With St. Patrick's Day weekend, I thought I would share a recipe I collected from my trip to Ireland in 2015. That trip was my first time eating mutton, lamb, or "chips" (French fries) with pizza. It's true; the Irish really do eat potatoes with every meal. While in Ireland, I had the best yogurt I have ever eaten in my life, as well as clotted cream, and scones. On that trip we toured a sheep farm. The farmer's wife served us tea with Irish soda bread scones, clotted cream, and marmalade. The scones were delightful. Our hostess generously shared her recipe for scones.
Each St. Patrick's Day, I make an Irish themed meal, usually Irish stew with lamb, colcannon, and Irish soda bread or scones. Even though The Bean is now sixteen, she still enjoys my holiday themes and meals. The scones are her favorite.
Ingredients
1 lb (about 3 1/3 cups) all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 Tbsp granulated sugar (optional)
1 3/4 cup (414 ml) buttermilk
Instructions
Preheat oven to 450F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and sugar.
Slowly add the buttermilk to the flour mixture until the dough is shaggy but not too sticky and wet. You may not need to use quite all of the buttermilk.
Place the dough on a well-floured surface and quickly knead a couple of times to bring it together. Gently pat it into a disc about 1 inch thick and cut out about eight scones, reshaping the dough as needed. You can also cut traditional triangles.
Place the scones on the prepared baking pan, turn down the oven to 400F, and bake for about 20 minutes until well risen and golden on top.
Serve warm with butter and jam, or alongside soups and stews.
On this St. Patty's Day weekend, stay safe, be smart, enjoy the Irish traditions, and keep washing your hands.
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