I was forwarded this recipe by Riona Mary PR and invited to give them a go as a Mother’s Day treat. These lovely little scones are packed with briliant ingredients, making great use of PDO (Protected Destination of Origin) products. I’m a fan of local produce but if you’re going to import why not use the very best produce that can only be made in a certain way to a consistent level of quality? I adore Italian cuisine, and revel in any chance to use Parmesan Reggiano and Parma ham.
You can read more about PDO products at the Discover the Origin website.
I made some cakes for my Mum, and they went down a treat. They’re very savoury, almost scone-like, and give little bursts of different flavours in every mouthful. Give them a try and treat someone in your life!
You can see a video of Lesley Waters making them here.
Parmesan and Parma ham polenta cakes (makes 8):
175g self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
115g instant polenta
75g Parmigiano-Reggiano, finely grated
200ml milk
2 medium eggs
90g Parma ham, finely chopped
85g sunblush tomatoes, drained, finely chopped
300ml crème fraiche
- Preheat the oven to 190C, Gas 5. Lightly grease 8 deep muffin tins.
- Sieve the flour and baking powder into a large mixing bowl. Stir in the polenta and 55g of Parmigiano-Reggiano. Season well with freshly ground black pepper.
- In a measuring jug mix together the milk, eggs, Parma ham and sunblush tomatoes.
- Fold the wet ingredients into the dried taking care not to over mix.
- Spoon the mixture evenly between the prepared muffin wells. Place in the oven and bake for 15 minutes until golden. Meanwhile, in a small bowl combine the remaining Parmigiano-Reggiano with the crème fraiche and set to one side.
- Allow the Parma ham and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese polenta cakes to cool in the tin for 2 minutes. Carefully, with a flat bladed knife remove from muffin wells.
- Cut each cake whilst still warm in half on the diagonal. Fill each with a little of the Parmigiano-Reggiano cream.