Cooking with olive oil: Extra virgin honey recipe

Photo / Miggs Ishbel McTaylor

Helen Melser's The Olive Tree in My Kitchen cookbook is a homage to the humble yet versatile olive tree. This recipe, she says, "is the result of a play day in the kitchen when I decided to see if oil and honey would work together. I am not sure if the oil absorbs the honey or the other way round, but the resulting spreadable gel-like syrup tastes delicious".

Ingredients

6 Tbsp	extra virgin olive oil
½ cup	honey

Directions

1. Pour the oil into a small saucepan and gently heat. Add the honey and slowly stir until the honey and oil are combined.
2. Leave to cool, after which it will thicken. Give it a good whisk to transform it into a thick satiny syrup with a wonderful creamy mouthfeel.
3. Store in the fridge for up to a month or in a cool, dark place up to 2 weeks. When brought back to room temperature you may see some oil on the surface but this can be stirred back in before using.
4. Serve drizzled over Greek yoghurt, ice cream or a pancake stack. It is also tasty spread on sourdough, grainy toast or crumpets. And a teaspoon added to a hot lemon drink or even your breakfast tea or coffee works well.

Top tip: Make a larger batch and spread it over the cake of your choice. It could also be used as a filling for a favourite cake.

Edited extract from The Olive Tree in My Kitchen by Helen Melser. Photography by Miggs Ishbel McTaylor. Published by Bateman Books. RRP $34.99

• Makes: about ½ cup

Cookbook extract for Be Well 17 Jan 2022 The Olive Tree in My Kitchen by Helen Melser. Photography by Miggs Ishbel McTaylor Published by Bateman Books. RRP $34.99