Pulse a few times for several seconds until the flour mix resembles coarse meal. Due to the red beet, it will be pink.
Pour dry ingredients into a bowl, add apple and dill. In a small bowl, whisk together ricotta and kefir, then add them to the drier mix. Stir with a spatula a couple of times, then add the pistachios. Stir briefly until ingredients are just combined.
Turn dough onto the lined sheet and shape into a 1/2-inch thick square. Dust surface of dough lightly with flour. With a bench scraper, cut into four lengthwise and then crosswise to get 16 small squares. With the help of the bench scraper, separate the pieces, so that they are at least one inch apart. If the corner pieces are much smaller than the rest, join them, so you'll end up with 14-15 scones of comparable size.
Bake for 15 minutes, then check the bottom of one scone: if it is golden brown, they are ready, otherwise, bake for another two minutes and check again. When ready, move them onto a rack and serve warm or at room temperature.
marbled, fragrant, excellent scones
These scones are perfect for breakfast and I like to serve them for dinner as well, as a bread substitute, with creamy homemade kefir cheese or a spread.
Once cooled completely, the scones can be frozen. When I want to serve them, I put them straight in a 350 F oven for 8-10 minutes.
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La ricetta comincia con un po' di piccole barbabietole rosse appena raccolte che ho subito cotto al forno. Continua con una mela un po' troppo grossa per essere mangiata tutta per colazione. Per strada, dà un passaggio a dell'aneto fresco e per completare la festa invita dei pistacchi tostati. Il risultato: un successo!
Ho avuto un po' di difficoltà a fare foto, anche nel mio stile minimalista. Ho preparato gli scone quattro volte e ogni volta la mia macchina fotografica voleva essere all'aperto e puntare a vasti paesaggi piuttosto che a piccoli oggetti commestibili.
D'altra parte, questi scone hanno una loro bellezza rustica che le foto mostrano bene e che io personalmente trovo molto attraente. Mi piace il fatto che il colore non sia uniforme ma un po' marmorizzato. E soprattutto mi piace il sapore di questi scone.
Continuo ad usare la mia ricetta base degli scone e faccio piccoli cambiamenti per adattarla a ciascuna variazione che invento (vedi il mio post sugli scone zucca e zenzero con curry per ulteriori informazioni riguardanti la ricetta che mi ha ispirato).
Ingredienti:
50 g burro nocciola (oppure 57 g di burro normale e non usare la ricotta)
2 cucchiai [30 ml] farina di grano saraceno + [30 ml] fioretto di mais + abbastanza farina di grano per arrivare a 130 g, oppure 130 g di farina di grano
65 g farina integrale fina (da dolci)
1/2 cucchiaio (7,5 ml) lievito per dolci
1/4 cucchiaino bicarbonato di soda
3/8 cucchiaino sale fino
1 cucchiaino zucchero bianco fine
1/4 tazza (60 ml) barbabietola rossa cotta in forno e grattugiata con la grattugia a buchi medi o grossi
1/4 tazza (60 ml) mela grattugiata con la grattugia a buchi grossi (un quarto di una mela medio-grossa)
1 cucchiaino aneto fresco tritato
1/2 cucchiaio (7,5 ml) ricotta o formaggio cremoso
120 ml kefir fatto in casa; alternative: latticello, yogurt bianco o panna acida (va bene anche parzialmente scremato o magro)
30 g pistacchi tostati e leggermente salati, tritati
Come cuocere le barbabietole rosse Scaldare il forno a 190 C. Pulire bene la barbabietola (o barbabietole), avvolgere in pellicola di alluminio, porle su una lastra da forno e cuocerle in forno fino a quando è facile perforarla con una lama. Lasciar intiepidire e poi rimuovere la buccia.
Nota: Se siete come me e preferite comprare barbabietole con ancora attaccate le foglie, tagliate i gambi 2-3 cm sopra alla radice e poi proseguite con la preparazione. Di solito cuocio un certo numero di barbabietole per volta, per amor di efficienza. Potete usarle in diversi modi, a parte quello descritto in questo post (per esempio, questa zuppa o questa crema da spalmare). Io utilizzo le foglie per fare una frittata o insieme al cavolo riccio in questo gratin. E gli steli li preparo gratinati.
