Photo: sxc.hu
Our reader Ellen contacts us to say…
I was given 4 jars of honey recently, good stuff made in the Irish countryside, but I have no idea what to do with it apart from the obvious greek yogurt, herbal teas etc.
Can someone suggest nice recipes that include honey so I can try some out ? Cake is the obvious one, but would love to try marinades for meat or something savoury too.
Personally, I’d eat it from the jar with a big spoon, Pooh-bear style. But I have also been meaning to try this lemon and honey chicken recipe from BBC Good Food, while Jean recommends teriyaki salmon or a simple Japanese salad. Try it with Jacqui’s chestnut cake, while I think honey works much better than sugar in coffee. Can any of our readers help Ellen use up her store of sweet, sweet honey?
Friday 23 April, 2010 at 11:10 am
A couple of batches of Val’s Kitchen’s yummy flapjacks should use up a jar or so! They’re really easy to make, too.
Friday 23 April, 2010 at 11:20 am
I always just heat a few tablespoons of honey with minced ginger,garlic, soy sauce and chilli flakes. Mix and leave it go cold, then use it to marinade chicken legs.thighs etc. It’s gorgeous cooked in the oven or BBQ.
Honey is really brilliant as a face mask too!
Friday 23 April, 2010 at 11:50 am
Honey Mustard roast ham.
Boil a boneless shoulder of ham scrape off as much fat as you can and let it rest over night. Now to make the glaze. Dark brown sugar, Honey, Mustard (Colmans Powder if you can get it, otherwise normal English Mustard), a splash of Soy Sauce. Mix all that together (sorry, no measurements, it all depends on the size of the ham etc…, but maybe about 250g of Sugar, 100g of honey, a teaspoon of Mustard and a splash of soy – the mustard flavor will be prominent until it’s cooked.) Add more honey if necessary / until it’s spoonable.
Spoon over the ham (dont’ worry, it won’t cover it yet). Pop in the oven at about 180 (in a fan oven, 200 in a normal). The glaze will start to melt and become runny. Spoon the glaze over the ham every half hour until you start getting some nice dark “burnt” bits. They’re not burnt, just really nice! Normally I cook it for 2hrs, reducing the heat bit by bit through out.
Let it rest for a short while, slice and serve.
An optional step, about half to three quarters through cooking, take out the ham and shred it. Pull it apart with 2 forks and reglaze it with the sauce. pop it back in and let everything get nice and sweet and sticky. now you can serve it as is (which always goes down a storm for me), or leave it in a bowl with some bits of french roll and fill ’em up! 🙂
Oh, I’m soo going to have to do another one soon.
Friday 23 April, 2010 at 12:32 pm
Stir a spoonful into your porridge.
Use it instead of sugar in whiskey punch.
Friday 23 April, 2010 at 12:52 pm
Grill some goat’s cheese on bread with honey and ground pepper – it tastes like happiness. I’ve never tried honey with a blue cheese, but I’d imagine that would work well too.
Also, honey-roasted carrots. Might go for that later actually…
Friday 23 April, 2010 at 1:33 pm
Aidan – that sounds fab — gonna try that for my lunch on Monday!
Friday 23 April, 2010 at 1:50 pm
Glad to help 🙂
Friday 23 April, 2010 at 4:19 pm
Mix the a spoon or two of honey with djon mustard and ladle over cocktail sausages before putting them in the oven,
also a lovely salad dressing can be made from olive oil, a splash of white wine vinegar, garlic, honey and mustard
Monday 26 April, 2010 at 10:53 am
Thanks for all the comments and ideas. Me and the honey are going to have much fun in the kitchen now I have some inspiration ! Ellen.
Monday 26 April, 2010 at 10:55 am
P.S. Honey and almost any kind of cheese is a great combo. Think it might be a French thing and it is genuis.