I toyed around with the idea of making savory granola for a while but part of me always felt like if it was that good, it would have already taken trendy, snack-loving Dubai by storm and we’d be seeing it on everyone’s work desk. Nevertheless, I figured I’d give it a go the other day when looking for cocktail nibble ideas. 3 words: addictive, crunchy and good. And so versatile: it holds its own next to the bowl of pistachios, is a fantastic topping for salads, dips, scrambled eggs…and it is absolutely brilliant sprinkled on avocado toast.
Here I use my usual suspects in terms of spices – chili, paprika and cumin – but please do feel free to play around with this. Make it Asian by using tamari, almonds, ginger and sesame, go Indian by adding spicy curry powder and more cashews, turn into to a Provençal “apero” by using rosemary, thyme, pine nuts and garlic powder…you get the gist. It keeps well stored in an airtight container for up to a month.
Ingredients
- 3 cups rolled oats (I use gluten free)
- ½ cup sunflower seeds
- ¼ cup pumpkin seeds
- 2/3 cup slightly crushed raw (unroasted) cashews
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
- 2 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp hot chili powder
- 1/3 cup parmesan cheese (freshly grated is better) – you could sub this for nutritional yeast if you want a vegan version
- 2 tbsp molasses
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1 egg white
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 175C
- Line a large baking pan with parchment paper. Grease with 1 tbsp olive oil and set aside.
- In a large bowl, mix together all the dry ingredients (including the spices) until well combined
- Add the molasses, olive oil and egg white and mix thoroughly until all the dry ingredients are well coated
- Take a handful at a time of the mixture, trying to clump clusters together and spread it out onto the baking pan
- Place in oven for 20 minutes, tossing it regularly until dryish and golden
- Take it out and let it cool, it will also dry and become very crispy. Store in an airtight container.
