cups white self-raising flourHoney’s sweetness and flavour enhance many foods, sweet and savoury. And unlike sugar, honey has many health benefits. So it’s worth using honey instead of sugar some or all of the time.
Honey helps keep cakes and bread moist and fresh. In a marinade, it tenderizes meat and helps prevent spoiling. Smoothed over roasting chicken or pork towards the end of cooking, it crisps, colours and flavours skin or crackling. It imparts a caramel flavour if the cooking temperature is high enough. And it makes roasted vegetables taste sublime.
Honey is delightful with fruit, porridge, cereals, pancakes, plain yoghurt, cheese and ice cream. It’s wonderful on bread, crumpets and scones and excellent in many drinks.
Naturally runny honey, or thick honey heated to make it runny, is usually easier than thick honey to use in cooking.
Please note:
Each recipe serves 4.
1 tsp (teaspoon) = 5ml; 1 tbsp (tablespoon) = 15ml; 1 cup = 240ml/8fl oz.
All fruit and vegetables are medium-sized unless otherwise stated.
All eggs are medium (US large) unless otherwise stated.
If you are using a fan oven, reduce the temperature recommended by 20ºC/68ºF.
Honey’s sweetness is a good partner for the sourness and saltiness of goats’ cheese and blue cheese. Honey also goes well with the bittersweet earthiness of soups made from root vegetables, and with the umami (savoury) flavour of fried sausages.
Halloumi is a white cheese originating in Cyprus and usually made from goats’ or sheep’s milk. It firms up when sliced and fried in olive oil, whereas most other cheeses melt. Its saltiness contrasts well with honey’s sweetness.
350g/12oz halloumi
2 tbsp plain (all-purpose) flour
pinch of black pepper
3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
handful of fresh mint or basil leaves
2 tbsp runny honey
Dry the halloumi with kitchen paper, then cut it into ¼in (5mm) slices. Put the flour and black pepper into a bowl and stir. Coat the slices of cheese in the seasoned flour.
Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan until hot but not smoking. Add the mint or basil and cook for 1 minute, stirring frequently. Remove the leaves from the pan with a slotted spoon and put them on a plate.
Add the sliced halloumi to the pan and fry for about 1–2 minutes on each side until golden brown. Drizzle with honey and fry for a further 30 seconds. Transfer the cheese to a serving plate, drizzle with any oil left in the pan and sprinkle with the cooked mint or basil. Serve with fresh bread.
Honey and lemon juice bring out the flavour of beetroot extraordinarily well. If you buy beetroot ready-cooked (but not in vinegar), you need to simmer the soup for only 15 minutes.
If you use golden beetroot, add ½ tsp turmeric to enhance the soup’s golden colour.
50g/2oz/½ stick butter
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
½ tsp ground nutmeg
large pinch of black pepper
1 onion, peeled and sliced
3 sticks celery, chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled
450g/16oz/2 cups raw beetroot, peeled and cut into chunks
1.1l/40fl oz/5 cups) chicken stock (ideally, home-made by boiling a chicken carcass – fresh or from a roast chicken – in water with vegetables, herbs and spices)
2 tsp lemon juice
2 tbsp dark honey or other runny honey
½ tsp dried parsley, or 1tbsp fresh parsley leaves
Put the butter and olive oil into a large saucepan and heat until the butter melts. Add the nutmeg and black pepper and fry gently for 1 minute. Add the onion and celery and continue cooking for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another 5 minutes or until the onions and celery are soft but not brown. Add the beetroot and chicken stock. Bring to the boil and simmer for 45 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice and honey.
Pour the mixture into a blender and whizz until smooth. Return to the pan and reheat. Garnish with parsley and serve hot.
You can use cocktail sausages (each about half the length of a chipolata sausage) or slightly longer chipolatas for this recipe.
3 tbsp runny honey
1 tbsp sesame oil
2 tsp soy sauce
24 cocktail sausages, cut apart if linked, or 12 chipolatas
Preheat the oven to 220ºC/425ºF/gas 7. Put the honey, sesame oil and soy sauce into a large bowl and stir. Add the sausages and turn them over and over with your hands to coat them thoroughly with the honey mixture.
