Last week I was off to see the Barber family, who make Cheddar cheese down in Somerset. I’ve been to see them before but, as they are the guardians of the last traditional cheese cultures, I wanted to talk to their cultures expert (I’m not very scientific so need such things explaining to me at least three times, preferably with pictures). I thought it only polite to take something suitably cheesy with me, so opted for scones, made with their 1833 Vintage Reserve Cheddar. There’s nothing worse than a cheese scone that isn’t cheesy so the 1833 is a good choice, punchy and tasty as it is.
Living in London, you can’t find wild garlic anywhere unless you are prepared to re-mortgage your house and head for Borough Market. Wild leeks, though, grow in abundance if you know where to look. In my case, it’s in my friend’s garden round the corner. Their proper name is Three-cornered Leeks because the stem has a ridge down it that makes a wonky triangle shape when you cut them (as illustrated badly in the photo below, if you peer closely). Indeed, forage-purists will argue that the true ‘wild leek’ is a different, much rarer plant altogether. But it’s easier to write ‘wild leeks’. So there. You could equally use wild garlic, chives etc.
This recipe will make about 16-18 scones.
Ingredients
450g self raising flour
Pinch of salt
2 tsp baking powder
110g butter, cut into cubes
200g Cheddar cheese, grated (use a good vintage Cheddar, not some mild, non-cheese-tasting stuff)
50g of wild leeks (or you could use wild garlic, normal leeks, chives or red onions)
1 tbsp olive oil
200ml milk, plus extra for glazing
Line two baking trays and pre-heat them in an oven at 200/180 fan assisted/Gas Mark 6. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, salt and baking powder.
Wash the wild leeks and finely chop the stalks. In a small frying pan, heat the olive oil and sauté the leeks until they are soft.
Rub the butter into the flour until it resembles breadcrumbs. Mix through the grated cheese and wild leeks with your fingers until they are evenly distributed.
Make a well in the centre of the mixture and gradually add the milk, bringing it all together quickly to make a dough. Don’t over-knead the dough or the scones will be too dense. Roll out the mixture on a floured surface and, using a cutter, make scones that are about 2cm thick.
Put them on the hot baking tray, glaze with milk and bake for 10-15 minutes until them are coloured and cooked through. Serve warm with salty butter.
Fromage Homage 
What a welcome guest you must have been! Lovely rise on those scones and lovely pics too. I’m so jealous, wild garlic and/or three-cornered leeks are the only two wild plants that don’t grow in our garden. Swap you some for a nice bunch of thistles? 🙂
Go on, I double-dare you: http://www.eattheweeds.com/thistle-touch-me-not-but-add-butter-2/
Artichokes and cardoons are just big thistles, aren’t they? Think I’ll stick with those, thanks. If I asked Him Outdoors to leave a thistle until it was two years old so I could harvest it (while leaving the root in the ground) I think I’d get short shrift. 🙂
In our last garden, wild leeks were totally invasive. Now…zilch. But we CAN do wild garlic. And I’m looking for a reason for you to come here, bearing a plate of those wonderful looking scones.
Lucky you for the wild garlic. I was in a wood in Wiltshire last week that had carpets of the stuff. My mother-in-law has some growing in pots that she offered to me but I’m not sure how popular I’d be if I introduced it to the allotment!
Wow! These look wonderful!
Thank you 🙂 If I made them again I think I’d put extra cheese on the top!
Love the scones!! I do love Barbers 1833, and it’s all thanks to you that I even tried it 😀😀
Ah yes, of course! Hope you get to visit them at some point to see what they do. Such lovely fellas 🙂
Yum! I think we may have those wild leeks down here in New Zealand, which we call ‘onion weed’ and treat as a common garden pest to be obliterated! Oh dear!
Yes that’s the stuff! Eat it up! Some great ideas on this website, (plus my Italian friends say it’s great served simply with olive oil and pasta): http://www.eatweeds.co.uk/allium-triquetrum
Thanks! I’d best be advising people to put the weed-eater away around these plants!
These look incredibly fluffy and delicious! My mouth is watering!
Haha,thank you 🙂