Fried chicken, crème caramel and vinaigrette: Yotam Ottolenghi's recipes for cooking with honey

Honey is such a versatile ingredient in the kitchen. It's no surprise, really, considering how many forms it takes, though some are more suited to heating than others. "Single estate" honey - one that comes from a particular plant (acacia or manuka, for example) - won't survive a lot of heat, so save it for spreading on toast, drizzling with yogurt or make the kind of salad dressing that steals the show. Honey is often the secret to sticky meat marinades, and is also used to tease the sweetness of roasted vegetables and to add complex sweetness to all manner of desserts. Bee's knees indeed.

Fresh Grilled Vegetables with Honey Soy Dressing

The dressing does a great job of tying together the cool, charred flavors of the vegetables, and also works well on meat and fish.

Preparation 15 minCooking 25 minFor 4 people as a starter or as a spread

80g sugar snap peas, stringy bits removed1 bok choi (190g), quartered on the stem4 spring onions (80g), trimmed80g baby carrots, peeled60g breakfast radish, halved

< p class="dcr-3jlghf">For the vinaigrette3 tbsp runny honey1½ tsp soy sauce1½ tsp old-fashioned mustard1 lime, zested finely grated, to obtain 1 tsp, then squeezed, to obtain 2 tsp3 tbsp olive oil 'oliveSea salt and black pepper flakes

Set a frying pan to medium-high heat and ventilate the kitchen. Once the pan is hot, add the snow peas and grill for three minutes on each side, until lightly charred. Transfer to a plate, then place the bok choi cut side down in the hot pan and cook for three minutes on each side. Transfer the pak choi to the sugar dish, then put the spring onions in the pan, grill for two minutes on each side, then transfer to the same dish and let all the grilled vegetables cool for 10 minutes.

< p class="dcr-3jlghf">Meanwhile, put all the dressing ingredients in a small jar for which you have a lid, add a quarter of a teaspoon of salt and a good grind of black pepper, close tightly and shake vigorously to combine.

Toss all the grilled and raw vegetables in a large bowl with three tablespoons of the dressing, a quarter of a teaspoon of salt and a good grind of pepper, then mix gently to coat. Transfer to a platter, pour the remaining dressing into a small bowl and serve with the salad for dipping.

Crispy Chicken with Warm Honey Ginger and Oregano " class=" dcr-eiqqge">