The Wild Kitchen

VIOLET SHORTBREAD

Natural violet flower flavour (left) v's Violet syrup (right).

Ingredients: plain flour, cornflour (optional) sugar, unsalted butter, pinch salt, fresh violet flowers.

1. Forage: Violets like cool shade. Don't over gather them & collect on a dry day; gently plucking off the flower heads. You can eat the young leaves too.

2. Mix: In an electric blender, 50 gms of sugar with 4-6 gms of dry, clean violet flowers. Whizz together.

3. Add 125gms of soft, chopped unsalted butter & whizz together until the mixture is fluffy. Now add 125g  of plain flour and 75 g corn or rice flour (optional), whizz again. (If you are using violet syrup add about 4 spoons; to taste* & more flour) a pinch of salt. The mixture should be breadcrumb like and just coming together.

4. Press the mixture flat into a well buttered tin approx 10 mm thickness. (Optional: cut shapes in it ahead of  baking). Prick the dough all over with a fork.

     4. Bake: In 150-200 degree med/low oven for 30-40 minutes. Do not let the shortbread become darker or too dry. Leave to cool. Use the cutter to go over the shapes or cut or break the shortbread up.

5. Store: In an airtight tin; preferably tartan as Shortbread is a Scottish traditional biscuit.

Optional: Once cooled, use egg white to ' paint' on pressed flowers and leaves. Violet leaves are edible.