I’ve fallen out of making granola in the past few years (hello motherhood). I used to make it all the time and it was great! The smell of granola baking is the best coming from your kitchen and afterwards, you can smugly fill a few jars with something homemade that you look forward to eating by the handful. This one is especially delicious with some unexpected ingredients and I love it for breakfast on some greek yogurt with seasonal fruit. Right now, citrus, pomegranates and kiwi fruits are good options. Blood oranges are available at Trader Joe’s for an amazingly good price currently!
Jump to RecipeA Middle Eastern take on granola.
This tahini granola is a recipe I found in the cookbook Sababa by Adeena Sussman. Once I got my mitts on this book, I couldn’t put it down. I tagged ever so many recipes after I checked it out at the library. Full of exciting and delicious looking Israeli recipes, I couldn’t help imagining myself in her kitchen in Tel Aviv. Stories of her daily life, seeking out the best flavors and produce in the local markets (shuks), are vividly retold and makes one wish to hop on a plane immediately to taste all the ripe figs and spices.
What makes this recipe different?
Tahini, olive oil and date syrup make this recipe really unique. What is date syrup? Basically, it is a dark, thick, mildly sweet syrup made from cooking down dates and straining the cooked mixture. Here in the States, it is being touted as being a healthy, low-glycemic sweetener with antioxidants and minerals. How does it taste? Ms. Sussman describes it tasting like “honey cut with a drop of molasses”. I purchased a brand at Whole Foods called Just Dates. I don’t know if it is as authentic as Israeli silan (date syrup). To me, it tastes like a milder version of molasses with some nice, complex notes and floral acidity. You can leave it out entirely and just use all maple syrup or substitute with some molasses or sorghum.
This granola has the usual ingredients like oats, nuts, seeds and dried fruit. Here, you can play with any combo you like as long as you keep the ratios roughly the same. I loved the idea of pecans, pumpkin seeds (pepitas), sesame seeds and dried cherries so that’s what I used. Next, the sweeteners and fats are mixed together as the binder. Here’s where the tahini really shines. It coats everything with a nutty, creamy richness that is so, so good.
Combined with maple syrup, date syrup and olive oil, you get a salty-sweet, almost peanut butter like taste (that’s what my three year old thought it tasted like!). In the past, I’ve always liked using a fruity olive oil in my granola. If you think it is too assertive, swap it for a more neutral oil or coconut oil.
What texture do you like your granola to be?
I’m a huge fan of clumpy granola. The clumpier the better. So when I make this, I stir it only once about halfway through the baking time. Since this is a fairly wet granola, stirring less with give you really nice clumps. If you prefer smaller pieces of granola, then stir it every 5 minutes. You will still have to break up the granola a bit after it cools. I recommend doing this before it has cooled completely since it has a tendency to glue itself to the sheet pan after it has cooled. Also, try to bake this until very golden brown, to make it as crisp as possible (since this is a wetter granola before baking). I hope you love this recipe as much as I do!
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Tahini and Olive Oil Granola
Ingredients
- 2½ cups (240 g) old-fashioned oats (not instant or quick cooking)
- 1 cup (100 g) pecans (or any other nut)
- ½ cup (25 g) coconut chips, unsweetened
- ⅓ cup (50 g) pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
- 2 tbsp sesame seeds
- ⅔ cup (150 ml) tahini paste
- ⅓ cup (80 ml) olive oil
- ⅓ cup (60 g) brown sugar, lightly packed
- ¼ cup (60 ml) maple syrup
- ¼ cup (60 ml) date syrup (see note below)
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1½ tsp salt
- ¼ cup (55 g) dried fruit (cherries, cranberries, currants, raisins, etc)
Method
- Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). In a large bowl, combine the oats, nuts, coconut chips, pumpkin seeds and sesame seeds. Mix well.
- In a medium bowl, combine the tahini, olive oil, brown sugar, maple syrup, date syrup (if using), vanilla and salt. Whisk to combine. Pour over the oat mixture and stir to coat everything well.
- Spread granola in an even layer on a large, rimmed baking sheet. Bake for 20-25 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes if you like small clumps. For clumpier granola, stir only once halfway through baking. Bake until very dark, golden brown for an extra crisp granola (add an extra 5 minutes).
- Remove from oven and allow to cool enough to handle (about 20 minutes). Scrape and break up clumps into the texture you prefer. Stir in the dried fruit. Once completely cool, store in an airtight container for up to two weeks.
Notes
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Ottimo articolo, complimenti!
Molte grazie!