I was foraging through my store cupboard yesterday morning and came across some oats, which had been lurking at the back of my shelf for about 6 months, some rock solid ‘runny’ honey which had completely crystallised, a random assortment of nuts and dried fruit, and a handful of dates that had been knocking about since my previous blog post. Independently all these ingredients didn’t excite me in the slightest but combined they make this delicious granola that is utterly moorish. Not only that but I also felt incredibly frugal. No trip the supermarket was needed, I was using up the odds and sods which had been hanging around for a while and I now have a batch of cereal which I can munch my way through for the next week.

Since starting this blog I’ve noticed that I’ve become a little bit like a squirrel. Hoarding away random bags of nuts, seeds, syrups, spices, pulses all in a general effort to keep a continuous stock. Whether this is something to do with it being Winter and wanting to feel all cosy and nest at home, but whatever the reason I’ve really been enjoying having these kinds of ingredients to hand so that when I’m cooking I can just throw a handful of nuts into a salad, add a scattering of  raisins into some cous cous, or whip up a stew.  It really does allow you to play around with what you are cooking and add extra flavours and textures to your food.

Do freestyle with this recipe, chuck in whatever you happen to have in your kitchen. Almonds can replace the hazelnuts, the dates could be swapped for prunes, dried figs, or apricots  and some granola recipes also add in other things such as dessicated coconut as well as spices such as cinnamon or ginger.

HOME-MADE TOASTED GRANOLA

LARDER REQUIREMENTS
4 tbsp honey
4 tbsp golden syrup
300g rolled oats
40g sunflower seeds
40g pumpkin seeds
75g hazelnuts, chopped
5 dates, chopped
Handful of raisins

SERVES: 8-10 people
COOKING TIME: 45 minutes

METHOD
Preheat the oven to 150C/gas 2. Heat the honey and golden syrup in a saucepan and spread the oats, seeds and nuts over a large baking tray. Pour over the warm honey, mix with a spoon and pop in the oven for 20 minutes. Give it a stir every so often.

After 20 minutes, add all the fruit, stir once (and try not to touch again until it is cool) and put it back in the oven for another 10 minutes. It should be clumping together nicely.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool before breaking it up. Serve with yoghurt and fresh or poached seasonal fruit.

Make sure to keep it in an air tight container, that way it will stay fresh for about a month (not that it will hang around that long).

Tip: It infuriates me how expensive nuts and seeds can be (I mean seriously, how can a supermarket get away with charging over £2 for one small bag of hazelnuts!), so I tend to buy nuts and seeds from wholesale supermarkets or go online where you can buy on bulk for a quarter of the price.