What’s Cooking

I remember breakfasts at my Uncle Jimmy’s farm outside of Belfast (Ulster not PEI). It was 1949 and rationing was still in force but my Grandmother always had a plate of hot potato scones to go with the …..

Don’t you just love those sites that force you to wade through overwritten descriptions of the cook’s first taste of whatever, followed by the history of the sassafras root that they just know is a household staple in your pantry. Finally you get to the recipe!

This week I am making 100 or so potato scones for a St Patrick Day’s celebration at the Havilland Club. My brother made the best I have ever tasted so I am using it. Here’s the recipe.

Potato Scones*
From Al Hobbs, my brother
Serves 4 as a side
Prep time: 15-20 minutes**
Cook time: 6-12 minutes

Ingredients:
8 oz mashed potatoes, cold from the night before
1 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 Tbsp cold butter and more for frying
1 1/2 – 2 Tbsp. milk

Directions:
Sift together dry ingredients
Rub cold butter into the flour with your fingers until it resembles a coarse meal.
Add the mashed potatoes and mix with a fork.
Make a well in the centre and pour in milk.
Incorporate the flour into the milk until you can form a ball adding additional milk if needed.
On a floured surface turn out dough and knead until you have a smooth dough.
Roll out into an 8-8^1/2 inch circle about 1/4 inch thick.
Cut into triangles.***
Heat a cast iron pan or griddle with a dab of melted butter over medium heat. Careful not to burn the butter.
Fry the scones about 3 min. a side until golden brown.
Serve hot with a dab of butter.

They are good at breakfast with butter or jam and also with a good Irish stew at dinner.

* It is also known as Potato Bread (in Ulster), Potato Farl, Fardge, Boxties, (Republic of Ireland) and Tattie Scones (in Scotland).
** This is approximate as I have coordination problems and prep takes me longer these days.
*** I normally cut mine into six.

They will last in the fridge for 3-4 days and can be reheated in a pan or oven. They can also frozen for up to 3 months. It’s suggested that you give them a quick sear (1 minute max) on each side to firm them up then freeze them. When defrosted finish the cooking on a griddle or iron fry pan with a dab of butter.

The word for March 12^th is:
Scone /skōn, skŏn/: [noun]
^1.1 A small, rich, biscuit-like pastry or quick bread, sometimes baked on a griddle.
^1.2 Yeast bread dough, deep-fried and served with honey and butter or with a savoury filling.
^1.3 A cake, thinner than a bannock, made of wheat or barley or oat meal.
1510s, Scottish, probably shortened from Dutch schoon brood “fine bread,” from Middle Dutch schoonbroot, from schoon, scone “bright, beautiful” + broot “bread”.