Seaweed scones with herb butter
Not just for afternoon tea, a savoury scone is the perfect accompaniment to a summer salad, seafood soup, smoked fish or pâtés. There is nothing more satisfying than the waft of baked goods filling your kitchen.
SERVES
12
PEOPLE
PREP TIME
30
MINUTES
COOKING TIME
15
MINUTES
Ingredients
For the scones:
300g plain flour
150g wholemeal flour
30g baking powder
½ tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp sea salt
2 tsp dried seaweed flakes (such as kelp, dillisk or nori)
85g unsalted butter, diced and chilled
2 large eggs
225ml milk
Egg wash (1 egg yolk mixed with 1 tbsp milk)
Sea salt flakes
For the herb butter:
250g unsalted butter at room temperature
50g soft herbs (such as dill, chervil, parsley, fennel fronds)
Zest of half a lemon
Sea salt flakes
Place the unsalted butter in a large bowl and beat using a spatula.
Roughly chop the herbs and add along with the lemon zest and sea salt.
Taste and adjust seasoning. Serve at room temperature.
Method
Preheat oven to 220°C/fan 220°C/gas mark 7.
Sieve the flour and baking powder in a large mixing bowl. Add the sugar, salt and seaweed and mix well to evenly disperse.
Add the diced cubes of chilled butter and rub them in using clean and dry hands. Do this until the mixture resembles rough breadcrumbs.
In a separate bowl, add the eggs and milk and whisk to combine.
Make a well in the centre of the bowl, containing the dry ingredients and butter.
Add the egg and milk mixture.
Mix to bring together, forming a soft dough. Making sure there are no pockets of flour.
Dust your work surface with some plain flour. Place the scone dough on top and shape to form a round. It’s important at this point not to knead the dough and handle it as little as possible.
Using a rolling pin, flatten out the dough to about 2cm and stamp out the scones using a cutter of your choice, wasting as little as possible working from the outside of the dough.
Place on a large baking sheet, brush with egg wash and finish with a sprinkling of sea salt and seaweed flakes.
Bake in the preheated oven for 12-15 minutes until golden brown.
Remove from the baking sheet and cool on a wire rack.
Serve warm with a generous helping of herb butter.
