Granola

Last week Yvonne from Hey Pesto tweeted that she was making up a hamper and wanted to include some healthy options.  In the end she opted for some yummy jars of homemade granola.  I love granola but don't often buy it as I have never found a shop bought version that I really like, so I decided to make some myself.  I am still firmly in the battle to eat healthy foods following the stodge and comfort food of December.  The weather is not helping as it regularly hovers near 0 or in the minuses at the moment.  While all of my meals are prepared from scratch using fresh vegetables I am still being drawn towards carb laden mash potato and similar for dinner so I feel that breakfast and lunch need to take on a lighter twist.  Granola with natural yogurt for me is not only a healthy way to start the day but also a really tasty way too.  I'm not a big fan of porridge so this is an ideal way for me to get some porridge oats into my morning routine.

The following is my recipe but do feel free to add some dried fruit once the granola has cooled and also use nuts of your choice. 

Granola
(makes enough to fill a 1ltr Kilner Jar)

240g/3cups Porridge Oats
100g/1cup Almond Flakes
100g/1cup Blanched Almonds, roughly chopped
100g/1cup Walnuts, roughly chopped
2tbsp Sunflower Oil
10tbsp Honey

1.  Preheat the oven to 165C/329F/Gas Mark 3.  Line a baking sheet with grease proof paper.
2.  Place all of the ingredients into a bowl and mix well to ensure the honey and oil are evenly distributed throughout.

3.  Pour out onto the prepared baking sheet and spread out evenly.
4.  Place into the preheated oven for 45 minutes.  Remove from the oven at regular intervals and stir to ensure that the mixture browns evenly and to avoid large clumps forming.

5.  When golden brown all over remove from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack. (The mixture may still seem a little soft or damp when removed from the oven but it will crisp up as it cools.)

6.  Transfer to an airtight container and store for up to one month.  (If you wish to add dried fruit do so at this stage.)

Vegetable Crumble - Irish Foodies Vegetarian Cookalong

Apologies for the worse than normal picture quality in

this post but crumbles are quite tricky to photograph.

The last Irish foodies cookalong theme was vegetarian.  While I love vegetables and would eat them until they come out of my ears this made me very aware that I never conciously cook an entirely vegetarian meal.  I set my little brain to thinking and settled on a vegetable crumble.  If I remember correctly the night in question was a little chilly and so I fancied something comforting.  My first attempt while nice didn't really float my boat.  It seemed quite flour heavy and lacked the lovely crunch of the traditional sweet crumbles so I decided to give it another bash this week and was very impressed with the end result. 

I found the original recipe online, I can't even remember which site now, but I knew when flour and butter and some seasoning were the only ingredients that it maybe wouldn't be up to much.  As usual I should have trusted my instincts.  So I set my brain to thinking and decided that if I reduced the flour content and added a savoury 'granola' type thingy ma bob that I could be onto a winner.  This is what I came up with.

For the 'granola'
(I just measured everything very roughly but the below worked well for me)

3 handfuls of Porridge Oats
2 Handful of chopped Mixed Nuts
1tbsp Olive Oil
Salt, Pepper and a little Brown Sugar to season

1.  Place the porridge oats and mixed nuts into a bowl and give them a little mix.
2.  Add the oil and mix again.  If you feel the mix is too dry add a little more oil.  You really just want to lightly coat the mix in the oil.
3.  Season with the salt, pepper and sugar and place on a baking sheet and spread them out evenly.

Vegetable Crumble
Serves 4-6 as a side dish

1 Sweet Potato, peeled and diced
1 small Butternut Squash, peeled, deseeded and diced
1 large Onion, peeled and diced
2 cloves of Garlic, thinly sliced
2-3tbsp of Olive Oil
1tsp ground Cumin
1tsp ground Coriander
1tsp ground Tumeric
1tsp Brown Sugar
A pinch of Sea Salt
A pinch of freshly ground Black Pepper
229ml/7.5floz Single Cream
100g/3.5oz Plain Flour
75g/2.5oz Butter, diced
Savoury 'Granola' (see above)
2 handfuls of Grated Cheese (optional)

1.  Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4
2.  Place the diced vegetables and garlic in an oven proof dish.
3.  In a bowl mix the olive oil, ground cumin, ground coriander, ground tumeric and brown sugar.  Pour over the vegetables and mix to ensure they are evenly coated.
4.  Place into the preheated oven and roast for 45 mins, mixing occasionally to stop the tops caramelising too much.

5.  Place the butter and flour into a seperate bowl and rub together to form a coarse, bread crumb like consistency.

6.  Add the granola and mix well with your hands to distribute evenly.
7.  Remove the vegetables from the oven and add in the cream.  Give it a little stir to coat them all.

8.  Pour over the crumble mixture and spread evenly over the vegetables.  Scatter with the grated cheese if you are using.  Return to the oven for 30 - 40 minutes until the top is golden brown and the cream is bubbling around the edges.

9.  Serve and enjoy.