FOR THE CURD

• 2 whole Seville oranges
• 100g unsalted butter
• 3 organic eggs, plus 8 egg yolks
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 250g caster sugar

FOR THE CRUMPETS

• 300ml whole milk
• 15g sugar
• 10g fresh yeast
• 250g plain white flour
• Fine sea salt
• 1 tsp cider vinegar
• Vegetable oil, to cook

For the curd, put the oranges in a small pan into which they fit snugly. Cover with cold water and bring to the boil. Cover with a
well-fitting lid, turn down the heat to its lowest setting and cook for 1½-2 hours, until the oranges are tender. Remove them from
the cooking water (reserve this) and leave the oranges until cool enough to handle.

Gently break the oranges open and remove all the pips. Put the oranges in a blender or food processor with the reserved cooking liquid and blend until smooth. You will need 200g of the
orange puree for this recipe; the remainder can be frozen and used later in a cake batter or to add a bitter citrus taste to spiced, braised meat dishes.

Melt the butter in a thick bottomed, stainless steel pan on low heat. Whisk together the eggs, egg yolks, lemon juice, sugar and the 200g orange puree. Pour into the pan with the butter and cook over a low heat, whisking regularly, for 15-20 minutes until thickened. Don’t let the curd boil. Leave to cool then chill until required.

For the crumpets, warm the milk and sugar together until hand hot. Transfer to a mixing bowl. Crumble in the fresh yeast and whisk into the milk. Then whisk in the flour, to make a thick batter. Cover the bowl and leave in a warm place for 30 minutes.

Dissolve a pinch of salt in 75ml warm water then add the vinegar. Thoroughly whisk this liquid into the batter and cover again for 30 minutes.

Heat a thick bottomed frying pan over a moderate heat (definitely not too hot). Brush with vegetable oil, then oil the insides of 4 crumpet rings. Place the rings in the hot pan and pour batter into each one so that they are about ¾ full.

Cook for 8-10 minutes, keeping a close eye on the temperature. Reduce the heat if you think the bases are cooking too quickly. When the tops of the crumpets have small holes and are not too shiny, loosen the edges inside the rings, flip them over and cook for 2 more minutes. Remove the cooked crumpets from the rings and put to one side while you repeat the process with the rest of the batter. Leave the crumpets to cool then toast them, ideally over a fire on a toasting fork.

Serve with lots of decent butter and the curd spread on top.