One of my favorite things that I got to do when I was living in the U.K. was to go to Scotland several times. The first time was back in the early 2000's and we just hopped across the border into Gretna Green to spend the day.
It is a small village just across the Scottish border in the county of Dumfries and has historically been a place where people eloped to from down South. At one time people under the age of 21 needed their parent's permission to get married. This was not the law in Scotland, so many young people wishing to be wed would travel up to Gretna Green to get married without their parent's consent.
It is quite a fascinating history and you can read all about it here.
About 6 or 7 years ago now, we went up to the the Trossachs National Park on a week's holiday. This is an area of great beauty set in the Highlands of Scotland. The scenery there is stunning, simply stunning. There is no other way to describe it.
Whilst there, of course, we stayed in a Bed and Breakfast. One thing all Bed and Breakfast establishments in the UK pride themselves is on is serving their clientele a delicious cooked breakfast. This will often include eggs, bacon, sausage, beans, etc. washed down with mugs of hot tea and coffee.
In Scotland it is more than likely to include blood pudding, haggis and these lovely Scottish Tattie Scones. Tattie Scones are the Scottish variant of a savory griddle scone, made with mashed potatoes. Each are of the UK will have their own version of course. In Scotland they have pride of place.
"Looking like very thin pancakes well browned, but soft, not crisp, and come up warm, in a warm napkin folded like a pocket to hold chestnuts. Scones to be triangular shaped, i.e. a round, cut in quarters. If you wish these scones to be good and light, you must boil the potatoes expressly for them and not let them get cold after boiling, but use as soon as passed through a sieve. Add butter, flour, and salt, but no milk, as the moisture of the potatoes is sufficient. Mix up thoroughly; roll out; shape, cut, and bake on the girdle. Turn them once, to cook both sides."
— Lady Clark of Tillypronie, The Cookery Book of Lady Clark of Tillypronie (1909)
As I had a quantity of mashed potatoes leftover from a family dinner, I decided that I wanted to try my hand at making my own Tattie scones.
Traditionally they would be rolled out and cut into one large ground and then cut into triangles. I had seen quite a few version online however that had cut them into rounds and so I decided to also cut mine into rounds. I thought they looked really lovely that way.
I can tell you now. This is a really tasty way to use up leftover mashed potatoes!
WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE SCOTTISH TATTIE SCONES
Very simple ingredients and not many of them!
- 50g (3 1/2 TBS) of butter, softened
- 300g (a very generous cup, 1 1/5 cup) leftover mashed potatoes
- 75g (generous 1/2 cup/5/8th cup) plain all purpose flour
- oil and butter for frying (I used 1 TBS of each)
You can use cold leftover mashed potatoes for these, or you can mash potatoes to use specifically in these. What matters most is that your potatoes are not filled with things like a lot of cream It is nice however if they are made with a lot of butter. (Just saying!)
You also don't want them filled with other bits like onions or sour cream, bacon etc. The plainer the better.
I saw a few recipes which used baking powder in them, but most of the recipes I looked at did not. Nor did they use self rising flour. I decided to keep it simple and go with Tattie Scones without any leavening added!
Do taste your potatoes. If they are really fresh tasting (ie. not very salty) do ad a bit of salt to them. Other wise just use them as they are. Plain all purpose flour. Salted butter. Easy peasy.
HOW TO MAKE SCOTTISH TATTIE SCONES
These really are an easy make. They went together very quickly and, aside from a brief refrigeration, they also cooked very quickly. You could actually put them together the night before, roll and cut them out and then chill them (covered) until morning when you are wanting to cook breakfast.
Mash the butter into the potatoes. If your potatoes are cold (as in leftover) from the refrigerator, you may need to melt the butter first. Sift the flour over top and mix it into the buttery potatoes to make a stiffish dough. (Depending on your mashed potatoes, you may need to add a bit of salt.)Liberally flour your countertop and rolling pin. Put the dough on the counter and turn it to coat in flour, then roll it out to approximately 1/3 of an inch deep.
Using a 3-inch round cutter, stamp out 8 rounds, re-rolling scraps as needed. Pop onto a baking tray and pop into the refrigerator for 15 to 20 minutes. (Alternately, you can roll the dough into a large round and then cut the round into 8 triangles.)
Heat the butter and oil in a large heavy bottomed skillet until the butter begins to foam. Once hot add your scones in a single layer.Cook for 3 to 4 minutes per side until golden brown on both sides. Serve hot. (You may need to work in batches depending on the size of your pan. If so, you may need to add more butter and oil.)
Don't try to rush these. You want the oil/butter to be hot, but not so hot that they burn and cook too quickly. You want them to just have a nice golden brown surface.
I had these for supper actually with some leftover cooked sausage and a fried egg. They were lovely. So lovely that I confess I greedily gobbled one up even before I could take a photograph! Prepare to fall in love!
Some other Scottish Recipes which you might enjoy that I have cooked here in the English Kitchen are:
SCOTTISH DUNDEE CAKE - A lovely buttery fruit cake studded throughout with plenty of dried currants. It is not as heavy as a traditional Christmas type of fruit cake. Light in color with a buttery citrus flavor. The top is usually decorated with blanched almonds. It is one of my favorite fruit cakes.
SCOTTISH STEAK PIE - This lovely steak pie is sized generously for two people, with a rich and meaty gravy, plenty of tender pieces of beef and a buttery flaky crust. It is fabulously delicious!
Yield: 8 (3 inch scones)Author: Marie Rayner
Scottish Tattie Scones
Prep time: 30 MinCook time: 10 MinTotal time: 40 MinA simple traditional scone from Scotland, made from leftover mashed potatoes. They are delicious, simple to make and are traditionally served as part of a cooked breakfast.Ingredients
- 50g (3 1/2 TBS) of butter, softened
- 300g (a very generous cup, 1 1/5 cup) leftover mashed potatoes
- 75g (generous 1/2 cup/5/8th cup) plain all purpose flour
- oil and butter for frying (I used 1 TBS of each)
Instructions
- Mash the butter into the potatoes. If your potatoes are cold (as in leftover) from the refrigerator, you may need to melt the butter first. Sift the flour over top and mix it into the buttery potatoes to make a stiffish dough. (Depending on your mashed potatoes, you may need to add a bit of salt.)
- Liberally flour your countertop and rolling pin. Put the dough on the counter and turn it to coat in flour, then roll it out to approximately 1/3 of an inch deep.
- Using a 3-inch round cutter, stamp out 8 rounds, re-rolling scraps as needed. Pop onto a baking tray and pop into the refrigerator for 15 to 20 minutes.
- Heat the butter and oil in a large heavy bottomed skillet until the butter begins to foam. Once hot add your scones in a single layer.
- Cook for 3 to 4 minutes per side until golden brown on both sides. Serve hot. (You may need to work in batches depending on the size of your pan. If so, you may need to add more butter and oil.)
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