Put the coated sausages into a large roasting tin. Roast them for 25–30 minutes, or until well browned, turning them after the first 15 minutes. Serve hot or cold on a plate garnished with green salad leaves
Honey adds mellifluous notes to naturally sweet root vegetables. Stir steamed carrots with 1 tbsp butter and 1 tbsp honey, then sprinkle with chopped fresh parsley – simply delicious!
Parsnips roasted in oil and butter are always lovely, but drizzling them with 2 tbsp honey 10 minutes before the end of cooking makes them taste even better. For a change, use a variety of vegetables, as on the opposite page.
Roasting vegetables slightly caramelizes their sugars. Adding honey lends extra sweetness and some caramel notes.
5 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
large pinch of black pepper
1 tsp ground cumin or cumin seeds
4 parsnips, peeled and quartered lengthways
2 red onions, quartered
2 red or orange peppers, deseeded and quartered
2 green or yellow courgettes (zucchini), unpeeled and cut into 1in/2.5cm chunks
4 tomatoes, carefully scored around their circumference to just pierce their skin
12 garlic cloves, peeled
2 tsp dried rosemary or 2 tbsp fresh rosemary
2 tbsp runny honey
1 tbsp soy sauce
Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4. Put the olive oil, black pepper, cumin, parsnips and onions into a large roasting pan. Toss the vegetables in the oil. Roast for 30 minutes. Add the peppers, courgettes, tomatoes and roast for 10 minutes.
Remove from the oven, add the garlic, rosemary, honey and soy sauce turn the vegetables over several times to coat them. Return to the oven and cook for 20 minutes or until all the vegetables are nicely crisped. Serve hot or cold.
Cooking cabbage with very little water helps retain vitamins and flavour. Honey, redcurrant jelly and apple provide sweetness, while apple cider vinegar adds slight acidity. Together, these give delightful sweet-sour notes.
30g/1oz/¼ stick butter
1 onion, chopped
pinch of black pepper
pinch of nutmeg
675g/1½lb red cabbage, trimmed and finely sliced
3 garlic cloves, crushed
4 tbsp apple cider vinegar
240ml/8fl oz/1 cup water
4 tbsp honey
2 tbsp redcurrant jelly
1 large apple, peeled and grated
Put the butter into a large, heavy-based pan and melt over low heat. Add the onion, black pepper and nutmeg and fry gently for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
Put the cabbage into a colander and wash with cold water.
Add the cabbage, garlic, vinegar and water to the pan and stir. Cover and cook over a low heat for 45 minutes, until the cabbage is tender, stirring occasionally and adding a little extra water if necessary to prevent sticking. Add the honey, redcurrant jelly and apple, stir and cook for a further 15 minutes.
Honey’s flavour goes well with the salty and umami flavours of soy sauce, and together they complement the sweet flavour of the squash. Serve sesame squash as a starter or with a main course. Alternatively, insert a cocktail stick into each chunk and serve with drinks before a meal.
1 butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and cut into 1in/2.5cm chunks
4 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp runny honey
1 tbsp soy sauce
pinch of black pepper
2 tbsp sesame seeds
Line a baking tray with non-stick baking paper. Pre-heat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4. Put the squash into a large bowl. Add the sesame oil, honey, soy sauce and black pepper and stir gently but thoroughly. Place the chunks of squash in a single layer on the baking tray. Sprinkle with the sesame seeds and bake for 20–25 minutes. Serve hot or cold.
Honey is a superb sweetener for dressings and sauces and also adds other flavour notes that depend on its nectar and honeydew sources.
This is particularly good with cooked prawns (shrimp), sliced cooked pork or vegetables. You can make it in advance and store it in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Serve hot or cold.
