Basil, Chilli and Goat's Cheese Scones - "Snack of the Day"

 

 

Meet "Snack of the Day", a newly created meal break in our household. Over the last year we have had more and more sporting commitments after school. Some night's it's a juggle to get from one to the other on time, never mind with enough fuel in the tank to put in an athlete's performance. Enter "Snack of the Day". It's eaten once a week 5.30pm-6.00pm between football training and volleyball training. It gets us through from school-finish to late-dinner. It's mostly eaten on the run and in-hand. It usually involves pastry or dough of some kind and cheese. The menu changes every week and sometimes I don't know what the "Snack of the Day" is until I'm making it at 4.00pm on the day. The pressure to come up with some thing new and exciting is immense, but I'm up for the challenge. I think my children look forward to it more than dinner itself. May be we should just go from "Snack of the Day" straight to dessert, I don't think I'd get any complaints.


Basil, Chilli and Goat's Cheese Scones

From  Joy the Baker
Makes 6 large scones

2 cups plain flour
2 tablespoons cornmeal
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
115g unsalted butter, cold, cut into small cubes
2 large eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk (plus more for brushing the tops of the scones)
125g soft goat's cheese, cut into small cubes
1 long red chilli, finely diced
1/2 cup basil leaves, shredded
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 tablespoon plain flour

Place a rack in the centre of the oven and preheat to 200 degrees C.

Heat 2 teaspoons of olive oil in a small saute pan and cook the chilli until softened, about 1 minute. Let the diced chillies cool and them mix with the diced cheese. Toss mixture in 1 tablespoon of flour and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt. Work in the cold butter with your fingers until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Some butter pieces will be the size of peas and the flour will be nice and crumbly.

Whisk together 2 eggs and buttermilk. Add the wet ingredients all at once to the dry ingredients, fold together with a fork until almost fully incorporated. Add the chilli and cheese mixture to the shaggy dough and work together. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for about 30 seconds. Form into a disk about 20 inches around and 3cm thick. Cut disk into six wedges and refrigerate for 10 minutes before baking.

When ready to bake, place chilled scones onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Brush with extra buttermilk and sprinkle with coarse sea salt. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown and delicious. These are best served the day they’re made.