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Honey
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Honey
RECIPES & IMAGES KATHY PATERSON
Honey is one of the most diverse foods we have and honey’s boundlessness of flavours, colours and textures really fascinates me.
Flavour characteristics are formed by rainfall, wind, soils and flora and the simpliest way to get to know which honey you will enjoy is to taste at farmers markets or in-store tastings. A lighter-flavour honey works well for general use. Honey is handy for adding sweetness to dressings or marinades, as well as drizzling over fresh fruit with fresh ricotta or mascarpone. However, my favourite is spread over hot buttered toast all sticky and runny. Store honey away from light and try to avoid the fridge.
Honey Gochujang Rib-Eye of Beef
Put a spring of flavour in your beef with this honey and gochujang sauce. A piece of beef this size makes for a wonderful small roast.
SERVES 4 (POSSIBLY WITH LEFTOVERS)
3 tbsp honey 2 tbsp gochujang (Korean chilli paste) - available from Vetro 2 tbsp soft brown sugar 1 tbsp light soy sauce 1 tsp fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated 1 tsp crushed garlic 700g piece rib-eye beef (can also be called cube roll as the bone is removed or referred to as scotch fillet- go to Magills in Te Awamutu to find beef cuts like this and more), at room temperature olive oil for rubbing flaky salt
To make the honey gochujang sauce, put the honey, gochujang, sugar, soy sauce, ginger and garlic in a small saucepan. Put over low heat to dissolve sugar and thicken slightly. Remove from the heat and set aside.
To roast the piece of rib-eye, heat the oven to 200°C. Heat a roasting dish in the oven. Rub beef with a little olive oil. Heat a large heavybased frying pan or flat plate until hot and brown the beef quickly on all sides. Transfer to the hot roasting dish and brush the top surface of the beef with a good coating of the sauce. Drizzle over a little more olive oil. Put in the oven and roast for 20 minutes for beef that is on the rare side. If you would like a tad less rare and more medium-rare (which I think is the optimal finish for this cut), then cook for a further 5 minutes. To test meat as well – use tongs (as the coating will be hot and sticky) to press gently on the meat. If it is very springy then it will be very rare. The less springy the meat becomes the more it is cooked. Rib-eye is compact or dense pure meat so my preference is to cook in a hot oven (or lidded barbecue), but not too hot. Rib-eye should have good marbling and a small nugget or chain of fat within. It’s prudent to allow the fat to melt during cooking, making the meat even more succulent and juicy. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with salt. Cover loosely with compostable foil and a clean tea towel and leave to rest for 20 minutes in a warm spot. This allows the meat juices to redistribute throughout the meat and settle and helps the meat to carve beautifully – and so does a very sharp carving knife! Serve beef with extra honey gochujang sauce on the side and lots of spring green leaves. A grain salad with a citrus dressing is good here too or oven roasted potatoes or kūmara. Serve with lemon or lime halves for squeezing. TIP – the honey gochujang sauce is brilliant with chicken too.
Chicken wings or drumsticks can be well coated in the sauce and roasted in the oven until sticky and well glazed.
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Honey Pie
Honey is the flavour bomb here so make sure you use a honey you really love.
SERVES 8–10 PASTRY
250g (2 cups) plain flour pinch of salt 1 tbsp caster sugar 125g cold butter, diced 1 egg yolk 50ml cold water
FILLING
200g good quality ricotta 4 tbsp honey ½ cup caster sugar ½ tsp ground cinnamon 4 eggs
TOPPING AND SERVING SUGGESTIONS
candied walnuts (recipe below) edible flowers and petals ground cinnamon for sprinkling whipped cream
To make the pastry, put the flour and salt in a food processor and process using the pulse button a couple of times. Sprinkle over the sugar and add the diced butter. Process until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Using a fork, whisk together the egg yolk and water and drizzle over the flour mixture and process until the mixture just begins to come together. Tip out onto a lightly floured bench and bring together into a round. Flatten slightly then roll out to fit a 25cm x 2.5cm deep fluted, loose-bottomed tart tin. Line pastry case with crumpled baking paper and fill with baking beans or rice. Put in the fridge to chill for 20–30 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the oven to 200°C.
Bake the pastry case for 20 minutes then remove from the oven. Carefully scoop out the beans or rice and remove the paper. Return to the oven for 5 minutes or so to remove any damp patches in the pastry. Lower the oven temperature to 180°C. To make the filling, put all the ingredients in a food processor and using the pulse button, process until the mixture is creamy and smooth. Pour into the pastry case (it should come to the top of the pastry case), and put in the oven. Bake for 20–25 minutes until just set. Remove from the oven and allow to cool before removing from the tin. Cut into thin slices or wedges and serve with any of the suggested toppings, on its own or with a bowl of whipped cream.
TIPS – In cooler weather or if you have a cool kitchen there is no need to chill food processor pastry before rolling out. You can re-use the baking blind rice for years. Make sure it is completely cold before storing away.
CANDIED WALNUTS
1 egg white 1 tsp water 1 tsp vanilla extract 1½ cups fresh walnuts ½ cup caster or granulated sugar 1 tsp ground cinnamon pinch of salt
Heat the oven to 150°C. Line a shallow baking tray with baking paper. Whisk the egg white, water and vanilla extract together in a bowl until frothy. Add the walnuts and toss to coat. Put the sugar, cinnamon and salt on a large plate and add the walnuts. Toss in the sugar mixture until well coated then tip onto the tray and spread out in a single layer. Bake for 35–40 minutes, tossing them after about 20 minutes. They can be a bit sticky but persevere as you want each nut to dry out properly. Lower the oven temperature a little if they are looking too dark. Remove from the oven and leave to cool before storing in an airtight container. If the coating is nice and dry on the walnuts they will store well for at least a week.
Kathy Paterson
Kathy Paterson is a recipe developer, food stylist and photographer. A plentiful herb garden and a trial and error vegetable garden give Kathy the starting place for her recipes along with her love of the classics with a modern twist.
