Nigel is back out in the vineyards pruning and when he does physical work, he needs something to snack on. Shame I don’t have the same problem. I never NEED snacks I just want them and my body doesn’t require them.
Metabolism and all that…
Anyway, I took inspiration from a recipe I saw in Cook’s Illustrated and have adapted it to suit us.
The quantities below make a LOT of bars so feel free to make a half quantity.
To make about 25 bars you’ll need:
1 1/2 cups of walnuts blitzed to small bits in the food processor (pulse them)
2 1/2 cups of rolled oats (I used Quakers)
1 cup of sunflower seeds (I used a mixture of sunflower and pumpkin and added in some linseeds for good measure)
1 packed cup of brown sugar (I used light muscovado)
200g soft dried apricots
3/4 teaspoon of sea salt
1/2 cup of vegetable oil (I used peanut but any will do)
3 tablespoons of water
1 1/2 cups of Rise Krispies (I found them in the supermarket) *see note
1 cup of sultanas (you could used dried cherries, cranberries)
Method:
Preheat your oven to 175°C, 350°F
Spread out the oats, walnut pieces and seeds on a baking tray and pop in the oven for 15 minutes giving them a turn half way through. They want to be toasted and slightly golden.
While they are toasting, line a 33cm by 22cm (13 by 9 inch) tin with tinfoil. Create a sling that will allow you to lift the granola out of the tin easily when it’s been cooked. Grease with a little oil or butter.
Process the apricots with the brown sugar until finely ground then add the oil to the processor followed by the water. Process until you have a soft paste (it takes a couple of minutes).
Transfer this paste to a big bowl.
Take the toasted oats and seeds out of the oven and reduce the temperature to 330°F, 150°C.
Add the warm oats and seeds to the apricot paste and stir well to mix using a spatula.
Add your dried fruit (raisons, sultanas, cranberries whatever you have chosen) and Rice Krispies to the bowl and stir until everything is well combined and evenly distributed.
Put in your prepared tin and spread it to an even layer. Then take another piece of tinfoil and pop it over the top, pressing down hard to create a dense, flat layer.
Remove the tinfoil from the top and put back in the oven for about 25 minutes until the sides just start to go brown.
Take out of the oven and leave for an hour. Take out of the pan using the tinfoil overhang and leave for another hour on a cooking tray to cool completely before cutting.
Bon appetit, I hope you enjoy them! They’re pretty low fat and full of tasty goodies.
