Toasty Olive Oil Granola

It's Granola week at I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC). The theme for this week, Monthly Featured Ingredient/Dish : Granola! We are free to make any granola we like and feature it in any way we want. I love granola and have seen a recipe from Nigella Lawson which I've been wanting to try ever since I bought her book, Simply Nigella. 

Granola is very easy to make at home. Nigella's recipe uses olive oil, maple syrup, almonds both whole and sliced, brown flax seeds, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, rolled oats with ground ginger and ground cinnamon. I did not have any maple syrup, so I have used an equal amount of honey.

Mix the ingredients together as per the instructions given, Nigella uses her hands to mix (using disposable vinyl gloves), but I've used a sturdy spatula which did a good job of mixing too. Bake for one hour at 300F, turning the granola over after 30 minutes of baking time, so that they bake evenly. Continue to bake until the granola is a deep rich brown. Let pan cool on wire rack.

Recipe makes quite a lot! This is very good! Very crunchy and not too sweet. Love it! Granola is one of my favourite snack to enjoy anytime of the day. My favourite way to eat granola is to enjoy it by the spoonfuls! The jar above, is the amount of the full recipe. By the next day, half has already gone. I'll be adding some dried fruits to my bowl, as I love having bites of dried fruits in granola, my favourite dried fruits are golden raisins, apricots and cranberries. And for the nuts, definitely almonds for granola.

Crunchy and very addictive! 

Enjoyed it for breakfast with milk and slices of strawberries. A great start to a busy day! Yum!

Toasty Olive Oil Granola
(Simply Nigella by Nigella Lawson)
Makes enough to fill 1x1.5 quart jar
3 cups quick-cooking rolled oats (not instant, preferably orgainic)
2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon sea salt flakes or kosher salt
3/4 cup raw almonds
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
1/3 cup brown flax seeds
1/2 cup sliced almonds
3 tablespoons sesame seeds
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup maple syrup (I use honey)

1 x half sheet pan

1. Preheat the oven to 300F and line your baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Tip the oats into a large bowl, add the spices and salt, and mix well. 
3. Now add all the nuts and seeds, and mix well again.
4. In a measuring cup, combine the oil and maple syrup, then pour the mixture into the oat, nuts, and seeds and, with either a fork, or hands encased in disposable vinyl gloves, mix to combine. Tip onto the prepared baking sheet, and move it around so that it covers the pan evenly.
5. Put in the oven to toast gently for 30 minutes and then, with spoons or spatula, turn it to help toast the underside as well. Put back in the oven for another 30 minutes, and then sit the pan on a wire rack until the granola's cold.

Store in a sealed jar or an airtight container for up to 1 month.

I'm linking this post with I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC), theme for this week

Monthly Featured Ingredient/Dish : Granola!

I'm also linking this post with Cookbook Countdown #25 hosted by 

Kitchen Flavours and Emily's Cooking (Makan2) Foray