Eat Your Weeds: Vegan Ground Ivy Scones

Antonia Devereux introduces us to the new recipe book ‘Eat Your Weeds’, taking us through a recipe which uses Ground Ivy from her Grandma’s garden to make delicious vegan scones!

Credit: Antonia Devereux

Merlin Urwin Books reached out to Wild Magazine to review ‘Eat Your Weeds!’, one of their latest releases by couple Julie and Matthew that offers up delicious recipes using 21 common weeds and mushrooms from the UK and beyond. Whether it’s the sticky weed we put on our friends’ backs for a joke or the daisies we make chains out of in the summer, the word ‘weed’ draws associations of plants growing where they are not wanted (or a less innocent substance I won’t get into!). However, weeds can be so much more than just a nuisance – ‘Eat Your Weeds’ was created to celebrate weeds and offer a tasty way to connect with the world around us. This book contains 90 plant based recipes accompanied by detailed plant biographies of each species.

For the first recipe in a series of introductions to the book, I show you how to make Ground Ivy Scones. Being at home for Easter, my family and I were unsure on what recipe to try first. I personally was excited to try making my very own Nettle cake, but when my mum discovered an abundance of Ground Ivy in my Grandma’s garden, it was decided! This recipe is incredibly easy, doesn’t require many ingredients at all, and has a delicious coconut flavour.

Credit: Antonia Devereux

Preparation Time: 10 minutes approx.

Cooking Time: 12 minutes.

Quantity: 10 scones

Ingredients:

100g of grated cold coconut butter

½ teaspoon of salt

2 teaspoons of baking powder

1 tablespoon of chopped Ground Ivy leaves

240g of flour

*1 tablespoon of sugar

* add the sugar if you want them sweet, or leave it out and enjoy with nettle soup (you guessed it, a lovely Nettle and Pea Soup recipe is within the book!).

Method

Credit: Antonia Devereux

1) Add all the above ingredients into a large mixing bowl. Slowly add cold water and mix until it forms a soft ball.

2) Spread some flour onto your surface and place the mixture on top, then use a rolling pin to roll out the mixture into a flat shape approximately 3-4cm thick.

3) Use a cutter (I used 8cm cutter and it made 10 scones) and place each scone onto a tray with baking paper.

4) Cook for approximately 12 minutes at 200C/400F and enjoy to your preference, for me, it has to be clotted cream and jam!

Credit: Antonia Devereux

If you enjoyed this recipe, look out for further themed recipes and the chance to win your own copy of ‘Eat Your Weeds’!

About the Author: Antonia Devereux, WILD Magazine’s Managing Editor, is a 3rd year Environment, Economics and Ecology student at the University of York, currently working as an Environmental Consultant. She is new to cooking with weeds and intends on sticking to the innocent kind.