Tattie scones
Slathered with butter, these tattie (potato) scones are so good. They’re great with a bit of Marmite too, or you can go down the sweet route and dish them up with jam or honey. We like to steam the potatoes in this way to get them as dry as possible, then mix them into the flour while still hot. This gives you a lighter, more tender scone.
Ingredients
- 500g/1lb 2oz floury potatoes (such as Maris Piper), unpeeled, cut into large chunks
- 150–175²µ/5½–6´Ç³ú plain flour, plus extra for dusting
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 free-range egg, beaten
- 50²µ/1¾´Ç³ú butter, plus extra for frying and to serve
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
Steam the potatoes in a steamer basket over a pan of boiling water for about 20 minutes or until completely tender. While the potatoes are still hot, peel off the skins – wear rubber gloves or spear each piece of potato with a fork and peel the skin off with a sharp knife – they should slide off easily.
Put 150g/5½oz of the flour and the baking powder into a bowl, with plenty of salt and pepper. If you have a potato ricer, mash the still-hot potatoes straight into the flour. Alternatively, mash the potatoes until smooth and add to the flour. Add the egg and butter – the butter should melt into the potato. Mix until you have a soft dough. If it seems too soft and doesn’t hold together, add a little more flour.
Knead the mixture briefly until smooth, then turn out onto a well-floured surface. Cut the dough into six equal pieces, then roll out to form rounds of about 12–15cm/4½–6in in diameter and 5mm/¼in thick.
Heat a little butter in a frying pan over a medium heat – not too hot or the butter will burn and the potato scones will brown too quickly. Fry one round at a time, flipping it over when the underside is brown. It should take 2–3 minutes on each side. When all the rounds are cooked, cut each round into four pieces.
Eat hot from the pan or reheat by toasting. Serve with butter.