Nutty Granola

A simple case of throw it all in a bowl with a little maple syrup and vegetable oil - homemade granola is a weekly ritual that can be enjoyed by anyone, even the most time starved.

I don’t have a set recipe for this really. It’s a case of wondering through the cupboards to recruit any remaining nuts, seeds and dried fruits, and then assembling them with oats, coconut and a drizzle of oil and maple syrup.

Vegetable oil works best - just enough to coat everything and there is zero refined sugars added here - the sweetness comes from the raisins and currants.

The yield is decent (enough to last us at least a week) and I think it works out quite a bit cheaper than supermarket varieties, not to mention a whole lot tastier. Pair it with a good vanilla yoghurt, fresh fruit and a drizzle of honey and you’ll have happy campers all round!

INGREDIENTS:

• Large cup of mixed nuts - walnuts, cashews and Brazils (or whatever you can find in the cupboard)

• 2 tbsp sesame seeds

• 3 tbsp mixed seeds - pumpkin and sunflower

• 3 large cups of oats

• Large handful desiccated or flaked coconut

• 1 cup dried fruit - cranberries, currants, raisins, apple

• 2 tbsp maple syrup

• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
  
  METHOD:

  1) Preheat the oven to 150C/130C Fan

  2) Put all the ingredients together in a large bowl and mix until nicely coated in the vegetable oil. 

  3) Line a couple of baking trays and tip the granola onto the trays, spreading out evenly so it can toast nicely.

  4) Place both trays in the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Switch the tray positions and use a spoon to move everything around, bake for a further 10-15 minutes until golden.

  5) Remove from the oven and allow to cool, then place in an airtight jar.