Wenallt Hive

Bonfire Night Honey Parkin

Often called Yorkshire Parkin but I am from Lancashire where this cake marks the changing season when the temperature drops as it gets close to Halloween and Bonfire Night.

This cake is made with honey and not golden syrup. If you have a good golden syrup recipe and want to substitute with honey, it is not a direct replacement and you will need to reduce the other liquid - maybe leave out the milk.

Traditionally parkin is stored in a tin for three days to develop a sticky surface texture before eating.. When using honey this isn't necessary and the sticky texture develops within a couple of hours.

Parkin is a wonderfully comforting cake with a great treacle taste and a lot of healthy substance. I use medium oatmeal which gives lots of grainy texture - a personal preference. Fine oatmeal will give a less coarse texture.

150g Butter

150g Honey

130g Black Treacle

100g Dark Soft Brown Sugar

200g Oatmeal, medium or fine

130g SR Flour

2 Large Eggs

2 Teaspoons ground ginger

Half Teasp Nutmeg

1 Teasp Cinnamon

75g finely chopped Crystalised Ginger (optional)

Method Line a 20 cm square cake tin and set the oven to 140 deg C (140 dec C for a fan oven or Gas mark 3)

Put the butter, honey, black treacle and soft brown sugar in a large pan and gently heat just until everything is dissolved - stir to ensure the sugar dissolves

Put the dry ingredients into a mixing bowl and stir in the dissolved liquid (or allow the liquid to cool a little and add dry ingredients to the pan starting with the oatmeal, then follow with the flour and spices).

Add the beaten eggs to make a very liquid batter

Place in the lined tin and bake for 55 mins - an hour. It should be firm to the touch and the edges should be a little hard. There is a tendency for parkin to sink in the middle - this is normal.

Tips: If you can get duck eggs they make a superior cake. Crystallized ginger can add extra texture - 75g finely chopped and added into the melted ingredients just before adding the oatmeal, etc.

Bircher Muesli- serves 4

75g rolled oats

75g museli – standard museli not granola

The juice of two limes (lemons work well too - use 1 and a half lemons)

400ml Semi skimmed milk

Two Apples, cored and grated (Cox, Discovery, Russet)

2 Tablespoons Wenallt Hive honey

2 Tablespoons thick natural yoghurt

75g nuts and dried fruits, I like a mix of goji berries, pecans and cranberries

This needs to be made ahead, usually the night before but at least a couple of hours before eating.

Put the oats, muesli lime juice, milk and grated apple into a bowl, stir and leave covered. A plate or a beeswax wrap works well to cover the bowl – no need for clingfilm.

When ready to serve stir in the yoghurt and honey and serve.

This base is great as it is or with toasted chopped nuts –almonds, walnuts, pecans or hazelnuts, dried fruits – our favourites are cranberries or cherries, with fresh berries and/or banana.

A super healthy start to the day.

Brioche

I use a breadmaker to do the mixing and kneading of the dough for this recipe. Brioche is made with an enriched dough which has a high butter and egg content making the dough sticky to work. Using a bread maker is easy and less messy.

375g Strong Plain Flour

115g Butter

4 tbsps Honey

1.5 tsps Dried Yeast
3 Medium Eggs

3 tbsps Milk

3/4 tsp Salt
+ 1 more egg for the glaze

The dough needs to rest for a long time so it is best to start this the evening before you need it and leave the dough in the fridge over night.

Method: Put the dried yeast into the breadmaker pan followed by the flour, salt, honey, eggs and milk. Turn the breadmaker onto the dough/pizza setting. On my breadmaker this cycle takes 45 mins.
When finished put the dough into a bowl which has enough room for the bread to rise. Cover and put in the fridge. I use a beeswax wrap for the cover, they work really well and the dough doesn't stick to the wrap. I get my wraps from Claire at Funky Green Bee https://www.facebook.com/FunkyGreenBee/
Next morning take the dough out of the fridge , it will have risen to double it's volume and be smoothe and golden. Leave in the bowl for half an hour or so to come to room temp then turn out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth again. Take a handful of the dough and put to one side. Shape the rest into a ball and put into the brioch pan. Make an indent in the centre. Knead the handful of dough into a smooth ball and put this in the indent on the top of the dough in the pan. Cover and put in a warm place to rise to double. This will take 1-2 hours depending on the warmth of the room.

When risen heat the oven to 200 deg C. Beat an egg with a teaspoonful of cold water and brush the surface of the brioche. When the oven has come up to temperature add the brioche for 15 mins then brush with the egg wash turn the heat down to 180 deg C and leave for a further 30 mins or until the brioche is golden and the base sounds hollow when tapped.
This recipe makes a large brioche. The honey in the recipe will help to keep the brioche fresh and stop it going dry. If you have any left over brioche makes a wonderful bread and butter pudding.

