PrintBlack and White Granola
Hmm, this might be something to try tomorrow morning, no? Why don't you grab the ingredients this evening? —Ed.
I have to confess, I tend to be an obsessive recipe follower when cooking something for the first time. I think it has something to do with learning how to bake sweet things when I was little. "If you just throw some baking soda into your cake, you will be sorely disappointed," was the loud and clear message I got from my mother. But, as I learned, if you let measurements and chemistry do their work, you'll almost always be greeted by something beautiful when you open the oven door.
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GranoIa on the other hand, is where I play hard and fast. My rule of thumb when it comes to granola: Follow your taste buds and you won't be disappointed. I don't like most industrial cereals and always find granola in bins or bags at the health food store to be way too sweet or wildly expensive. But, oh, homemade granola you get me every time, and I think there are plenty of others out there just like me.
When I interned at Gourmet, I was asked to research what dish readers were requesting the most for the You Asked For It column. It turned out to be granola by a landslide. My hypothesis was that when people are on vacation at inns or fancy hotels, they get great granola for breakfast and they dream about recreating it at home. But so few people do it. Embrace making your own granola. It's cost-effective and so much healthier than the packaged stuff. Plus, it takes one easy hour on the weekends and you'll be set for days of great breakfasts.
This recipe was inspired by the granola sold by Nekisia Davis of Early Bird Foods at the Brooklyn Flea. Davis uses premium ingredients, good olive oil, and doesn't shy away from the salt. That's my general granola making strategy too. But whether you find pistachios or giant yellow flame raisins or almond extract or tart cherries in my breakfast bowl all depends on what I'm feeling like and what I've got in my cupboard.
In Davis' original recipe she uses brown sugar and Grade A maple syrup. I think maple syrup is plenty sweet on its own, so I cut the brown sugar out use darker Grade B syrup in my recipe.
The "black and white" in the recipe's title comes from copious amounts of unsweetened shredded coconut, poppy seeds, and Gomasio (black and white sesame seeds). The poppy seeds were left over from a cake and the salty Gomasio was just looking good at that moment. They are both unconventional granola ingredients, but I love the extra crunch that they lend. Most granola recipes have you bake the ingredients for 30 minutes or less. I take my granola to at least 50 minutes. The ingredients start out pasty and sad looking, but they end up beautifully browned.
Black and White Granola
This recipe makes enough for a couple good sized bowls of granola and yogurt. However, it is easily doubled—so if you've got more than one person eating in the mornings, I recommend you double the recipe and bake the ingredients on 2 rimmed baking sheets.
Ingredients
1 and 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds, hulled
1/2 cup raw pecans, walnuts, or almonds, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup poppy seeds
1/4 cup Gomasio (black and white sesame seeds)
1/4 cup maple syrup, preferably Grade B
1/4 cup olive oil
Coarse sea salt
Procedure
1. Preheat oven to 300°F.
2. Place oats, coconut, sunflower seeds, nuts, syrup, poppy seeds, sesame seeds, olive oil, and 1 teaspoon salt in a large bowl and mix until well combined. Spread granola mixture in an even layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Transfer to oven and bake, stirring every 10 minutes, until granola is toasted, about 50 minutes. Watch granola closely in last 10 minutes of baking to ensure that it does not burn.
3. Remove granola from oven and season with salt to taste. Let cool completely before serving or storing in an airtight container for up to 1 month.
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14 Comments:
See, this is the kind of recipe you can have fun with. I have most of the ingredients on hand, but a few I don't. I think I'll just switch a few things around, like maybe honey and brown sugar instead of maple syrup, and add some dried papaya, because it isn't a very sweet fruit, and might be nice with the salty/sweetness of this recipe. Looking forward to trying it. Thanks!
grumblekitty at 6:42PM on 08/08/09
Great post. I used to make homemade granola all the time when my husband was in grad school. Somewhere along the way it stopped. Now that we are in our forties and are trying to get back to a healthier lifestyle, homemade granola would be a nice flash back of inspiration to begin meeting are goal.
