We love wild garlic and cheddar scones at this time of year, so I took myself on a walk in my old haunts near the last village we lived in, a few miles from here, to see if the wild garlic has started to come through. Delighted that it has, so I picked a handful of leaves and we enjoyed our first wild garlic scones as a light(ish) supper that evening. I cooked them in the electric oven at 200C for 15 mins and they were delicious.
NOTE: When foraging wild garlic, NEVER pull the plant out by the bulbs – just take the leaves, and later the flowers, but leave the bulbs so you can enjoy this luscious gift of nature again next year.
For about 8 wild garlic and cheddar scones
There’s a lot of resting time in this recipe, but I admit to cutting it most of it short… Start early if you want to do it by the book.
Ingredients
350 gm SR flour
1.5 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tbsp caster sugar
85 gm chilled butter, cubed
150 gm grated cheddar cheese
(or whatever lurks in the fridge)
60 ml milk (I find I need a little more)
100 gm buttermilk or yoghurt
20 gm wild garlic leaves (I double this). Keep some aside to decorate the scones, if you wish
1 egg, beaten, to glaze – or use milk
Method
Heat oven to 200C fan. Line a baking tray with baking paper
Sift flour, baking powder, cayenne and stir in sugar. Either by hand or in a food processor on pulse setting, rub in butter until you have fine breadcrumbs. Stir in grated cheese and chill in fridge for 5 mins.
Combine the milk, yoghurt and chopped leaves with a pinch of salt in a small food processor (stick blender would work), and process to a green flecked liquid.
Cut this liquid into the scone mix with a butter knife until you can bring it together by hand. Don’t overwork it. Cover with a clean tea towel and leave to rest for 15 mins (this resting is important).
Turn the dough onto a floured surface and lightly pat into a circle about 2-4 cm deep. Use a 7cm scone cutter to cut the scones, reforming the scraps until all is used up.
Put the scones on the baking tray and rest for 20 mins (hmmm…). Press a small leaf into the top of each scone and wash the tops with beaten egg or milk.
Bake for 12 to 15 minutes until risen and golden brown.
Settle for 15 minutes before serving (I give them a few to let the cheese settle, then scoff them while hot!)
Serve with butter, chutneys, or smaller ones make a great vegetable soup (like parsnip) accompaniment.
Enjoy!
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I came here hoping to see a pic of the scones. My oven is broken but it’s easy to not get too fat this way. I miss making scones though. Cheese and wild garlic ones sound amazing. Not sure we have wild garlic here but maybe regular garlic or spring onions would be ok 💖
We’d already eaten two before I thought to take the picture! I don’t think garlic would work – too strong. But spring onions might, and definitely sage or chives would be good. There’s a Delia Smith recipe for sage and goats cheese soda bread which is really tasty, so that combination would work. I’ve also been known to toss in any sort of cheese that happens to be in the fridge, and that’s fine too. Enjoy them!
Marvellous reward for a stalwart effort 😀