Clementine Curd

I don't know what it is but I always seem to feel a huge sense of achievement every time I make a batch of curd. Strange I know - but that's me in a nut shell! The most recent addition to my ever expanding collection of curd triumphs is courtesy of Jamie Oliver (generally Jamie and I admire from a far but not today!) when I was flicking through the December 09 / January 10 issue of his magazine and saw his recipe for Clementine Curd ~ I knew I had to give it a go.

I've not actually made it as far as spreading the finished product on a piece of bread or on a toasted crumpet, but the small teaspoon that I did test straight from the bowl had a wonderfully delicate clementine flavour. A word of warning - this recipe makes loads!

Clementine Curd

6 clementines

2 lemons

350g caster sugar

4 eggs, beaten

2 egg yolks, beaten

100g unsalted butter, diced

Grate in the fruit zest and squeeze the juice into a bowl with the sugar, eggs and yolks and mix to combine (I passed the eggs through a strainer to get rid of any of the white lumpy bits that can ruin the finished curd). Add the butter and place over a very low heat. Cook, constantly stirring, until the curd is thick and coats the back of a spoon (with the quantities listed here it does take a while but hang in there!). Pour into sterilised jars, seal and refrigerate. Use within two weeks.

Makes about 850g

Jamie Magazine - Dec 09 / Jan 10