If you've been playing along at home, you'll know this isn't my first go with the Lemon Curd. The last time I made it though, I fell in love with it and so it makes sense that the millions of lemons I am always in possession of get made into this beautiful balm.
While the fabulous packaging (if you ask me) is all my work, I can't take credit for the recipe. It's my boyfriends recipe.
Mr Frog knows, don't worry. At least I think he does. Although he forgets anything he doesn't take seriously.
Anyhoo, the recipe comes from the gorgeous, and heavy, tome "The Real Food Companion", written by (my boyfriend) Matthew Evans.
I realised I had the hots for him somewhere near the middle of the original Gourmet Farmer t.v series. I'm not sure what it was... the way he narrates, cooks or talks to his pigs. When I saw his book during my Angus & Robertson days, I had to have it. Aside from the crush, the book really is beautiful. It's all about how our food is raised, grown, killed and harvested and the best practices for all of these methods. It's not preachy, it just tells you how it is and how it could be if we all made better choices. Beautifully styled and shot, it's one of those books you can read from cover to cover, and if you're familiar with the series, you can hear Matthew reading to you.
Is it getting creepy yet?
Sadly, unbeknownst to me, during the filming of that first series, Matthew had already hooked up with his extraordinary wife, Sadie. This is a woman who stuck with a bloke who had not only just bought himself a little farm he had no idea how to run, but was being filmed while doing so. Since then there has been another couple seasons of G.F, a series on the labelling of Fish for consumption, and then he filmed him and his mates traveling around Tasmania on a boat. All the while Sadie has been running not only the property where they live, but also the other farm they own a few k's away. (I'm not actually sure how far, I'm not a stalker!)
Did I mention they have a little boy?
So, as much as I enjoy your shows and adore your books Matthew, you'd better hang on to that Sadie. She's a keeper.
So, back to those lemons. I use Matthews recipe. It's super simple, and I always feel better when he says "Don't worry if there are lumps - that just proves it's homemade".
Ingredients:
Finely grated zest of six lemons and their juice
8 eggs, lightly beaten
200g unsalted butter, cubed, softened
400g (1 2/3 cups) castor sugar
Sit a large bowl (Matthew says stainless steel, I use glass) over a saucepan of boiling water. Add all the ingredients, stirring occassionally with a wooden spoon until melted. Cook for a further 10minutes or so, stirring and scarping the bottom as you go, until the mixture thickens slightly. Remember ot to worry about the lumps, Matthew says it's ok! (And so do I!) The curd will continue to thicken as it cools. Transfer to sterilised, airtight jars and once cool, store in the fridge. It'll keep for up to two weeks.
Excellent on crumpets, pancakes, your favourite bread, turned into little tartlets, or even dolloped into your yoghurt.
Bon appetit!
MC
P.S Matthew, please don't sue me for sharing your recipe... it's an act of crush!
5 comments:
Sam you are a crack up. Love it.
I love hearing about your crush. Yum my Mama used to make lemon butter. I'll have to give it a go. Zoe xx
Ha that's very funny!! Love lemon curd. Have you made preserved lemons yet??
I did try making preserved lemons when we first moved in... I was too scared to try them because a) the lemons were not fabulous, and b) I can't remember ever eating a preserved lemon so wouldn't know if I'd gotten it right! Any tips would be great... I have SO MANY lemons! :)
Oh there are a heap of recipes on the net. I think I used an sbs one? Then pop them in tagines and salads. Even soups. They also make great gifts - tie a nice ribbon around the jar and give them away. Teachers, that unexpected friend arrives with an unexpected Xmas gift. Here. Have a jar of lemons! :)
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