Vegan Pesto and Poppyseed Scones

Scones are such great comfort food.  They are so quick to make that they are instant gratification.  I love trying new flavours.  This week I made a batch of silverbeet, basil and pistachio pesto.  It seemed just right to use the pesto to give a batch of scones some colour and flavour. 

I had basil but not a lot.  The pistachios had been sitting my cupboard for a while and the young silverbeet (also known as chard) was given to me by my mum from her garden.  The silverbeet gave the pesto a smooth texture while the basil gave it that wonderful aroma.  I didn't have any parmesan so I decided to make a vegan pesto.

A vegan pesto deserved to be in a vegan scone.  Searching online, however, one would think that pesto scones could not be made without cheese.  With a bit of help from a Tesco recipe and my Kale scone recipe, I worked out a recipe.

The best scones seem to have quite a soft dough so I erred on the sticky side.  With a bit of flour it was fine and produced light and fluffy scones.  However this should be notes if using other pestos which can be of a thinner texture than mine.

I am particularly fond of soup and scones for dinner.  And the last couple of weeks have been a bit crazy so we didn't eat as well as usual.  I needed a decent dinner on Friday and rustled up a quick vegie and lentil soup (a bit like this soup) to eat with the scones.  It was most delicious. 

These scones are not just for meal times.  They make a nice savoury snack.  I really like them with vegemite, E thinks they would be nice with hummus and of course you can add cheese to them.

As an aside, I have finally bought a new camera.  It is still in the box but I have a new macro lens that will fit my old DSLR and my new camera.  I used the new lens in these photos.  It seems to work fine.  When I get a bit more time I will test drive my new camera and write a bit more about it.

I had meant to send these scones to Tandy at Lavender and Lime who is hosting International Scone Week but I have just seen that I missed the deadline, but do check out the scones on her sidebar. Meanwhile I am sending these to Kimmy and Mary-Ellen for Healthy Vegan Fridays.

More savoury scone recipes on Green Gourmet Giraffe:
Beetroot, apple and walnut scones (v)
Cheeseymite scones
Kale scones (v)
Leek, walnut and blue cheese scones  
Pumpkin, pecan and poppyseed scones (v)
Sweet potato and cheeze scones (v)
Walnut, brie and apple scones

Pesto and poppy seed scones
An original recipe by Green Gourmet Giraffe
Makes about 20 small scones

1 cup milk (I used soy)
1/2 cup pesto*
1 tsp lemon juice or apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 cups plain wholemeal flour
1 cup self raising white flour
3 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp poppyseeds
1/4 tsp salt, or to taste
50g butter or margarine
extra milk to glaze scones
extra poppy seeds to sprinkle

Preheat oven to 220 and grease a baking tray.

Mix soy milk and pesto in a large jug or small bowl.  Stir in lemon juice and set aside.

Mix flours, baking powder, poppy seeds and salt in a medium large mixing bowl.  Rub butter into flour until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.

Pour the pesto mixture into the dry ingredients and mix with a knife (this is to make sure the mixture is handled as little as possible.  Knead briefly on a well floured board until you have a smooth dough.

Pat out dough to about 1.5-2cm thick on a floured board using floured hands.  Use a scone cutter to cut out scones and place on prepared tray. 

Brush scones with milk and sprinkle with poppyseeds.  Bake for 15-18 minutes or until lightly golden brown.  Wrap scones in a tea towel and eat warm or on day of baking.

*NOTES: I used the below pesto but any pesto would work.  However the texture of the pesto would affect the texture and need for seasoning in the scones, so adjust accordingly.  The pesto below is vegan and if you also use vegan milk and  vegan margarine in the scones, they will be vegan.  When cooking scones, I like to put mine close to each other which helps them rise but they can also be spaced out.

Vegan Silverbeet, Basil and Pistachio Pesto
Adapted from Food 52 and The Vegan and The Chef
Makes about 1 cup

1 packed cup of silverbeet (swiss chard) leaves
1/2 packed cup of basil (1 bunch)
1/2 cup pistachios
6 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp nutritional yeast flakes
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 medium garlic clove
good pinch salt and shake of ground pepper

Blend until smooth.

On the Stereo:
British pub songs (The London Inn): various artists