1 tbsp finely chopped jalapeño pepper
2 spring onions, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, crushed
3 tbsp fresh ginger root, peeled and finely chopped
3 tbsp coriander (cilantro) leaves and stems, chopped
6 tbsp sesame oil
3 tbsp rice vinegar
3 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp runny honey
To prepare the jalapeño pepper, put on washing-up gloves to prevent the pepper irritating your skin. Halve the pepper lengthways and cut off the stalk. Cut out the pith and core, scrape out the seeds and and discard them. Chop the remaining flesh finely. Reserve 1 tbsp for this recipe and store the rest in a tightly covered container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week for use at another time.
Put the 1 tbsp jalapeño pepper and the remaining ingredients into a bowl and stir well.
One of my daughters had this honey-mustard dressing on a green salad every day when staying with a French family. She liked it so much that she noted how it was prepared so we could make it at home. Honey-mustard dressing can turn a simple salad or other dish into a meal fit for a celebration. Try it, for example, with goats’ cheese and sliced fresh figs.
Using olive and walnut oils instead of olive oil only gives a nutty flavour that is particularly good with hard-boiled eggs.
You can vary the dressing as follows:
• For beetroot salad, add 1 tsp of horseradish sauce;
• For tomato salad, omit the Dijon mustard and add 1 tbsp of chopped fresh basil leaves;
• For mushroom salad, add 1 tbsp of torn fresh coriander (cilantro) leaves.
You can store the dressing in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. For a creamier dressing, add 1–2 tbsp of mayonnaise.
180ml/6fl oz/¾ cup olive oil or half and half olive oil and walnut oil
1–2 tbsp lemon juice or apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp Dijon mustard or 1 tsp Dijon mustard and 1 tsp wholegrain mustard
1 tbsp runny honey
pinch of black pepper
Put the ingredients into a bowl and whisk well with a fork. Taste the dressing and add more lemon juice (or apple cider vinegar) if you prefer it to be more tart, and more honey if you prefer it more sweet.
Use this piquant sauce to coat beef burgers, pork ribs, chicken pieces or sausages before barbecuing or baking them, or to accompany them after cooking.
3 tbsp tomato purée
2 garlic cloves, crushed
4 tbsp runny honey
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
½ tsp cayenne pepper
pinch of black pepper
Put all the ingredients into a saucepan, bring to the boil and simmer gently, stirring, for 3 minutes.
Honey is a versatile partner for meat, poultry and fish because it adds sweetness and other flavours, and can help brown them and crisp them up.
This sticky chicken dish is bound to become a favourite! If you can’t get chicken breasts on the bone, use breast fillets instead.
60g/2oz/a good ½ stick butter
2 tbsp honey
4 garlic cloves, sliced
4 chicken breasts on the bone and with their skin on
pinch of black pepper
1 tbsp fresh parsley
Pre-heat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4. Put the butter and honey into a saucepan and heat, stirring, until the butter has melted.
Use a sharp knife to make little cuts through the chicken skin and insert a slice of garlic into each one. Put the chicken into a roasting pan and brush with the butter-honey mixture. Sprinkle with pepper. Roast the chicken in the oven for 40 minutes. Serve garnished with the parsley.
A ham is meat from a pig’s hindquarters, cured (in brine or with salt, sugar and spice), possibly smoked, and often called gammon. Bacon, in contrast, is from a pig’s side or back. Roast ham is very popular, and honey-glazing it near the end of cooking makes it extra special. Serve hot with mashed potatoes, buttered carrots and cabbage.
Start this recipe the day before you want to serve hot ham, two days before you want to serve cold ham.
Cooking a large piece of gammon means there will be plenty left over to wrap, refrigerate and eat later: cold in sandwiches or with salads; hot and sliced with fried eggs; hot and chopped with pasta or risotto; or in soup.
2.2kg/5lb unsmoked gammon, on the bone
2 bay leaves
12 whole black peppercorns
3 tbsp whole cloves
4 tbsp runny honey
30g/1oz soft dark brown sugar or muscovado sugar
2 tbsp ready-made English mustard
Put the gammon into a large pan, cover with cold water and soak for 12 hours to remove some of its salt.
