Buon Giorgno! Today, I was in need of some freshly baked comfort food for breakfast, but instead of the regular sweet breakfast, I was craving something savory and with a bit more of a kick to it.
My wife normally bakes plain or chocolate chip scones for the family, that are then slathered with butter/clotted cream and jam or eaten plain. But as I am a bigger fan of savory foods, I decided to tweak the recipe and add some Italian flair to satisfy my desire for something bolder and salty.
It so happens that one of my favorite hams is Mortadella Bologna IGP…. It reminds me a lot of my childhood, eating a mountain of thin slices between two pieces of freshly baked sourdough bread that my grandma used to make daily. Oh, the delicious morsels of fat that melt in your mouth!!
So I thought, what better combination than to add Mortadella and Grana Padano (with some freshly ground pepper – the “kick”) to the regular scones! A little butter on top of these freshly baked cheesy scones was the perfect way to start my morning!
Go on! Give these a try! You won’t be disappointed!
INGREDIENTS:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
2 tsp sugar
½ tsp salt
80 gms grated Grana Padano cheese (for dough)
20 gms grated Grana Padano cheese (for topping)
80 gms Mortadella Bologna IGP (thinly sliced strips)
80 gms chilled unsalted butter (cut into cubes)
1 cup heavy cream
1 egg (beaten)
Black pepper to taste
FOR THE GLAZE:
1 egg (beaten)
METHOD:
- Pre-heat oven to 200C.
- Combine flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in a large bowl and whisk well.
- Add the chilled butter cubes into the flour mixture and either using your fingers or a pastry cutter, quickly cut the butter in (or rub the butter into the flour) until you have a grainy texture. This can also be done using a food processor.
- Mix the heavy cream and egg together and add to the flour mixture, until you obtain a homogenous dough. If it is too sticky, add a bit more flour, a little at a time (teaspoon by teaspoon).
- Add the grated Grana Padano cheese and Mortadella slices into the mixture, with some freshly ground black pepper to taste.
- Pour the contents onto a lightly floured working surface and knead gently, without overdoing it – to prevent a tough dough from forming.
- Roll into a ball and flatten with your hands or a rolling pin to a thickness between 1.5 to 2 cm.
- Using a round cookie cutter with a diameter of approximately 6.5 cm, dip it into flour each time, before cutting out the scones, and place them on baking sheet covered by baking paper or a silicon mat.
- Brush the tops of the scones with a thin layer of beaten egg using a pastry brush, sprinkle with the remaining 20 gms of Grana Padano and place in the oven for around 13 – 15 mins.
- Remove and allow to cool for 10 minutes.
www.mortadellabologna.com www.arigat.eu www.iloveitlianfood.it
