Honey Roasted Swede with Festive Spices

Swede is a fabulous vegetable that rarely gets the attention it deserves. It's often simply boiled, seasoned and mashed - but for this Honey Roast Swede recipe we'll show you how to turn swede into a delicious alternative roasted vegetable accompaniment. This recipe is bursting with festive flavour and will add a unique and special touch to your Christmas day meal. It also works really well with chicken and turkey roast dinners at any time of the year!

To make this Honey Roasted Swede recipe you will need:

• 1 large swede
• 2 tablespoons of Just Bee Original Honey
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 2 teaspoons of garlic puree (or 2 garlic cloves)
• 1 teaspoon of fresh finely chopped thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 1/2 teaspoon of ground pepper
• A handful of whole hazelnuts (unsalted)

• A large mixing bowl
• A large roasting tin
• A plastic spatula or something similar to mix and turn your ingredients.

Time to prepare and cook around 1 hour.

1. Let's get the oven on!

We want to preheat the oven to gas mark 6 or 200C (If you have an electric fan oven then lower it down to 180C). It will have plenty of time to get up to temperature while we prepare the swede for roasting. 

2. Peel and cut the swede.

Start by using a potato peeler to remove the outside skin of the swede. You can use a knife if you are used to doing that way but I find a potato peeler perfect for this job.

Next we need to cut the swede into small cubes around 1-2 cm in size. Swede can be quite tough to cut so make sure you use a good sharp knife, meat cleaver or chopper.

Start by cutting the swede into slices, I always aim for about 1.5cm thickness but it doesn't matter if they are a little thicker or thinner. Once sliced, cut them in to 1.5cm strips and then cut those strips into 1.5cm cubes. Don't worry if they aren't perfect as long as they are roughly the same size they will all be cooked evenly.

3. Coating the swede cubes.

Take the mixing bowl and add the olive oil, garlic puree (or pressed fresh garlic), nutmeg, cinnamon and the salt and pepper. Give that a good mix around then add the swede to the bowl and give that a stir around with a spatula until all the cubes are well coated and shiny all over.

4. First stage of roasting.

Transfer the coated swede cubes to your roasting tin and spread them out. Ideally none of them will be touching each other so they can roast fully on all sides, but don't worry too much as long as you space them as evenly as you can.

Once in the tin, pop them into the oven on the middle shelf and let them cook for 30 minutes.

5. Second stage of roasting.

After the first 30 minutes of roasting time remove from the oven and give them a good toss around in the roasting tin. Drizzle the two tablespoons of Just Bee Honey over the top and then sprinkle over the finely chopped thyme.

Next add the hazelnuts, which you can either leave whole or break up a little depending on personal preference. I like to have a mixture of whole nuts, halves and a few smaller pieces, so I break some of them up before adding them to the roasting tin.

Once all the ingredients are in the roasting tin give them another good toss around in the oil and honey with the spatula and return to the oven for another 10-20 minutes until soft all the way through. 10 minutes is usually enough but if your chunks are a little larger, or you prefer them softer, they may need a little more time in the oven. I like them best with the texture of a well cooked carrot, soft but still with a little firmness.

6. Remove from the oven.

Once your swede is perfectly roasted to your liking simply remove from the oven and serve, either straight to plate or a small serving dish. If you are serving them for people to help themselves at the table, you can garnish them with some sprigs of thyme or other fresh herbs for extra decoration.

Tips and ingredient variations.

As always we recommend using Just Bee Original Vitamin Honey but alternatively you can use any honey you may already have.

If you are serving for more people or want bigger portions, simply use 2 swedes and double the amounts of the other ingredients. For a smaller portion, you can always use half a swede and half the other ingredients.

If cooking larger amounts use 2 roasting tins if necessary, as the swede will not roast properly if it's piled up too much in the tin.

The spices in this recipe can be substituted for many others. Ginger, cardamom and clove are great alternatives. Mix it up for some variations throughout the year or simply use your favourites. You could even use a Chinese or Indian spice mix if you are cooking an Asian inspired meal.

Use a sharp heavy knife to make chopping up the swede into cubes easy, don't struggle with an unsuitable knife. Not only will it be hard going but you are more likely to slip and cut yourself.

If you want to chop the swede in advance you can keep it in a bowl of water for a day in the fridge. Simply drain and pat dry with some kitchen paper before cooking.

If you want to try a full honey roasted meal you could roast the swede along with our Honey Chilli Chicken and Honey Roasted Carrots too!