Scotland

So, I’ve found myself in Edinburgh. Ok, not found, but worked very hard to get myself in Edinburgh. Although not a particularly culinary mecca, I have my reasons – this is a city of literature and ask anyone who has braved a full-length conversation with me, you can bet that I went just as crazy for books as I did for cooking.

Although not a city famed for its food, Edinburgh is home to the fried Mars Bar, fried pizza, probably the only KFC in the United Kingdom, and also Scotland’s national dish, Haggis (a sheep’s stomach that is filled with ground beef, lamb, oats, and various spices and then boiled to perfection). So much for a rich culinary tradition, eh?

This is a place where pudding can either mean some kind of sausage (always pork, oh how the Brits do love their pork!) or a tasty desert. However, this is also the birthplace of the scone and who doesn’t love a good scone? So, in the tradition of celebrating my new home for the next five months (and because it was the only baked good I could make with my limited kitchen supplies – I don’t even have a whisk! A whisk!), I made scones. Blueberry scones, to be precise.
If you’ve never made a scone before, you’ve gotta try it. They’re the easiest thing in the world to make even on a Tricity Bendix stove-oven, aptly named Tiara (see above picture for proof), if you want to satisfy a baked-goods craving – no tools required. Seriously. All you need is your hands and a butter knife (and, if you’re in the UK following an American recipe, an online measurements converter).

Blueberry and Cream Scones
2 cups (10 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons chilled, unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
1/2 cup currants (I used dried cranberries, and chopped them into smaller bits)
1 cup heavy cream

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Place flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in large bowl or work bowl of food processor fitted with steel blade. Whisk together or pulse six times.
3. If making by hand, use two knives, a pastry blender or your fingertips and quickly cut inbutter until mixture resembles coarse meal, with a few slightly larger butter lumps. Stir in blueberries. If using food processor, remove cover and distribute butter evenly over dry ingredients. Cover and pulse 12 times, each pulse lasting 1 second. Add currants and pulse one more time. Transfer dough to large bowl.
4. Stir in heavy cream with a rubber spatula or fork until dough begins to form, about 30
seconds.
5. Transfer dough and all dry, floury bits to countertop and knead dough by hand just until it comes together into a rough, sticky ball, 5 to 10 seconds. Form scones by either a) pressing the dough into an 8-inch cake pan, then turning the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface, cutting the dough into 8 wedges with either a knife
6. Place wedges on ungreased baking sheet and bake until scone tops are light
brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Cool on wire rack for at least 10 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.