Currant Scones

We braved the wicked cold weather and drove into the city on Saturday to experience Eataly, a feast for the senses food emporium. My reluctance to leave the comfort of a warm house to expose my face to face slicing winds (for as long as it took to walk from the parking garage to Eataly) was all but forgotten once I walked into this food mecca. From the fresh produce, to the full array of almost every cheese ever made, to the Italian wines, to the breads made in wood burning ovens, to the selection of pastas, to the fresh seafood and meats, to the gelato, to the multiple restaurants, it was like nothing I had ever encountered.  A virtual day trip to Italy. There is so much to take in you could spend hours there (and we did) eating, drinking, tasting and shopping. You would have to have incredible self restraint to not walk out of there without bringing something home. Of course, I could not leave without taking home some wines, cheeses, pastas, an olive oil, bread, and honey. I have less restraint than most.

With the exception of the bread (which was consumed almost immediately), I had plans for everything I had purchased. First up was the Acacia honey, which I thought might be perfect drizzled over fresh baked currant scones. Some like butter, freshly whipped cream or jam on their scones but I prefer honey on mine. An Italian honey drizzled over a warm currant scone, could there any better way to begin a cold winter morning? Just try to get the image of Beyonce performing on the Grammy's out of your mind, or you will never eat another carbohydrate, let alone another scone again.

No planning ahead necessary when making scones. Meaning, the eggs, milk and margarine need to be cold, not room temperature. This is a recipe that calls for the use of margarine instead of butter. While this may be a slight departure from most scone recipes, these scones have such a great flavor, you might not even detect the butter's absence. I love currants but you could easily substitute dried cranberries or raisins.

All of the dry ingredients (flour, salt, sugar, and baking powder) are mixed together in a medium sized bowl until blended. The margarine is blended in with a pastry blender, fork or your hands. I started with a pastry blender and quickly moved to using my fingers. The margarine is blended in until it resembles coarse meal. Stir in the currants. After the milk and egg are blended, they are added to the dry ingredients. Stir in until the dry and wet ingredients are combined (the dough will be very crumbly, be careful not to overwork).

Transfer mixture to a lightly floured surface and knead lightly until the dough comes together (it will not be smooth like a pie crust or pizza dough). Using a rolling pin, roll into a 10-12 inch circle (the dough should be at least 1/2 inch and up to 3/4 thick).

Scones can be triangular or round in shape. If you want triangular scones, cut the dough into 8 wedges. Or using a round biscuit or cookie cutter, cut into 9 to 12 circles (about 2 1/2 to 3 inches in diameter). The number of scones you will get will be dependent on the thickness of the dough.

The scones are transferred to a parchment paper lined baking sheet. The tops are brushed with an egg yolk and milk wash. Granulated, turbinado, or sanding sugar is lightly sprinkled over the egg wash.

In a preheated 425 degree oven the scones are baked for 10 to 12 minutes or until they are light brown on both the top and bottom. The scones will be firm to the touch. This batch of scones took 11 minutes.  Remove from the oven, transfer to a platter and serve. Don't forget to have some butter, whipped cream, jams or honey to go with the currant scones.

Recipe
Currant Scones

Ingredients
Scones
2 cups all purpose flour plus additional for rolling out dough
5 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
4 Tablespoons margarine (cold), cut into 1/4 inch cubes
7 Tablespoons whole milk
1 large egg
1/2 cup currants (or raisins or dried cranberries)

Glaze
1 egg yolk
1 Tablespoon milk
1-2 Tablespoons granulated sugar (can also use sanding or turbinado sugar)

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Mix together flour, baking powder, salt  and sugar in a medium-large bowl.
3. Cut in margarine until crumbly.
4. Stir in currants.
5. Beat together 1 egg and the milk. Add to flour mixture and mix to just to combine (mixture will be crumbly).
6. Turn out onto floured surface. Knead very lightly with hands until mixture has enough of a consistency enabling it to be rolled out or to be shaped into a circle.
7. Roll out dough. Using a round biscuit cutter, cut 9 to 12 scones. Or cut into 8 wedges.
8. Mix egg yolk and milk to make glaze. Lightly brush on top of scones with egg wash. Sprinkle tops of scones with sugar.
9. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until the tops are browned and insides are fully baked. The scones will be firm to the touch and bottoms will be light to medium brown.
10. Serve with butter, jam, whipped cream or honey.

There were vegetables, beautiful vegetables, at Eataly that I had never seen before. I am certain it looked a little odd me taking photos in the produce section, but I had my sunglasses on so I felt I was incognito and unrecognizable. Actually I was so mesmerized by these gorgeous vegetables that I was in my own little world for awhile and slightly oblivious to the significant number of people around me who also braved the elements that day.

Beauty can be found in the most unusual and ordinary of places. It can be in your backyard. One need not travel to exotic places to find beauty. Sometimes all it takes is taking a step back to be able see how ordinary things can look so extraordinary. And oh, it also takes having the ability to ignore the reactions of those around you when you are taking photos in places like a market or grocery store. Next time (and there will definitely be a next time) I go to Eataly I am bringing my 'real' camera and a list of the ingredients for recipes I have longed to make. I can think of no better escape from this winter reality we are experiencing, especially because this escape is only thirty minutes from home.