Not just your Bubbe’s honey cake. As a beekeeper and avid cook I can take you and your honey places you’ve never been before- culinarily speaking.
So let’s get Buzzin’.
Did you know that some plants have their very own dedicated pollinators? Figs are one. Although squash can be pollinated by any interested pollinator, the Squash Bee has adapted and adopted some habits that really exploit squash as pollen and nectar sources.
There are more than 22 thousand known bee species on the planet. Most of them are NOT filling your bottles, but providing an even more vital service to humanity – pollinating. Other creatures pollinate too, but bees work in higher volume and traffic overall. Without bees, you might not have coffee (for example).
So give that some thought the next time you dig into some squash.
The sweet of the honey is the perfect compliment to the savory rosemary and the squash lays a delicious foundation for the flavors to rest on.
Honey-Rosemary Squash
You will Need:
- Oven
- Baking pan or dish – lined with foil
- 1 Butternut squash, halved lengthwise
- 30g honey
- 1tablespoon fresh rosemary finely chopped
- ¼ cup crushed spiced nuts*
- Olive oil
- Salt
- Pepper
- 30g Crushed spiced nuts*
- Preheat oven to 220c.
- Finely chop rosemary
- Take a small slice from the rounded side of the squash so it lays flat on the pan & doesn’t wobble
- Poke cut surface of squash lightly with a fork
- Rub cut surface of squash with olive oil
- Sprinkle with salt & pepper
- Drizzle with half of the honey (15g)
- Sprinkle with rosemary
- Roast for 25 – 45 minutes, until tender – start checking around 25 minutes
- Remove from oven and swoop off some of the rosemary – it’s done it’s job
- Sprinkle with crushed spiced nuts*
*I’d love to take credit for the spiced nuts but, a) they don’t use honey, b) they are totally from ATK. Many thanks to Elle Simone for the nut renaissance in my life. Variations on these nuts are a staple in our house. The preferred spice blend is circled on the image below.