the bowl with cling film and leave to ferment in a warm place for at least 6 hours (or preferably overnight in the fridge). How long you can leave it will depend on your patience, but I sometimes leave the batter for 2 days in the fridge – the flavour develops and gets more sour the longer you leave it.3 After the mix has fermented, mix the sour cream with the bicarbonate of soda then add to the batter, thoroughly whisking out any lumps until you have a batter the consistency of very thick double cream. If the batter isn’t pourable, loosen it with a little splash of milk. Leave for 30 more minutes.
4 Grease a flat, non-stick frying pan or hot plate with a little neutral oil or oil and butter and place over a high heat on a medium-sized gas hob burner. Grease two egg or crumpet rings and pour 2½ tablespoons of batter into each ring.
5 Cook over a medium-high heat for 1 minute (watch the clock – if you leave them any longer the bottom will burn), until bubbles have popped through on the surface and the mixture is starting to set. Turn the heat down to low and cook for a further 5–8 minutes (this will depend on how full the rings are), until set on top – there should be plenty of holes at this point and the batter should be pulling away from the crumpet ring. Using tongs, lift off the crumpet rings and flip the crumpets over, turn the heat up again and cook for a minute until golden on top, then transfer to a wire rack to cool. Grease the pan in between batter additions to keep it from sticking.
6 Once all the crumpets are made and cooled, grill or toast them to perfection, or, if you’re doing lots at once, you could roast them in a hot oven for 3 minutes. Slather with butter and jam, or Marmite and cheese, smashed avocado and kimchi, or tahini with really good honey, or peanut butter… you get the drift. These keep well wrapped in cling film in the fridge for a couple of days (not longer, as the sour cream will moulder). I also like to make them ahead and freeze them.
TIP: If you’re vegan, you can swap the sour cream for water and fry the crumpets in oil rather than butter.
WHAT TO DO IF…
There are no holes: this means the batter hasn’t fermented enough and needs longer (the time it takes to ferment depends on the weather and humidity); also, check that your starter is alive and well. Try incorporating a little extra sugar just before frying, too.
The bottom is burned: you filled the ring too full or cooked it at too high a heat at the start. Try using a little less batter and keep an eye on the time you cook it over the higher heat. There is an art to making crumpets so don’t be hard on yourself if it takes a few attempts to get it right. It’s a bit like making pancakes – you’ll get better as you go and while it can be a little tricky to get right, I promise you it is so worth it. Also, remember all the bottoms will be pretty dark as that’s just the nature of crumpets. As long as they’re not black you’re good to go.
The crumpets are wet in the middle: homemade crumpets should be squishy and moist in the middle but not too wet! Did you skip the cooling stage and dive straight in?
Beetroot and horseradish blinis
Makes 15–20 blinis
You can use the crumpet batter to make plain blinis, or this beetroot version. These are great topped with sour cream, the smoked trout (see here) and dill.
1 quantity Sour Cream Sourdough Crumpet mix
For the beetroot and horseradish purée
2 roasted beetroots (shop-bought or (see here)), roughly chopped
1 tbsp creamed horseradish (or ½ tbsp freshly grated)
1 tbsp rapeseed oil
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 Place the beetroot in a blender, food processor or Nutribullet with the horseradish and rapeseed oil and blitz to a smooth purée. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
2 Stir in 1 tablespoon of beetroot and horseradish purée when you add the bicarbonate of soda in the crumpet method (see here) – it will make the mix bright pink.
3 To cook the blinis, grease a flat, non-stick frying pan or hot plate (see here) with a little butter and oil and set over a medium heat. Add 1 teaspoon of the batter to the pan and cook for a couple of minutes (cook a few at once if your pan is big enough), until bubbles appear on the surface, then flip over and cook for a bit longer. Transfer to a plate lined with kitchen paper and repeat with the rest of the batter. Keep warm and serve, or allow to cool, then put in the oven at 200°C/180°C fan/gas 6 for 5 minutes to heat up.
TIP: You don’t use all the beetroot and horseradish purée in step 2, so keep it in a jar for eating on toast with smoked fish, salt beef etc., or use in salads.
Broad bean and raw courgette salad
with ricotta
Serves 4 as a side
This salad screams early summer, with its nutty raw courgette ribbons, vivid green broad beans, lemon juice and sprightly fresh herbs. I use smaller, firmer courgettes for this as they are the stars of the show. If you grow your own and have any courgette flowers, tear them up and add them for extra colour. This makes a really special al fresco lunch, and is nice piled onto the warm yoghurt flatbreads (see here).
2 medium courgettes, peeled into long thin ribbons with a vegetable peeler
handful of mint leaves
handful of basil leaves
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
grated zest and juice of ½ unwaxed lemon
1 tsp runny honey
1 garlic clove, grated
pinch of dried chilli flakes or 1 fresh red chilli, desseded and finely chopped (optional)
100g podded fresh or frozen broad beans
100g ricotta, drained in a sieve, or Fresh Curd Cheese (see here)
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 Put the courgette ribbons in a bowl with half the herbs.
2 Whisk the olive oil, lemon zest and juice, honey, garlic and chilli flakes (if using) in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
3 Dress the courgette ribbons with the dressing.
4 Prepare a bowl of iced water. Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil and blanch the broad beans for a couple of minutes, then drain and immediately plunge them into the iced water. Once cool, drain again and squeeze the broad beans from their skins, using your nail to pierce the skin. You can skip this step if you’re using super-young broad beans, as the skins are less bitter than the older ones.
5 Pile the dressed courgettes onto a platter, scatter the broad beans onto the
