Bacon and Broccoli Cobbler aka pink bobbly pie

One of those recipes that feels like it's been around forever and remains a firm family favourite. The savoury scones top a creamy bacon and broccoli sauce, flavoured with mixed herbs and grainy mustard. Serve with some steamed carrots. Not so cheffy son tried making it once, but the topping turned into a pink bobbly mass according to his girlfriend. Hence the title.

(The scones can also be baked separately and served as an accompaniment to soups. You can vary the spices and seasonings you use in them. I normally add some paprika and maybe some dried oregano with salt and pepper. In today's version I used some sriracha chili sauce in place of some of the ketchup. Some caramelized onion, finely chopped walnuts and cumin seeds make another delicious version.)

Serves 4 - 5

For the savoury cobbler scones:

• 12 oz self raising flour (or plain flour + 3 tsp baking powder)
• 3 oz margarine or butter
• 3 oz grated cheese
• seasonings (salt and pepper, 1 tsp paprika)
• 2tbsp tomato ketchup (or a mixture of sriracha and ketchup)
• about 8 tbsp milk

For the bacon and broccoli sauce:

• 400g chopped smoked bacon (I always use cooking bacon, which is ridiculously cheap and already chopped up for you)
• 300 g- 400g broccoli, cut into small pieces, including the tender parts of the stems
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 yellow or red pepper, chopped
• 100 g mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
• glug of olive oil
• 2 tbsp cornflour
• about 500ml milk (or a mixture of milk and stock)
• 1 bayleaf
• 1 tsp grainy mustard (I used honey mustard as there was a jar of it open)

This is mixed enough

1. Make the scones: rub the margarine or butter into the flour until it looks like breadcrumbs (using a mixer if you have one). 
2. Stir in the seasonings and the cheese.
3. Add the ketchup (and sriracha if using) and around 6 tbsp of the milk and mix together until a dough just forms, adding more milk if necessary. Don't overwork the dough - there can still be some loose bits. If you overwork it you will get tough scones.
4. Tip the dough onto a work surface and gently knead to combine into a smooth ball of dough.
5. Roll the dough to a thickness of around 2 cm and cut out shapes of your choosing. Reroll the trimmings and cut more shapes until you have used up all the dough.

1. Pre heat the oven to 200 C
2. For the sauce, put the broccoli in a microwave proof dish with a tablespoon of water, cover and microwave for 2 or 3 minutes until partly cooked.
3. Fry the onion and pepper in the olive oil until starting to soften, then throw in the bacon and continue to fry. Add the sliced mushrooms and soften slightly.
4. Add the cornflour and stir around to cook the flour for a couple of minutes. 
5. Gradually add the milk (and stock if using), stirring to combine until the liquid thickens into a creamy sauce. 
6. Throw in the bayleaf and the broccoli along with its cooking liquid and stir together, adding the mustard and seasoning to taste.
7. Continue to cook until the sauce is thick enough to support the weight of the scones without them sinking too far.
8. Pour the mixture into a baking dish deep enough to hold it without it boiling over, then top with the scones. 
9. Bake for around 30 minutes until the scones are risen, golden and cooked through and the sauce is bubbling.