Elawin
Guru
Serves 1 as a main meal
Cooking and preparation time: 1 hour
Ingredients:
For the topping:
100 g self-raising flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
15 g Cheddar cheese, grated
1/2 tbsp chopped carrot tops or parsley
Black pepper
50 g butter
A little cold water
For the sauce:
300 ml milk
1/2 small onion
Small bay leaf
1-2 cloves
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 egg, beaten (reserve a little to glaze the topping)
25 g butter
25 g plain flour
For the filling:
150 g mushrooms (can be mixed types)
100 g spinach, rinsed and stalks removed
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
Black pepper
1 tbsp olive oil
Method:
- Mix the SR flour, baking powder, cheese, chopped carrot tops or parsley, pepper and butter in a bowl. Add enough cold water to make into a dough. Place the dough in the fridge to chill while preparing the rest of the ingredients.
- Add the onion, bay leaf, clove(s), and thyme to the milk and bring to a simmer over a medium heat. Remove from the heat immediately and allow the mixture to stand for about 30 minutes; then strain.
- In another pan, melt the 25 g butter, then add the 25 g plain flour and stir to make a roux. Cook for a minute or two over a medium heat, then gradually whisk in the strained milk. Add almost all of the beaten egg and stir well. Cook over a medium heat until thickened - you need the sauce to be creamy but not too thick, so you may need to add a little more milk at this stage. Set aside.
- Heat the oven to 180 C/160 fan.
- Slice the mushrooms thickly and fry gently in the oil until lightly coloured and just soft. Place in a baking dish, add the spinach and the garlic, season with the black pepper, and mix well. Stir in the sauce.
- Roll out the dough to about 1/2 thick and divide into 4 scones. Place the scones on top of the mushroom and spinach mixture, and glaze with the remaining beaten egg.
- Cook for about 20 minutes until the sauce bubbles and the topping is golden brown.
This is a very rich and filling dish. It tastes garlicky, and is best followed by fresh fruit or a very light dessert.
