Honeyed Dormice

“The dishes for the first course included… some small iron frames shaped like bridges supporting dormice sprinkled with honey and poppy seed.” – Petronius, Trimalchio’s Feast, The Satyricon

I have seen and heard many references to Romans eating dormice. And I have seen many different recipes online for this, some of them getting quite complicated. I decided to make mine super simple. Brushing the chicken with olive oil before baking gives the chicken skin a wonderful golden brown color when cooked, and makes the skin a little crispy.

Ingredients

Chicken thighs and drumsticks
Olive Oil
Honey
Poppy Seeds

Directions

1. Preheat Oven to 350
2. Leave skin on chicken pieces. Rinse and pat dry.
3. Place chicken pieces on greased baking sheet or baking dish
4. Brush chicken pieces with Olive Oil
5. Bake chicken until skin is crispy and juices run clear (about 40 minutes)
6. While chicken is baking, warm honey in small pan, until it is thin and runny (do not boil)
7. When chicken is done, brush each piece with honey and sprinkle with poppy seeds.