“Eat
your breakfast alone, share your lunch with a friend, and give your dinner to
your enemy.” This old saying in Romanian
culture still rings so true today. In a
nutshell, you have to eat a generous breakfast, a small lunch, and an even
smaller dinner, or skip dinner entirely to maintain a healthy lifestyle. So, we’re talking about breakfast again, a
meal I was never fond of yet steadily grew to appreciate. But, stay with me, it’s worth
it! Breakfast today includes a very easy
and lip-smacking granola!
I
have to tell you that Romania doesn’t really do granola. In fact, it’s only been a few years since we started
incorporating cereal into our daily breakfast.
Traditionally, breakfast in Romania is substantial and comprised of
bread; eggs turned into omelettes, scrambled, fried or
hard-boiled; cheese, butter, cold cuts, fresh vegetables such as tomatoes,
peppers and cucumbers, jams, coffee and tea. Frequently and mostly in the countryside,
Romanians still prepare with great pride the country’s national breakfast
called mămăligă or polenta, a rich and filling cornmeal dish served with cheese.
These days, in our house this type of
breakfast has evolved into a brunch, which we fully relish on the weekend. On weekdays, though, this Easy Homemade Granola has breakfast
written all over it!
Truth
be told, I used to purchase my fair share of sickly pale store-bought granola,
but now the search has ceased. I’ve found
a recipe that makes me look forward to breakfast every morning. It’s my go-to invigorating breakfast (and late
night guilty sweet snack). This granola
has it all; it’s simple but rich in flavor, crisp and crunchy, nutty and nicely
spiced, packed with the usual suspects – oats, nuts, seeds and sweet
accompaniments – freckled with colorful chewy raisins and dried cranberries, and
lacquered with a healthy dose of olive oil.
And that pinch of salt in a sea of crackly deliciousness binds
everything together and nails the faint savory component. All there’s left to do is sprinkle a couple
of spoonfuls of granola over creamy plain yogurt, and toss in a few slices of
apple or your favorite fruit while you’re at it, simply douse it in milk, or
use it to make this bad boy.
Enjoy!
Easy Homemade Granola
Adapted
from Bon Appétit (February 2013)
Makes:
12+ servings
Ingredients:
·
1 large egg white, beaten
·
3 cups old-fashioned oats
·
½ cup whole raw almonds
·
½ cup whole raw cashews
·
½ cup whole raw walnuts
·
1 ½ cup sweetened flaked coconut
·
¼ cup agave nectar
·
¼ cup maple syrup
·
¼ cup olive oil
·
¼ cup sesame seeds
·
2 Tablespoons packed light brown sugar
·
1 ½ teaspoon kosher salt
·
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
·
½ cup golden raisins
·
½ cup dried cranberries
Instructions:
Preheat
the oven to 350°F. Spread out the
almonds, cashews and walnuts on a baking sheet and toast them for 10
minutes. Take them out of the oven and
let them cool completely. Once cooled,
chop the nuts and set them aside. Lower
the oven temperature to 300°F.
In a
large bowl, combine the egg white, old-fashioned oats, nuts, coconut shavings,
agave nectar, maple syrup olive oil, sesame seeds, light brown sugar, salt, and
cinnamon. Toss well to combine. Spread out on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake the granola, stirring every 10 minutes,
until golden brown and dry, about 40-45 minutes. Once out of the oven, mix in the golden
raisins and dried cranberries. Allow the
granola to cool on the baking sheet (it will crisp as it cools).
Do
ahead: The granola can be made 2 weeks
ahead. Store airtight at room
temperature.
Note: Feel free to tweak this recipe as you wish – you can swap honey for maple syrup and agave; you can play around with the
dried fruit or add chocolate chips at the end if you wish. There’s plenty of room for negotiation!
Poftă
Bună! (Bon Appétit!)
