Call it the Cretan version of sweet and sour chicken. I remember this dish growing up and I was always intrigued when my mom added her most prized honey that she brought back from Crete to the mixture.
Every summer she’d fill suitcases full of certain products that were not readily available in Pittsburgh. Honey from Crete was one of them. It was one of her most prized food products and she kept it wrapped up in plastic to prevent crystallization and stored it in a dry, dark place in her cupboard.
She always used her Cretan honey in her syrups for desserts like baklava and kataifi and never—I mean NEVER—opted for the quick, cheap and easy sugar and water syrup concoctions that so many recipes use today, since good honey costs so much.
For her sweets, as well as her savory dishes like her honey marinated chicken, she ONLY used her Cretan honey.
“It makes all the difference in the world,” she would say.
THE RECIPE
Use your judgement (depending upon how much chicken you are preparing) for the marinade using the following recipe that I deciphered from my mom’s handwritten notebook. For 8 boneless chicken thighs or 4 skinless chicken breast halves, mix the following ingredients:
-1⁄4 cup olive oil
-1⁄4 cup lemon juice
-2 tablespoon honey
-5 garlic cloves, crushed
-2 tablespoons dried rosemary
-1 teaspoon dried oregano
Marinate the chicken for about an half hour to 45 minutes before broiling or barbecuing.