Come prepareare gli scone Scaldare il forno a 218 C. Foderare una lastra da forno con un tappetino di silicone per forno o carta da forno e spargere un po' di farina sulla superficie. Togliere dal frigorifero il burro nocciola e farlo ammorbidire leggermente mentre preparate gli altri ingredienti.
Grattugiare barbabietola e mela. Misurare gli ingredienti dal numero 2 all'8 e metterli nel robot con la lama d'acciaio. Tagliare a pezzi il burro e aggiungerlo agli ingredienti. Pulsare un po' di volte per diversi secondi per sabbiare. La barbabietola rossa fa diventare il composto rosa.
Versare gli ingredienti secchi in una ciotola, aggiungere mela e aneto. In una ciotola piccola, mescolare ricotta e kefir e poi aggiungerli agli ingredienti secchi. Con una spatola, mescolare brevemente, poi aggiungere i pistacchi. Mescolare solo fino a quando si ha un impasto coeso.
Rovesciare l'impasto sulla lastra foderata e dargli la forma di un quadrato spesso 1,25 cm. Spolverare la superficie con un pochino di farina. Con un raschietto, tagliare il quadrato in quattro per lungo e per largo in modo da ottenere 16 quadretti. Con l'aiuto del raschietto, separare i quadretti in modo che siano distanti almeno 2,5 cm. Se i quadretti d'angolo sono molto più piccoli degli altri, uniteli a due a due in modo da avere 14-15 scone di dimensioni simili.
Infornare e cuocere per 15 minuti, poi controllare il fondo di uno scone: se è bello dorato, gli scone sono pronti. Se no, cuocere per un altro paio di minuti e controllare di nuovo. Quando sono pronti, trasferirli su una griglia e servirli caldi o a temperatura ambiente.
marmorizzati, fragranti, buonissimi
Questi scone sono ottimi per colazione e a me piace anche servirli per cena, al posto del pane, con formaggio di kefir cremoso o una crema salata da spalmare.
Una volta raffreddati, surgelo sempre una parte degli scone. Quando poi voglio servirli, li metto direttamente in forno riscaldato a 175 C per 10 minuti.
As member of a grain CSA, I receive a monthly share that includes various stone-ground, whole-grain flours, like wheat, barley and rye flour.
Rye is a cereal grain that looks like wheat but is longer and more slender and varies in color from yellowish brown to grayish green. It is generally available in its whole or cracked grain form or as flour or flakes that look similar to old-fashioned oats. Because it is difficult to separate the germ and bran from the endosperm of rye, rye flour usually retains a large quantity of nutrients, in contrast to refined wheat flour. (source: the world's healthiest foods)
I have been admittedly slow at taking up rye flour (farina di segale), but recently I have found two recipes that are fantastic. This is the first one, and it comes from Dan Lepard, whose book The Handmade Loaf is one of my most used bread baking books. You can tell by the amount of flour that hits your face when you open it on certain pages.
When I read his recipe for rye apple cake, I knew immediately that it would be great. I have made it three times and three times I managed to take so-so photos of what is really a nice, moist, deep-flavored cake. On the other hand, I like the photo of the rye flour.
I made a few adjustments to the original list of ingredients, mostly to reduce the amount of sweetener, and the end result is as follows:
1 apple (about 175-180 g) [I have used Gala apples, since this is the best quality I am finding now: I will switch to using locally grown apples as soon as the new crop arrives]
ground cinnamon (cannella), for dusting the apple pieces
50 g / 1/2 cup minus 1 tablespoon almond meal
25 g / 3 tablespoons sliced [flaked] almonds (mandorle)
150 g / 1 1/2 cup minus 2 tablespoons whole-grain rye flour [see note 1 below]
Note 1: the original recipe does not specify the type of rye flour. The flour I get is stone ground and some of the bran is in large flakes. I sift them out, toast them and add them to yogurt.
Note 2: I weighed the ingredients and made the conversion to volume for the post. One tablespoon of agave nectar or of honey is less than 25 g, so I added 1 teaspoon of agave nectar to balance out the weight.
I followed the instructions as stated in the original recipe except that I did not need to grind the almonds, since I had almond meal and did not dust the cake with sugar before putting it in the oven.
A great cake for a sweet breakfast or to go with a cup of tea (una tazza di tè).
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