Cranberry Hazelnut Granola is an upscale take on an old classic, providing the elusive "balanced breakfast" made from scratch in about half an hour.
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, period. Yet most of us still grab a cup of coffee and if we’re lucky, a muffin or toast on our way out the door. Worse yet, others eat nothing at all and some fry up their eggs in bacon fat and add a pat of butter to go with.
While there is room for a decadent breakfast in even the healthiest diets now and again, this most important morning meal could stand to be a bit more nutritious for most. A balance of carbohydrate, protein, and fat is best, with less sugar than is generally found in packaged cereals. Better yet, go for an all-natural breakfast rich in whole grains and fibre. While we're going for broke, why not make it gourmet?
Enter Rebar Modern Food Cookbook. For those of us not lucky enough to live near Victoria, British Columbia (the home of this cookbook’s namesake restaurant), at least we can prepare some of its recipes at home.
Cranberry Hazelnut Granola is a nutritious yet tantalizing and hearty combination of whole grains (like oatmeal), coconut, seeds, and maple syrup. Rich and flavourful, it takes granola to a whole (swanky) new level. As the authors Audrey Alsterberg and Wanda Urbanowicz so daintily put it “this is no hippie-dippy granola recipe!”
Don’t get chintzy with the ingredients in Cranberry Hazelnut Granola. That defeats the purpose! So head on out to the local co-op and buy some unroasted, unsalted nuts; preservative-free dried fruit; and good quality maple syrup. Rancid nuts or pumpkin seeds will ruin the whole batch, so buy fresh! Mixing honey with maple syrup (rather than using one or the other) yields a curiously appealing new flavour. For an even more complex taste, use a gourmet honey such as blueberry.
The uses for granola are many! Eat it as a cereal with soy, almond, or dairy milk. Make a yogurt-granola parfait (layering fruit with yogurt and granola). Pack it in a snack bag and bring it to eat in the car on your way to work. Bring it camping. Use it to top your ice cream…why not?
Cranberry Hazelnut Granola
Yields 8 cups (2 L)
Ingredients:
- 3 cups (720 mL) large flake oats
- 1 ½ cups (360 mL) barley flakes
- ½ cup (120 mL) oat bran
- 1 cup unsweetened coconut
- ½ tsp (2.5 mL) salt
- 1 cup (240 mL) hazelnuts, coarsely chopped
- ½ cup (120 mL) pumpkin seeds
- ½ cup (120 mL) sunflower seeds
- ½ cup (120 mL) vegetable oil
- ¼ cup (50 mL) water
- 2/3 cup (160 mL) maple syrup (or honey, or a combination)
- 1 tsp (5 mL) vanilla
- 1 cup (240 ml) dried cranberries
- ½ cup (120 ml) dried blueberries
Directions
- In a large bowl, combine the first eight ingredients. In a smaller bowl, whisk together the oil, water, honey, and vanilla. Combine the wet and dry mixes and stir thoroughly.
- Spread the mixture out onto two baking sheets (or do it in two batches). Bake at 250°F for 20-30 minutes. Stir the mixture every 10 minutes to ensure even baking and remove from the oven when golden brown. Cool and stir in the dried fruit. Seal and store for up to 1 month.
Helpful hint: Other seed/nut/fruit combinations
- Almonds, wheat germ, dried cherries
- Pecans, flax seeds, dried mango
- Walnuts, dried apricots, and figs
Reference: Alsterberg, A and Urbanowicz W. (2000). Rebar modern food cookbook. Big Ideas Publishing Inc.: Victoria, B.C. Used with permission.
