I use Silan, also known as date honey, as part of the yeast starter for the bread that Mr BT and I make every week. It doesn’t really impart any extra flavour to the bread, but I think it is a bit healthier than white sugar.
I was really tired of making the same chicken dishes I make all the time, so I decided to try an experiment using date honey. It has a slight taste of dates and can be spread on bread, mixed with equal parts of tahina and used as a spread, used on pancakes instead of maple syrup, etc. What I like about Silan is that it is not sickeningly sweet.
I mixed the date honey with oranges and grapefruits from the trees around the moshav. And for an extra kick, I added some chili paste and grated ginger. It made an excellent spicy barbeque sauce.
- 1 whole chicken cut into eighths
- 1/2 cup date honey
- 1/2 cup orange juice
- 1/2 cup grapefruit juice or lemon juice
- 1-1/2 tablespoon fresh ginger grated with a microplane
- 1 teaspoon chili paste
- Salt and pepper to taste
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Preheat oven to 180C (350F). Place the chicken in a baking dish. Mix all of the ingredients and pour over the chicken. Bake for 1-1/2 hours or until falling of the bone.
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Serve with rice, couscous or quinoa.