Remove the gammon, rinse well, then return it to the empty pan and cover it with cold water. Add the bay leaves and peppercorns, bring to the boil and simmer, covered, for 1 hour and 30 minutes. Cool, then drain and pat dry with kitchen paper.
Preheat the oven to 220ºC/425ºF/gas 7. Line a roasting pan with cooking foil, using a large enough piece so that you will be able to wrap the foil up around the sides of the gammon once you’ve put it in the pan.
Cut off the rind with a sharp knife, taking care to leave the underlying fat intact. Score the fat into diamonds.
Put the gammon into the foil-lined pan.
Put the honey, sugar and mustard into a small bowl and mix well. Use a palette knife to spread this mixture over the fat on the gammon. Insert a clove into the middle of each diamond. Fold up the foil around any visible meat, leaving the fat exposed. Roast the gammon for 15 minutes, basting frequently and taking care not to let the honey glaze burn. Allow to rest for 10–15 minutes before carving.
Named after the earthenware pot with a conical lid – tagine or tajine – traditionally used in Morocco and other North African countries, this is a mildly spiced stew with subtle flavours of honey, orange flower water and cinnamon.
2 tbsp almonds
40g/1½ oz/a good ¼ stick butter
2 tbsp olive oil
½ tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp ground ginger
½ tsp cayenne pepper
large pinch of black pepper
675g/1½lb boned shoulder of lamb, cut into 3cm/1½in chunks
water
2 onions, finely sliced
225g/8oz dried apricots, preferably unsulphurated
4 tbsp honey
4 tbsp orange flower or rose water
1 cinnamon stick
salt to taste
Put the almonds into a large, heavy-based casserole and dry-fry over moderate heat, stirring frequently, until golden brown. Remove and set aside.
Put the butter into the casserole and melt it. Add the oil, turmeric, ginger, cayenne pepper and black pepper and stir. Add the lamb chunks and toss to coat them with the spices and oil. Fry the meat, stirring, for 5 minutes. Add enough water to cover the meat. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat, cover and cook for 1 hour.
Stir in the onion and cook for 30 minutes more. Stir in the apricots, honey and orange flower or rose water and add the cinnamon stick. Check the seasoning, adding salt to taste. With the casserole uncovered, simmer for 5 minutes or until the apricots have plumped up. Remove from the heat, scatter the meat with the almonds and serve hot with couscous or rice.
Covering fresh filleted salmon in salt and honey, then wrapping and leaving it in a cool dark place for several days, cures or ‘cold-cooks’ it, producing a delicacy even more special than smoked salmon. Flavourings such as fresh dill provide extra interest.
Another idea that provides interesting colour and flavour is to add grated cooked beetroot (without vinegar).
1 side of salmon weighing about 1kg/2.2 lb, filleted but not skinned
300g/11oz/1 cup table salt
240ml/8fl oz/1 cup runny honey
1 handful fresh dill
Line a roasting pan with enough cooking foil to wrap loosely around and cover the salmon.
Run the flats of your fingers over the inside of the salmon fillet to check for any small ‘pin’ bones. If you find any, remove them with a pair of pliers or strong tweezers. Cut the salmon fillet in half across its length. Lay one piece, skin side down, on the foil in the roasting pan. Sprinkle with salt, drizzle with honey and cover with about half the dill. Lay the other piece of salmon, skin side up, on top of the first one. Wrap the foil loosely over the salmon, put it in the refrigerator and leave for about 36 hours.
Remove from the fridge, pull back the foil, pick up the two pieces of salmon together and turn them upside down. Wrap the foil back over the salmon and put the pan back in the refrigerator for another 36 hours or so.
Unwrap the salmon pieces and wash them under running cold water for 1–2 minutes. Pat them dry with kitchen paper. Put one of the pieces skin side down on a flat surface. Hold one end of it with one hand and with a large sharp knife cut slices from the salmon with the other hand, moving the knife away from you. The slices can be as thick or as thin as you like. Continue until you have removed all the salmon from the skin. The brownish part closest to the skin is the most delicious (and also the most rich in health-giving omega-3 fatty acids). Repeat with the other piece of salmon. Put the slices on a large plate and serve with lemon wedges, brown bread and butter.
