Fresh tomatoes in scones? Yes, please

As the summer harvest slowly covered my kitchen counter, I asked myself: What haven't I made yet with tomatoes?

Oh, how about scones? Can fresh tomatoes be used in scones just like blueberries or peaches?

The answer, delightfully, is yes, with a couple of minor adjustments.

This recipe works best with cherry tomatoes, which have enough firmness to be halved and still retain shape after baking. My favorite tomato, the Juliet, is technically a cherry,  though they're larger and oval -- those need to be quartered.

I included both fresh and dried thyme and a bit of Parmesan cheese in the mix, but that's where the baker can make this recipe their own. Finely chopped fresh rosemary or a mix of dried Italian herbs also would be delicious. Fresh basil, which is fairly delicate, could disappear in this recipe, so dried might be a better choice. Several grinds of black pepper also would provide a complementary flavor.

These scones were a delicious addition to a grilled-meat dinner, but they also would be spectacular alongside ham or sausages at brunch. 

Fresh tomato scones with herbs

Makes about 12

Ingredients:

3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

3 tablespoons shredded Parmesan cheese, plus more for melting on top

1 teaspoon dried herbs such as thyme or basil, or up to 2 tablespoons fresh chopped herbs, or a combination

6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1 cup buttermilk, plus up to 1/2 cup more as needed

1 cup halved or quartered cherry tomatoes

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, Parmesan and choice of herbs.

Cut in the cold butter chunks using a pastry cutter, two knives, or your hands, until mixture resembles lumpy, coarse crumbs. Some butter still should be visible.

Make a well in the center of the mixture. Pour in 1 cup of the buttermilk, and gently blend it in using a rubber or plastic spatula. If the mixture seems too dry, add more buttermilk about 1 tablespoon at a time, mixing gently until the dry ingredients are mostly incorporated. This dough should be shaggy but not too sticky.

Note of caution: When I mixed this, I dumped in all the buttermilk at once, making the dough way too sticky to manipulate, hence the instructions above.

Now carefully add the prepared tomatoes, getting them just barely mixed in. 

On a floured cloth, turn out the dough, knead it gently a few times, then divide it roughly in half. Pat each half into a rough round about 1-inch thick, and transfer the rounds to the parchment-covered baking sheet.

Cut each round into six or eight wedges using a large knife dipped in flour. If the dough is too sticky to cut all the way through, just gently score the top of each round -- they can be cut deeper after some baking time.

If desired, brush each round with a bit of buttermilk and top with some more Parmesan. Bake 10 minutes on the middle rack of the oven, then turn the pan around on the rack to help the scones bake evenly. This is when you can cut through the dough some more to differentiate the wedges better, if desired.

Bake for an additional 5-10 minutes, until the scones are golden brown on top and bottom. (If the rounds are not cut through all the way, the scones may require a few more minutes baking time. Peek at the inside dough to check.)

Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly before serving.