Honeybush-Glazed Roasted Almonds and Aged Gouda Board
Whole almonds glazed with reduced honeybush tea and a touch of honey, roasted until fragrant and served alongside aged Gouda and dried apricots.
This isn't quite a recipe so much as a thoughtfully built snack board, but the glazed almonds are the star and they really do need a recipe of their own. Reducing brewed honeybush with a spoon of honey creates a sticky syrup that clings to the nuts and crisps up in the oven.
Aged Gouda—the deep amber kind with crunchy crystals—is the cheese match. Its caramel and butterscotch notes shake hands with honeybush's honey character, while the firm texture holds up against the soft glazed almonds.
Dried apricots and dried pears round out the board. Their concentrated fruit sweetness mirrors the tea's honey backbone and gives the salt of the cheese something to push against. A drizzle of honey across the board ties everything together visually and on the palate.
Serve this with hot cups of honeybush for a true South African-inspired afternoon. It's also a smart light lunch when paired with crusty bread and a small green salad.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups whole raw almonds (skin on)
- 1 cup brewed honeybush tea, strong (3 bags in 1 cup water, steep 10 minutes)
- 2 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp flaky sea salt
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 150g aged Gouda (12-month or older), sliced
- 100g dried apricots
- 50g dried pears or figs
- Extra honey, for drizzling
- Crusty seeded bread, to serve
How to make it
- 1Preheat oven to 160°C (320°F). Line a baking sheet with parchment.
- 2In a small saucepan, simmer brewed honeybush tea with honey over medium heat until reduced to about 3 tablespoons of syrup (8–10 minutes). Stir in olive oil and cinnamon.
- 3Toss almonds in the warm syrup until thoroughly coated. Spread in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet.
- 4Roast 18–20 minutes, stirring once halfway through, until almonds are deep golden and the glaze looks sticky and bubbly. Watch closely toward the end so the honey doesn't burn.
- 5Remove from oven and immediately sprinkle with flaky sea salt. Let cool on the sheet—the glaze will harden as they cool.
- 6Arrange almonds on a board with sliced aged Gouda, dried apricots, dried pears, and crusty bread. Drizzle a little extra honey across the cheese and serve.
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