Zola Nene’s Cheesy Olive scones

by Bongiwe Tshiqi

Makes 6 large scones

280g cake flour

15ml baking powder

Pinch of salt

60g cold butter, diced

250ml grated parmesan cheese

100g Pitted Green Buffet Olives, chopped

100g Pitted Kalamata-Style Buffet Olives, chopped

80ml fresh chopped parsley and basil

2 eggs

80ml buttermilk

  1. Preheat oven to 180C.
  2. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder and salt.
  3. Add the butter, then rub into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
  4. Stir in the parmesan, chopped olives and herbs.
  5. Whisk together the eggs and buttermilk then set aside 2 tablespoons of the mixture for glazing the scones. Pour the rest of the mixture into the dry ingredients, then combine to form a dough.
  6. Tip onto a floured surface, pat out to 3cm thickness, then use a round cutter to cut the scones. You’ll need to gather the dough and re-cut until you have 6 scones.
  7. Place onto a greased tray, then brush with the reserved liquid before baking in the oven for 25 minutes.
Zola Nene
Zola Nene

“Tea time is never quite complete without the addition of a scone, but I’ve always preferred savoury cheese scones to the classic sweet ones. Changing up my cheese scone recipe to incorporate olives was a complementary addition. The olives add a deep earthy, briny flavour to the scones, making each bite the perfect savoury morsel”, said Zola.