Spicy Granola – perfect gift from the kitchen
Need a quick Christmas gift? How about this Spicy Granola. You have the ingredients at home or you can get them at the supermarket, and a spicy granola like this is quick to make. Fill the finished granola into several nice screw-top jars, which you can decorate with a ribbon and a sprig of rosemary or pine, for example – and you have a nice culinary gift for several people. I have always found culinary gifts or souvenirs to be the best: they are something special that you can’t buy anywhere else. The giver has made an effort or invested time and the recipient has something delicious to eat and thus a gift that won’t just gather dust in a corner because it will be gone at some point.
Sweet or savoury – crunch is a must
I’ve been making sweet granola myself regularly for a long time, because I always sprinkle it on my Porridge or my chia oats for breakfast. They add an extra taste sensation and, above all, a nice crunch that perfectly complements the rather soft breakfast porridge. And of course, exactly the same principle works with savoury dishes and spicy granola: it gives the food a flavour kick and that little extra crunch consistency. And with oat flakes, nuts, seeds and high-quality oils, there are healthy ingredients involved again. To be honest, savoury granola is perhaps even better than sweet granola, because it is more versatile: it goes well with virtually all savoury dishes – on soups, salads or on pasta instead of cheese, on stews, meat or fish dishes (if you eat them) or simply as a nibble instead of chips. Other spice mixes like the North African Dukkah or my Macadamia Crunch are similarly flexible, but the advantage of this spicy granola is that it doesn’t just contain expensive nuts, but mainly inexpensive oat flakes. That means you don’t have to be “stingy” with it. Sometimes I combine some Dukkah with spicy granola on my dishes.
Variations allowed
The ingredients in my recipe have stood the test of time, but of course you can vary your spicy granola according to your taste or what you have in stock: use almonds or hazelnuts instead of cashews, replace some of the sunflower seeds with pumpkin seeds, or use another neutral plant oil instead of rapeseed oil. I would not substitute sesame oil, however, because it contributes significantly to the taste of the granola. That’s why it should be a roasted sesame oil, it simply tastes much more intense. Depending on the intensity of your sesame oil, you can adjust the proportions of sesame oil and other plant oil. For example, if you have a mild sesame oil, you may not need any other plant oil at all, but simply double the amount of sesame oil. In your variations of the recipe, you only need to observe the respective quantities or proportions.
Spicy Granola with roasted Sesame Oil and Cashews
For approx. 4 screw jars à 300 ml
- 150 g cashew nuts
- 200 g oat flakes
- 100 g sunflower seeds
- 30 ml sesame oil
- 30 ml rapeseed oil
- 60 ml soy sauce
- 1 tsp maple syrup
- 1 tsp curry or chilli powder
Preheat oven to 180°C. Coarsely chop cashews. Mix well with all other ingredients in a large bowl. Spread everything on a baking tray lined with baking paper and bake for 20 – 25 minutes on the middle shelf until golden brown. After about 10 minutes baking time, stir 1 x. Allow the finished granola to cool completely, then pour into screw-top jars.
