IS there anything more beautiful than a golden jar of honey?
The very word itself is used to denote affection and sweetness; honey has been coveted and cherished since ancient times - and since it never spoils, apparently jars of honey found in Egyptian tombs were still perfectly edible.
Throughout time, honey has been used for many medicinal purposes, from treating burns to relieving sore throats and coughs. But its true claim to fame is as a delicious and nutritious sweetener for drinks, baked goods, sauces, etc.
There are hundreds of varieties of honey whose flavour is dictated by the type of pollen collected by the bees. The most common type we get in B.C. is clover; you can use any mild honey in the recipes below, but avoid strong-flavoured varieties such as buckwheat.
CURRIED HONEY DIJON CHICKEN
Moist tender chicken with a tangy glaze.
½ cup liquid honey
1 ?3 cup Dijon mustard
1 Tbsp curry powder (or more or less to taste)
3 Tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp Tabasco sauce (or more or less to taste)
8 chicken thighs, with bone and skin
Mix everything except the chicken in a bowl. Add the chicken thighs and toss with honey mixture to coat. Cover and let marinate in the fridge for at least an hour.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place chicken in a baking dish (reserve marinade) and cover with foil. Bake for 20 minutes; remove foil and brush chicken with reserved marinade. Bake uncovered for approximately 20-30 minutes more or until juices run clear, brushing with marinade several times during cooking. Makes four servings.
HONEY PUMPKIN BREAD
½ cup liquid honey
¼ cup butter, softened
½ of a 398-ml can pumpkin puree
2 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt ½ tsp ground nutmeg
In a large bowl cream together butter and honey until light and fluffy. Stir in pumpkin. Beat in eggs one at a time until thoroughly incorporated. Sift together the dry ingredients and stir into pumpkin mixture. Turn batter into a well-greased 9x5x3-inch loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees for one hour or until a wooden pick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Let loaf cool in the pan for 10 minutes; invert pan to remove loaf and allow to finish cooling on a wire rack.
EASY BAKLAVA
I fell in love with baklava when I visited Turkey a few years ago; this isn't a traditional recipe but the taste is very close to the more time-consuming "authentic" version.
1 lb mixed nuts, finely chopped (walnuts, almonds, pecans and pistachios are all good)
1 tsp cinnamon
1 package phyllo dough, thawed in the package in the fridge
1 cup melted butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup water
½ cup honey
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp grated lemon zest
Preheat oven to 350 degrees; butter a 13x9x2-inch baking dish.
Toss together cinnamon and nuts. Unroll phyllo and cut whole stack in half crosswise to fit the baking dish. Cover phyllo with a damp cloth while assembling baklava to keep it from drying out.
Place two sheets of phyllo in the bottom of the baking dish and brush generously with butter. Sprinkle two to three tablespoons of the nut mixture on top. Repeat these layers until all ingredients are used, ending with about six sheets of phyllo. With a very sharp knife cut baklava all the way through to the bottom of the dish into four long rows, then crosswise four times to make 15 squares. Bake in preheated oven for 50 minutes or until golden and crisp.
While baklava is baking, combine sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil. Stir in honey, vanilla and lemon zest; reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
Remove the baklava from the oven and immediately spoon the syrup over it. Let cool completely before serving. Store uncovered at room temperature.
Quick tricks with honey:
- Mix together equal parts of soft butter and creamed honey with ground cinnamon to make a delicious spread for toast or pancakes.
- Mix equal parts of creamed honey and peanut butter to make sandwiches.
- Mix equal parts of liquid honey and mayonnaise with Dijon mustard to taste to use as a dip for sausage rolls, sausages or chicken fingers. Add a touch of horseradish to add a little zip. This combination is also good spread on buns for chicken or salmon burgers.
