1 hour ago
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I’ve long wanted a space to cook the food that really excites me, and Clementine, which opens its doors in north London next month, is exactly that. These two recipes capture what the cafe is all about. This is food that feels both considered and completely unfussy: crisp morning rolls stuffed with folded scrambled eggs and tattie scones, and griddled barley bannocks served warm with salted honey butter and roast plums. Breakfasts worth getting out of bed for.
Morning rolls with tattie scone and scrambled eggs
Prep 10 min
Prove 9 hr+
Cook 1 hr 45 min
Makes 4
For the morning rolls
375g strong white stone-ground bread flour, plus extra for dusting
4g sugar
4g salt
5g dried active yeast
40g lard, or vegetable shortening
210g cold water
For the tattie scones
1kg maris piper potatoes
165g strong stone-ground flour, plus extra for dusting
1½ tsp fine salt
1 tsp baking powder
60g melted unsalted butter
For the eggs
2 tbsp salted butter
6 eggs
1 tbsp creme fraiche
Salt and black pepper
Red or brown sauce, to serve
First, make the morning rolls. Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl, then rub in the lard. Add the water, mix to form a rough dough, then cover with a damp tea towel and leave to rest for 10 minutes.
Knead the dough until it feels smooth, springy and has good stretch – about 10 minutes in a mixer on medium speed, 25 minutes by hand. Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled container, cover with a damp tea towel and leave for about an hour to double in size.
Turn out the dough on to a well-floured surface, roll it into a rectangle, then divide into 12 equal pieces of about 120g each. Pinch the four corners of one piece of dough into the centre, then flip over. Allow the dough to stick slightly to the worktop and, with a cupped hand, work it into a tight ball. Now use a dough scraper to release it from the bench, then transfer to a lined, high-sided baking tray. Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough, spacing them evenly apart. Sprinkle each with a little flour, cover with a damp cloth and refrigerate overnight.
Heat the oven to 240C (220C fan)/475F/gas 9, then bake the rolls for 25-30 minutes, until dark and “well fired” on top; remove and leave to cool slightly.
Meanwhile, peel and cut the potatoes into chunks, boil in well-salted water until tender, then drain and mash (or use a potato ricer). Mix in the remaining tattie scone ingredients to make a dough, then divide in two.
Put a frying pan on a medium heat. Cut out a 10cm circle of baking paper, flour it well and put one block of the potato dough on top. Roll this into an even 10cm round, score it into quarters, then flip into the hot pan. Cook for three to five minutes, until it puffs up and colours on the bottom, then flip and cook for a minute or two, until coloured on the other side. Transfer to a rack while you roll and cook the remaining dough.
Melt a tablespoon of butter in the same frying pan on a medium heat. Whisk the eggs, creme fraiche, salt and pepper, then pour into the hot pan and leave the bottom to set, much as you would an omelette. Use a spatula to push the set egg into the centre, cook until the mix is 75% set, then fold over and take off the heat.
Put the remaining tablespoon of butter in a hot pan and, once foaming, fry the tattie scones until golden brown with crisp edges, flipping once halfway. Divide the tattie scones along the score lines, then split the buns and fill with two tattie scones and the eggs. The choice of red or brown sauce is entirely your own.
Barley bannocks with honey butter and roast plums
Prep 10 min
Cook 1 hr
Serves 6
For the bannocks
200g barley flour
100g plain flour
2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 generous pinch salt
60g cold butter
300ml buttermilk
For the honey butter
100g salted cultured butter, at room temperature
30g local runny honeyFor the roast plums
6 red or purple plums
1 tbsp light brown sugar
1 tsp red-wine vinegar
Mix all the dry ingredients for the bannocks in a large bowl. Grate in the butter, toss it through to coat, then add the buttermilk, holding back 50ml or so in case your flour doesn’t need all of it. Mix gently to a soft dough, then divide into three portions.
Roll each portion into a roughly 2½cm-thick disc, then cut each disc into quarters. Put a heavy skillet or griddle pan on a medium heat, then, working in batches, cook the bannocks for about five minutes on each side. Wrap in a tea towel and keep in a warm oven while you cook the rest. (Bannocks freeze very well, so, if need be, freeze any leftovers, ready to warm up whenever you need a wholesome treat.)
In a small bowl, whisk all the honey butter ingredients until smooth and light.
Wash, halve and stone the plums, keeping the stones. Mix the light brown sugar, vinegar and two tablespoons of water. Crack open the plum stones by wrapping them in a tea towel and smashing with a rolling pin, then remove the kernels and add to the sugar mix. Toss the plums in this mixture, then transfer to a roasting tin and bake at 220C (200C fan)/425F/gas 7 for 10-15 minutes, until slightly caramelised and starting to collapse.
Split open the warm bannocks, add a generous amount of the honey butter and spoon the roast plums on top.
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Anna Higham is the owner of Quince bakery and Clementine, both in north London.
