Honey and Catkin Grain Biscuits is a traditional British recipe for a classic method of using catkin pollen pods as a crumb substitute and binding them with honey before cooking and serving as biscuits. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic British version of: Honey and Catkin Grain Biscuits.
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February is one of the very leanest months for wild foods. The greens of March haven't emerged yet and it's generally too cold for fungi. Apart from things like black mustard greens and oak moss (which is really more of a spice) there's very little else. One of the few items in abundance in February are catkins. Normally I would think of hazel catkins, but having moved to an area with beech woodland and hazel groves in abundance I've become aware of beech catkins too. Both are structurally and botanically quite similar, with pollen pods emerging from a central stem. It's possible to collect the pollen on a sunny day, but the pollen pods are also edible and it's these that are used in this recipe.
This is one of the uses for catkins processed as in the candied catkins up to the point where it says 'This is the stage at which you can use the catkins for preparing biscuits and cookies' in the recipe. You can use either hazel or beech catkins in this recipe.
Ingredients:
100g hazel or beech catkins (processed as in the candied catkins recipe)
2-3 tbsp runny honey
your choice of the following spices: cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, vanilla
Method:
Pre-heat your oven to 180C. Spread the catkins on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Roast for about 20 minutes, or until dry and crumbly to the touch. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool for 5 minutes. Note that you want to to dry them out, not burn them.
At this point, crumble the catkins between your fingers. They should form a pile of fine granules (these are the pollen pods). Throw away the stringy bits from the middle.
Spoon the honey into the pan and warm it until. Add any spices if using.
Add in the catkin granules, stirring until everything sticks together.
Form 2-4 biscuit shapes and cook on a hot slate over the fire (or a baking pan or bakestone). Turn them once half way through.
Remove when golden brown and allow to cool.
Serve with your favourite dip or use as a dessert with yoghurt.
