Lemon and sage are two incredibly complimentary flavors. This lemon sage curd is a wonderful fall treat that can be enjoyed on scones or biscuits.
Food is my art. From the time I was a little girl I always wanted to be an artist. I would paint, draw, you name it.
They weren’t masterful creations but most childhood art is nothing to brag about and my parents always encouraged me to stick with it. As I grew older I tried my hand at different artistic endeavors.
I took classes in sketching, graphic design, web design and photography. I tried jewelry making, ceramics, sculpting and poetry.
Either I didn’t like it enough to stick with it or I was just incredibly mediocre. All I wanted was to be artistic but I didn’t have the right eye for it.
And then I discovered food.
Food gave me the power to express myself creatively. It has given me confidence and, as an added bonus, has allowed me to grow as a food photographer.
I find inspiration for my recipes and photography in all sorts of places. This lemon sage curd recipe was inspired by a radio show I often listen to called The Splendid Table.
She took a question from a caller and I honestly don’t even remember what it was about but she discussed how lemon and sage are incredibly complimentary flavors. And at that moment I knew I wanted to make a lemon sage curd.
And yes, the flavors go amazingly well together.
Tell me, where do you find your artistic inspiration?
Lemon Sage Curd
Ingredients
- 5 large eggs
- 6 large egg yolks
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 cups fresh squeezed lemon juice
- 3/4 cup fresh sage leaves
- 8 ounces unsalted butter, cubed and at room temperature
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, whisk eggs, egg yolks and sugar together until smooth. Whisk the corn starch together with some of the lemon juice to create a slurry.
- Whisk the lemon juice and the slurry into the egg mixture. Add the sage leaves.
- Continue to whisk over medium heat until thick, 10-15 minutes. It should be the consistency of pudding. Make sure the whisk hits the bottom of the pot to keep the bottom from burning. This is less likely to happen if you use a heavy bottom saucepan.
- Remove from the heat and slowly whisk in pieces of the butter.
- Move the curd to a bowl, allow it to cool for several minutes and then press plastic wrap against the top of the curd to prevent a skin from forming. Allow to chill in the refrigerator with the sage leaves. It will continue to thicken as it cools.
- After 2 or more hours, remove the sage leaves either by hand or by using a fine mesh strainer. Make sure to squeeze any curd from the leaves back into the bowl (that curd will have the most sage flavor). Once the leaves are removed, stir the curd to evenly disperse the sage flavor.
- Store curd in the refrigerator with plastic wrap pushed directly against the curd to prevent a skin from forming.
- Serve on biscuits, scones, in parfaits or with a spoon.
Please read my full post for additional recipe notes, tips, and serving suggestions!
Nutrition
Recipe Troubleshooting
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Beautiful styling and photography, Jen! Love it, love it. I just adore lemon and sage together in savory dishes…and, can just taste this lemony-sagy curd in my head! Outstanding. You are an inspiration. Thanks for sharing, girl!
You are such an inspiration! Lately I have been in a bit of a rut, and I always find myself coming back to your gorgeous recipes and photographs. This recipe looks positively divine. Thanks for sharing it!
Gorgeous photos, I love the sage and lemon combo!
You are so creative! Your photos are always mind blowing. And I love The SPlendid Table. I’m a totally talk radio junky, I love listening to people talk.
This looks amazing, Jennifer! I bet this lemon curd would be amazing in desserts or jarred and shared as a gift. Absolutely beautiful photos, too.
the images are absolutely stunning. can’t stop admiring them.
This is gorgeous :) I love curd, and this recipe sounds perfect!
beautiful. just beautiful
Hi x this looks gorgeous. .. Please can you tell me the shelf life of this and how to store it? I may make it for Christmas presents. Many thanks x
Hi Mary! I’ve never stored curd for an extended period of time. Have you ever tried canning? If you’re planning to give the curd as gifts that might be your best bet. I trust this blog quite a bit and she says her canned lemon curd has a shelf life of 2 months:http://foodinjars.com/2010/01/meyer-lemon-curd. If you aren’t planning to can it, store it in the refrigerator. I would assume in that case the shelf life would equal the shelf life of the eggs used in the recipe.
My spouse and I like to listen to Splendid Table together–it’s funny, I’m realizing how I never listen to NPR without him. My son flipped through the channels and stopped on This American Life today, and I realized it’s been months and months since we’ve heard that show.
Next month, we’ll all be listening to Splendid Table together. :)
Thanks for a lovely series of photos and a terrific idea. I’m inspired to try this when I get sage from the farm share.
I love This American Life! And Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me is my absolute favorite. It has me in tears.
The photographs of this are beautiful! Not to mention delicious looking.
Where do I find artistic inspiration? Uh, HERE. Seriously breathtaking photos–you are a wizard, and this combo does indeed sound fantastic. Cheers!
Wow, thank you so much! I really appreciate the kinds words :)
Just the look of it in that jar and my feet begin walking to the kitchen in order to make some doughnuts to fill with this (while my mind and face are still glued to the screen).
This is stunning & I love the addition of sage!
Gah! I love herbs in sweets. Sage is underused in my opinion.
I’ll never forget the best gelato I had in Rome (and I ate A LOT of gelato over the course of 6 months…) was raspberry sage. Amazing.