15 Large plums quarterd

8 Clementines peeled and segmented
200g runny honey

150g Almonds, flaked
For Crumble:
125g Plain flour
100g Butter
50g Demerara Sugar
50g Medium Oatmeal
Put the fruit into a large bowl, add honey, stir. Add the flaked almonds in a layer over the fruit. I like to add a layer of flaked almonds before adding the crumble so that the crumble doesn't disappear into the fruit juices. They also add a bit more texture.
For the crumble, put all the dry ingredients into a bowl. Chop the butter into small pieces and rub into the dry ingredients. When like breadcrumbs pour over the top of the almonds. Cook at 180 deg C for 45 mins or until the fruit is cooked and the top is golden. Serve with cream, custard or ice cream. Makes a large crumble for 8 people.

Cranachan (serves 3)

300ml Double Cream

200g Raspberries

30g Oatmeal, Medium or Pinhead
2 tbsp Wenallt HIve Runny Honey
2 tbsp Whisky

Method: This is a quick and easy dessert. It is best assembled just before serving to keep the crunch of the toasted oatmeal.
Slowly toast the oats either under a grill or in a dry pan. This only takes a few minutes and the oats easily burn so stay with it. When done the oats will have turned a rich golden colour and give off a nutty aroma.
Loosely whip the cream until it just holds it's shape. Gently mix in the honey and whisky.
Set aside a few raspberries for decoration. Crush half of the remainder and loosely fold into the cream with the oatmeal.
Loosely fold in the remainder of the raspberries so the mixture has a rippled effect.
Spoon into glasses, decorate with the reserved raspberries and serve.

French Onion Soup

1 kg onions

50g butter

2 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp toasted plain flour

5 cloves black garlic

4 cloves fresh garlic

250ml dry white wine

1.5 litres beef stock or stock made with 2 x beef stock cubes

150g Gruyere cheese

Method: Heat the butter and oil in a large heavy bottomed pan. When melted add in the onions which have been peeled, chopped in half vertically and then thinly sliced and cover for 10 mins until the onions are translucent. Then take off the pan lid and continue cooking for 20 mins or so until the onions start to colour. As the onions start to change to a rich golden colour add the fresh garlic which has been skinned and thinky sliced and gook for a further 5 mins, stirring frequently to prevent sticking. Then add in the sliced black garlic followed by the dry white wine. Allow the pan contents to come up to a simmer and in the meantime get the stock ready to add. If you don't have beef stock use two beef stock cubes dissolved in 1.5 litres of water instead.

Bring the soup to a slow simmer, cover and cook for 20 mins.
While the soup is cooking, grate the cheese.
Serve in large bowls with the cheese scattered on top. A plate of buttered crusty French bread is essential.

Nutty Florentines

30g Honey

30g Butter

30g Demerara Sugar

40g Plain Flour

30g Chopped Almonds

30g Chopped Pecans

30g Dried Cranberries

30g Candied Peel Chopped

150g Dark Chocolate, minimum of 70% cocoa

Heat the oven to 180 deg C, 350F or Gas 4 . A large or two small baking sheets lined with baking parchment

Method Gently melt the honey, butter, demerara sugar . Remove from the heat and add all remaining ingredients and stir well.

Makes 12 Florentines - using a teaspoon put 12 spoonfuls of the mix on to the baking sheets. Leave plenty of space between for the mix to spread.
Bake for 10 mins until they are golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool . When cool place on a wire rack and leave until cold.
Break the chocolate into a heatproof bowl and put into the hot oven as it cools. The chocolate should have melted in about 10 mins. Alternatively you can melt the chocolate by putting the heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water - I prefer to make use of the oven for this.
Spoon the melted chocolate onto the florentines and leave until almost cold then drag a fork across the chocolate to make an attractive pattern. Store in an airtight container and use within three days.

Versatile Honeyed Roasted Pumpkin

I always make more of this than I need and keep in the fridge to make a tasty soup or quick and easy salad. It can be frozen for use in soups and stews.

1 Pumpkin with orange flesh like Crown Prince or Butternut Squash

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

1 Tablespoon Cumin Seeds (Fennel or Sesame seeds work well too)

2 Tablespoons Runny Honey

Preheat the oven to 200 deg C. Peel, seed and chop the pumpkin into bite sized pieces. Line a deep oven tray with baking parchment, add the pumpkin and drizzle with the oil. Toss in the oil to cover the pumpkin. Roast for 20 mins, remove from the oven and add the cumin seeds, put back in the oven for 5 mins to roast. Remove from the oven, allow to cool a little and drizzle with honey. and stir to coat. Serve with roasted meat . OR allow to cool and use in a salad, dressed with cold pressed rapeseed oil and honey vinegar and mixed with crumbled cheese - feta, goats cheese or a salty blue cheese with lots of black pepper. OR use as the base for a soup - fry an onion until soft, add a garlic clove and fry for a further two minutes add these to a litre of stock and 750g of honeyed roasted pumpkin, liquidise. Heat through and serve with crumbled cheese and flat leaved parsley.

