CHEESY TOMATO HOT-HONEY TOASTS

Ingredients

Ingredient Weight: 29 ounces [cooler] [fire] [stove] [paddling] [car/rv]

At Home

1 teaspoon coriander seeds

1 teaspoon fennel seeds

¼ cup mild honey (such as clover or wildflower)

1 Scotch bonnet chile, halved and seeded (see Note)

At Camp

2 large ripe, flavourful tomatoes, sliced

½ pound burrata (excellent) or Stracciatella (burrata’s even sexier cousin) cheese

Prepared hot honey (thawed) [F]

Kosher salt

½ baguette or country sourdough loaf, thinly sliced

2 tablespoons best-quality olive oil (thawed) [F]

Instructions

Mix The Hot Honey

SERVES 4-6

Using a mortar and pestle, spice grinder or a random heavy object, crush the coriander and fennel seeds into a coarse mixture. In a small saucepan or microwavable bowl, combine the crushed seeds and honey. Add the chile— half of it if you’re spice-averse, or all if you like things very hot.

SIMMER, STEEP, AND PACK

Set the pan over medium-high heat or microwave the bowl on high power, bring the honey mixture to a boil, then remove from the heat. Let the mixture steep for 1 hour, then remove and discard the chile. Transfer the mixture to a leakproof condiment bottle and refrigerate or freeze. (It will keep for 2 months, frozen.)

SET OUT THE FIXINGS

Prepare a platter with thick, sloppy slices of tomato, the cheese, hot honey and a little dish of salt.

GRILL THE BREAD AND SERVE

Drizzle or brush both sides of the bread slices with the olive oil, then toast each side over a fire or in a pan, watching carefully so they don’t burn. Transfer the bread to the platter and serve immediately.

NOTE The spice from Scotch bonnets lingers. For best results (and less capsicum-inthe-eyeball-induced hyperventilating), wear kitchen gloves while prepping the chile and wash your board and knife well once you’re done.

KEEPS The cheese, up to 4 days, kept cold; the hot honey, 2 weeks, unrefrigerated.