Honey makes a fine replacement for sugar in desserts as varied as bread and butter pudding; cheesecake; poached, barbecued fruits or baked fruits; and ice creams and sorbets. It’s also lovely drizzled over soft cheeses.
Also called Atholl Brose, this hails from Scotland. While delicious in its own right, it’s also very good with fresh raspberries.
1 level tbsp oatmeal
300ml/½ pint/1¼ cups double cream
3 tbsp whisky
3 tbsp runny honey
1 tbsp lemon juice
Toast the oatmeal by dry-frying it in a heavy-based frying pan, stirring occasionally, until it browns. Cool. Put the cream into a bowl and whisk until slightly thickened. Continue to whisk while gradually adding the whisky. Stir in the honey, lemon juice and toasted oatmeal.
Coxes and Egremont Russets are among the best dessert apples for this dish.
50g/2oz/½ stick butter
25g/1oz brown sugar
zest and juice of 1 large orange
3 tbsp honey
4 dessert apples
Melt the butter in a frying pan. Add the sugar, orange juice and zest, lemon juice and honey and heat gently, stirring occasionally. Peel, quarter and core the apples, then halve each piece lengthways. Add the apples to the pan and cook gently for 10–15 minutes, turning them over every so often. Serve hot with vanilla ice cream, double cream or crème fraîche.
Using honey instead of sugar and adding dates turns semolina from satisfying comfort food into an instant hit.
600ml/1 pint/2½ cups milk
45g/1½oz semolina
2 tbsp honey
15g/½oz butter
75g/3oz chopped dates
Put the milk into a saucepan and heat until lukewarm. Stir in the semolina and heat until the mixture comes to the boil and thickens, stirring frequently. Add the honey, butter and dates and stir well. Cook for a further 5 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent burning.
Honey is an excellent sweetener for baked goods. Apart from the honey cake and other recipes below, honey is particularly successful in banana loaf, muffins and gingerbread.
This delightful Greek dessert consists of exceedingly thin sheets of pastry separated by a layer of chopped nuts and soaked with honey syrup. It’s also popular in Armenia, Croatia, Cyprus, Macedonia, Serbia, Slovenia and the near and middle East.
FOR THE SYRUP
330ml/11fl oz/1¼ cups warm water
200g/7oz/1 cup sugar
4 cloves
1 cinnamon stick
juice and finely grated zest of 1 orange
240ml/8fl oz/1 cup runny honey
2 tbsp rosewater
FOR THE PASTRY
150g/5oz finely chopped pistachios
150g/5oz finely chopped walnuts
2 tbsp caster sugar
1 tsp ground cardamom
18 ready-made filo-pastry sheets
250g/9oz/2½ sticks butter, melted
Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4. Brush a rectangular baking tin with a little melted butter.
Make the syrup by putting the water, sugar, cloves, cinnamon stick and orange juice and zest into a pan. Heat gently until the sugar has dissolved. Bring to the boil and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the honey and simmer for 2 minutes. Cool, then remove the cinnamon stick and stir in the rosewater.
Reserve 2 tbsp of chopped pistachios. Put the remaining pistachios, walnuts, sugar and cardamom into a bowl and stir.
Lay a pastry sheet in the baking tin, cutting it if necessary so that it fits. Brush with a little melted butter. Repeat until you have used 9 sheets. Spread the nut, sugar and cardamom mixture over the pastry-sheet stack. Add another pastry sheet and brush it with melted butter. Repeat until you have used all the sheets.
With a sharp knife, cut a diamond pattern halfway down into the baklava.
Bake for 20 minutes, then reduce the heat to 150ºC/300ºF/gas 2 for 35–40 minutes and bake until golden brown. Remove from the oven and cut the diamond-shaped pieces right through. Strain the syrup and pour it over the baklava. Cool, then scatter with the remaining pistachios.