Braised Red Cabbage

Ingredients:

Half a large red cabbage approx 1kg

50g butter

1 medium onion
100 ml honey vinegar (I use raspberry but straight honey vinegar is fine)
1 large cooking apple or the equivalent in pears

50g soft brown sugar

1 teasp cinnamon
75g sultanas or raisins

Method:
Heat the butter in a large pan and add the finely chopped onion as the butter starts to sizzle. Let the onion gently cook in the butter for a few minutes.
Quarter the cabbage and take out the core then finely slice two of the quarters and add to the onion.
Peel core and roughly chop the apple or pears and add these to the pan.
Add the vinegar followed by the dried fruit, cinnamon and sugar
Bring to a gentle simmer then leave on a low heat for an hour, checking periodically. If too dry add an extra spoon of vinegar. The cabbage should be tender after an hour, if not simmer for a little longer.
Serve with lamb, pork or game. This can be made ahead and gently reheated or it can be frozen for up to three months. I make batches when the cabbages are plentiful in the autumn and freeze keeping a batch for Christmas. This is a great veg dish to have in the freezer.

Vinaigrette

Vinaigrette is a simple mix of vinegar and oil. Extra virgin olive oil is often the oil of choice but my favourite is a cold pressed rapeseed oil.

For the basic vinaigrette I use one part honey vinegar and three parts rapeseed oil plus a little salt and pepper. Whisk to mix or put in a container with a tight fitting top and shake well.

Using flavoured vinegars adds another dimension and our horseradish vinegar is particularly good in salads which are partnered with fish.

To half a cup of honey vinegar and one and a half cups of rapeseed oil add a desert spoon of grainy mustard and the same volume of runny honey for a delicious honey mustard dressing.

Instead of the honey and mustard try adding a herb - basil, mint, fennel, flat leaved parsley, tarragon, thyme, or garlic or black garlic or a minced shall.ot. The list goes on and it all starts with the basic 1 part vinegar to 3 parts oil.

Some recipes use citrus juice in place of vinegar. I never replace all the vinegar but will substitute half the vinegar for orange or a fragrant lime juice.

These dressings are so easy to make, why would you ever buy a commercial dressing stuffed full of emulsifiers, flavour enhancers, etc?

Beurre Blanc Sauce for Fish (using Horseradish Honey Vinegar)
(enough for 2 generous portions)
1 medium shallot chopped very finely
70g / 1/3 cup horseradish honey vinegar
70g / 1/3 cup dry white wine
70g / 1/3 cup double cream or a thick natural yoghurt
200g cold cubed (about 1cm) butter, unsalted if possible but if you only have salted, be careful when seasoning
salt and white pepper for seasoning

This is a really simple and easy sauce but when adding the butter at the end it is important to stay with the sauce and add the chilled butter a cube at a time and stir until it is all incorporated. Don't be tempted to leave the pan or add too much butter at once. It looks a lot of butter to add but it works and produces a beautifully smooth sauce which coats well. Great with white fish or salmon and turns an ordinary meal into something special.
METHOD
- Put all ingredients with the exception of the butter an seasoning into a pan
- Bring to a simmer and allow to reduce in volume by 2/3, at this stage you can take off the heat and leave until needed. It will take 10 mins to finish off the sauce
- On a low heat add one cube of chilled butter at a time and stir until incorporated. Then add the next, etc. If you run short of time you can add a couple of cubes towards the end but don't rush it at the beginning.
- Taste and season if necessary

Hope you can try this. It's raised my game on fish night.

Pickled Cucumber

1 x Medium Cucumber, sliced thinly

Large Pinch of fine grain Sea Salt

2 Tablespoons of Wenallt Hive Honey Vinegar

1 Tablespoon of castor sugar

Put the cucumber in a colander and sprinkle with the salt. Leave to drain over a bowl for half an hour. In the meantime put the vinegar and sugar in a bowl large enough to hold the cucumber as well. Stir the sugar and vinegar to dissolve the sugara. Dry the cucumber slices on kitchen paper and add to the bowl. Stir and leave for at least half an hour before serving. Stir occasionally to keep all the cucumber coated in the vinegar mix. You can add peeled thin slices of fresh ginger or a tablespoon of mustard seeds to add a touch of spice to the pickle.
Serve with baked salmon.

Chicken Wrapped in Proscuito with Mushrooms and a Raspberry Vinegar Sauce
Serves 2

Ingredients:
2 Chicken breast fillets
4 slices proscuito
2 tblsp raspberry vinegar
100g chestnut mushrooms
75g unsalted butter
1 tbsp dried thyme

Method: Soak the chicken fillets in brine for half an hour then leave to drain.
Take 25g butter and melt in a pan and while it is melting wipe trim and halve the mushrooms. Put in the pan with the butter over a medium heat. Once gently frying cover the pan and turn down the heat.
Take another 25g butter and put in a heavy bottomed frying pan over a high heat. While the butter is melting wrap each chicken fillet in two slices of proscuito. and fry in the butter until golden then turn and do the same on the other side. Put the chicken into a small oven dish add the mushrooms drained of any cooking liquid and cover with foil. Put into a hot oven, 190 deg C, for 25 mins or until the chicken is tooked right through.
While the chicken is cooking add the remaining 25g butter to the frying pan along with the thyme, the raspberry vinegar and any juices from the mushroom pan. Serve with new potatoes and green beans or asparagus or garden peas.