Having made cranberry curd and experimented with other fruit pulps, I decided to have a go at savoury ones and started with tomato and basil and my good ness it’s good. A great way to get some vegetables into veggie phobes. Great on toast or in a sandwich with leaves.
What do I need to make this savoury curd
- 4 eggs – free range if you can, size doesn’t matter much
- a 400g tin of good tomatoes, we don’t want anything too watery here
- 125g butter, I use salted
- tsp lemon zest and tblsp lemon juice
- 60g fresh basil
- 40g Parmesan
- made 2 jam jars (plus a tiny bit)
How to make this tomato curd recipe
- Blitz the tomatoes as smooth as you can get them
- Whisk the eggs very well to get rid of any stringy bits
- Put the tomatoes and eggs into a pan and heat gently until the curd coats the back of a spoon
- Keep whisking it every minute or so, and don’t let it get too hot. Mine took quite a while to cook, but I did have it on a very low heat, I didn’t want it to curdle or anything.
- While the curd is cooking, put some clean jam jars and lids in a cool oven for a few minutes to sterilise, leave them there until you are ready to use them.
- If you can measure the temperature, the curd will set once it has reached 160F / 70C
- Add the basil, Parmesan and butter and blitz until very smooth
- Take the jars from the oven and pour the hot curd into them, filling them right to the top.
- Cover and seal.
Keep the curd in the fridge, or other cool place, and use within a few weeks or so.
Fruit and vegetable curds will freeze for a few months, so you could keep them until you are ready in the freezer. I have tested this by putting half a jar in the freezer, leaving it for a couple of weeks and then defrosting it. It was absolutely fine, just needed a little stir.
If you find a curd you particularly like, you could make a bigger batch and keep it frozen.
How to use your savoury curd
Primarily, I wanted to make a sandwich filler / toast topper, but savoury curd can be used with savoury scones, on savoury biscuits, or even straight from the jar from a spoon, it’s very yummy! I’m using it here with a slice of hummus on toast as well.
What changes can I make
You can substitute many vegetable pulps for the tomatoes. I will be trying these ones.
- beetroot and rosemary.
- celeriac or fennel
- mushroom
- carrot and fennel seed
- caramelised onions are sweet, wonder if there is a version using those, savoury or sweet?
- cheap cans of black olives, sort of like a creamier version of a tapenade.
There are very few savoury curds on the web. I found a savoury lemon one that uses boiled whole lemons, puréed with a little salt and butter. And that was about it really. The miso mayonnaise in that link sounds amazing too, just mix 30g miso and 200g mayo together I’m going to try a couple and see what I can do with them.
Other sandwich fillers you might like
Fed up with plain cheese sandwiches? How about flavoured potted cheese?
Ingredients
- 4 eggs free range if you can, size doesn'tn matter too much
- 400 g tomatoes we don't want anything too watery here
- 125 g butter I use salted
- 1 tsp lemon zest from half a lemon
- 1 tblsp lemon juice from half a lemon
- 60 g fresh basil
- 40 g Parmesan
Instructions
- Blitz the tomatoes as smooth as you can get them400 g tomatoes
- Whisk the eggs very well to get rid of any stringy bits4 eggs
- Put the tomatoes, eggs, lemon zest and juice into a pan and heat gently until the curd coats the back of a spoon1 tblsp lemon juice, 1 tsp lemon zest
- Keep whisking it every minute or so, and don't let it get too hot. Mine took quite a while to cook, but I did have it on a very low heat, I didn't want it to curdle or anything.
- While the curd is cooking, put some clean jam jars and lids in a cool oven for a few minutes to sterilise, leave them there until you are ready to use them.
- If you can measure the temperature, the curd will set once it has reached 160F / 70C
- Add the basil, Parmesan and butter and blitz until very smooth125 g butter, 60 g fresh basil, 40 g Parmesan
- Take the jars from the oven and pour the hot curd into them, filling them right to the top.
- Cover with waxed discs and seal.
Storage
- Keep the curd in the fridge, or other cool place, and use within a few weeks or so.
- Fruit and vegetable curds will freeze for a few months, so you could keep them until you are ready in the freezer.
High Speed Blender
- If you are lucky enough to have a high speed blender, you can make this tomato curd in there
- Put everything except the butter and basil into the blender and blend on High , this is number 10 on my blender, for 5 minutes
- Add the butter and basil and blend until incorporated
- Store as above
Equipment Needed
Notes
How to use your savoury curd
Primarily, I wanted to make a sandwich filler / toast topper, but savoury curd can be used with savoury scones, on savoury biscuits, or even straight from the jar from a spoon, it's very yummy!What changes can I make
You can substitute many vegetable pulps for the tomatoes.- cheap cans of black olives, sort of like a creamier version of a tapenade.
- beetroot and rosemary.
- celeriac or fennel
- mushroom
- carrot and fennel seed
- caramelised onions are sweet, wonder if there is a version using those, savoury or sweet?
Nutrition
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