The first honeycakes were made from rye flour and honey. In the Middle Ages, cooks began to add spices. They rested the dough for weeks before baking it so that the honey could ferment and aerate the dough.
Most modern honeycakes contain baking powder or another modern raising agent, plus butter and, perhaps, other refinements such as nuts. Rye flour has largely been superseded by white or wholemeal flour (or both).
240ml/8fl oz/1 cup dark honey or other runny honey
50g/2oz caster sugar
175g/6oz/¾ cup melted butter
2 tsp instant coffee
4 eggs, beaten
150g/5oz/1 cups white self-raising flour
150g/5oz/1 cups wholemeal self-raising flour
½ tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground cloves
½ tsp ground star anise
120ml/4fl oz/½ cup milk
Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4. Line a 25cm/10in diameter cake tin with non-stick baking parchment.
Put the honey, sugar, butter and coffee into a large bowl and beat until well creamed. Beat in the eggs a little at a time. Put the flour, cinnamon, cloves and star anise into another bowl and stir. Sift a little of this into the honey mixture, then stir in a little of the milk. Repeat until you have used all the flour, spices and milk.
Pour the mixture into the cake tin and bake for 40 minutes. Reduce the heat to 170ºC/325ºF/gas 3 and bake for a further 20 minutes or until a skewer stuck into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Let it cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then transfer the honeycake to a wire rack to cool completely.
This shortbread is so smooth that it simply melts in the mouth.
225g/8oz/2 sticks butter
120ml/4fl oz/½ cup runny honey
1 tsp vanilla extract
250g/9oz/2½ cups plain flour
Preheat the oven to 150ºC/300ºF/gas 2. Lightly grease a non-stick baking tray or line an ordinary baking tray with non-stick baking paper.
Put the butter, honey and vanilla extract into a large bowl and beat until light and fluffy. Gradually add the flour, mixing well with each addition. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured board and flatten evenly but gently to about ½ in (12mm) thick.
Place the flattened dough on the baking tray. Score 24 rectangles into the dough with a sharp knife. Prick all over with a fork. Bake for 35–40 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Jewish families traditionally eat two loaves of this plaited egg-enriched yeast bread at each of the three meals over Shabbat (the Sabbath). They also eat this bread on ceremonial occasions and during festive holidays. The loaf is formed from six woven strands of dough instead of the three usually braided into a plait. This ‘double’ loaf commemorates the manna that apparently fell from heaven to help sustain the Israelites during their 40 years of exile in the desert after their exodus from Egypt. And the twelve strands of dough needed to make two loaves remind diners of the twelve tribes of Israel.
The manna mentioned in the Bible was almost certainly honeydew – a sweet, dark or greenish liquid or crystalline substance excreted by aphids, leafhoppers and scale insects on to leaves or branches after eating a tree’s sap. It’s called honeydew because its droplets glisten like dew.
My version of challah is therefore sweetened with honey to represent manna.
Enjoy it for breakfast or with tea or coffee in the afternoon. It’s also delicious slightly toasted and spread with butter and honey or homemade jam.
240ml/8fl oz warm water
2 tsp dried yeast
1 egg, beaten
1 tbsp vegetable oil
175g/6oz raisins (optional)
4 tbsp runny honey
400g/14oz/4 cups plain flour
1 tbsp coarse sea salt
FOR THE GLAZE
1 egg, beaten
2 tbsp poppyseeds or sesame seeds (optional)
Put the water, yeast, egg, oil, optional raisins, and honey into a large bowl. Mix well, add half the flour and mix well again. Leave for 1 hour at warm room temperature.
Add the salt and the remaining flour and mix well. Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until stretchy. Divide it into six pieces and roll each into a long spindle shape. Lay the pieces alongside each other and press one end of each one together. Now plait (braid) the six pieces, then press their remaining free ends together. Put the plait onto an oiled baking sheet and leave to rise for at least 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4. Glaze the loaf with the beaten egg and sprinkle with the poppyseeds or sesame seeds if you wish. Transfer the baking sheet into the oven and bake for 45 minutes. Remove from the baking sheet and cool on a wire rack.