dhorst at 7:15PM on 08/08/09
I've never thought of using poppyseeds in granola but sounds festive for sure! I use the same philosophy when it comes to trail mix, go with the tastebuds.
earinjury at 7:16PM on 08/08/09
I try not to turn the oven during summer but incidentally that's when I switch from oatmeal to granola. so I make my granola in a skillet. It's faster and works pretty well :-) I put coconut and sunflower seeds too, and I was going to put flaxseeds next time.
btw, gomashio means sesame (=goma) and salt (=shio); usually a mix of black sesame and salt you sprinkle on top of rice.
hmw0029 at 7:52PM on 08/08/09
My problem with homemade granola recipes is that a recipes that is supposed to make 12 servings really makes two servings, both of which get eaten on the same day. This is especially true if the granola in question involves peanut butter. Your use of sesame seeds makes me think I should try it with tahini ....
KarynMC at 11:43PM on 08/08/09
flax seeds are soooooo yummy in granola.
watchforbears at 12:31AM on 08/09/09
I tend to be an obsessive recipe follower when cooking something for the first time.
Thank you for making me NOT feel like a freak! I do the same thing - I prepare a recipe as the author intended, the first time I make it. (Or try to stay as close as I can.)
As I break ranks with the above declaration - if you want an incredibly delicious granola that makes a ginormous batch, make the Olive Oil Granola from the New York Times. This recipe is like the loaves and the fishes. Where I break ranks is that the very first time I made it, I wound up having to change the recipe out of necessity. Pistachios were a drillion dollars a pound and I had hazelnuts in the house so I used them. I also added flax seed to the recipe. Mixed dried fruit will work as well as apricots. I had Orange Olive Oil in the house and used that instead of EV. This orange oil is not a gimmicky oil concoction - it's cold pressed olives with oranges thrown in the press. Never heat infused.
I'll warn you - this granola is about as addictive as granola can be.
therealchiffonade at 7:38AM on 08/09/09
This type of meal is more my style. No meat, and it's basically raw which makes it more healthy than your typical breakfast.
Marilyn
rawfoods at 4:10PM on 08/09/09
Careful with the poppy seeds if you are drug tested at work, they can result in a false positive for opiates :)
Neodymium at 6:09AM on 08/10/09
Tressa, I don't think your last name is Eaton by coincidence. You clearly have a future as a granola mogul. Had some of this crunchy potion in my yogurt this morning and wanted to be eaton it foreverrrrrr.
Erin Zimmer at 12:07AM on 08/11/09
Sometimes I get so carried away with dried fruit and nuts that my granola turns out like trail mix, but it's a good way to use up odds and ends from the pantry. For a touch of sweet, I use honey most often because it's always on hand. I've never tried it with olive oil, so I'll have to give this beautiful version a try.
@hmw0029, have you ever tried hot granola for breakfast? You could use the same cooking method as oatmeal, or you could scald milk and pour it on top of the granola in a bowl.
I've gotten quite good at making caramel and if I know the grandkids will be visiting, I'll make granola bar bites with it. Not terribly nutritious, but better than store bought.
betteirene at 12:44AM on 08/11/09
My local grocery store only seems to have sweetened coconut flakes - are unsweetened a specialty type item?
volkstricken at 6:31PM on 08/15/09
I bought some sesame seeds from an Indian grocery, but they smelled rancid. Any ideas where can I find fresh ones? Whole Foods doesn't carry them in my neck of the woods. Thanks if you can direct me to a source (online or otherwise) for fresher sesame seeds!
verak at 9:12AM on 08/16/09
@ volkstricken - Do you have any health food stores near you? If so, try there in the bulk section or in the baking section. If not, just go ahead and use the sweetened coconut. For some reason it tends to be stickier than unsweetened shredded coconut. I'd reduce the amount of sweetener you use, but if you like things sweet it might just be perfect!
@ verak - If you want Gomasio (the sesame seeds and salt) your local Whole Foods should carry it. Check the Asian foods section where you might find seaweed, pickled ginger, sushi making stuff etc. I buy Eden Organics Black and Tan Gomasio.
tressa eaton at 12:13PM on 08/17/09