Brian & Gilly’s Granola Pine Nut Butter &

BRIAN & GILLY’S GRANOLA

By Gilly Balcombe

Granola…everyone thinks ‘Oh good grief, they’re pushing something healthy here.’ And yes, it is packed full of wonderful ingredients, but this is also one of the best granola recipes I’ve ever tried. As with so many recipes, we found the original online and have played around with it and adapted it to its present form! Gather the following goodies and preheat your oven to 180°C, 160°C fan, gas mark 4.

375g oats (organic if preferred) 100g dark muscovado sugar 40g pine nuts 40g flaked almonds 40g walnuts 40g peanuts 40g cashew nuts 40g pumpkin seeds 40g sunflower seeds ½ tsp salt 1 to 2 tsp ground cinnamon, depending on taste 1 to 2 tsp vanilla extract 150g clear dark honey or maple syrup (using maple syrup will make it suitable for vegans too!) 115g coconut oil

Mix all dry ingredients together well in a large mixing bowl. Melt coconut oil and honey together in a small saucepan, add to the dry ingredients with the vanilla extract and stir well so everything is coated.

Line a large baking tray with parchment paper and spread the granola mixture on to it in a single layer. Bake for 10 minutes, remove from the oven and turn the granola to ensure an even browning. Repeat

once more then bake for a final 10 minutes.

Remove from oven and turn again, to prevent too many lumps forming. Those that do can be broken up as the granola cools before storing it in a large airtight Kilner style jar. The recipe makes over a kilo of yummy, nutty deliciousness.

We have different views on how to eat this! I like mine mixed in a bowl with a small pot of natural live yoghurt while the other half prefers his with milk. What we do agree on though, is that it’s wonderful sprinkled over ice cream or added to a crumble topping.

If you don’t have time to sit down with a bowl of this lusciousness, you can make it into granola bars, by simply pressing some of the raw granola mixture into an eight-bar silicon mould and then baking them alongside your granola tray. Now you can have your granola on the run as well at a leisurely pace – and it will definitely set you up for the day. Sunday morning or holiday granola? Add some berries or chopped fresh fruit of your choice and make yourself a Morning Mimosa from the Daybreak Drinking article in this magazine and voilà, a delicious nutty, naughty breakfast!