After the recent birth of our baby girl, we were taken aback to receive so many delicious gifts from friends and neighbours. As I’m sure you know, postpartum nutrition is paramount for a healthy recovery, and all these meals and treats helped nourish my wife as she rested and rejuvenated. One of our favourite gifts was a huge jar of granola from our friend Majella, which was such a welcome addition to our pantry that we decided to make a batch of our own to give to friends and family this holiday season.
Granola is a fantastic way to use up overripe brown bananas, jar-ends (such as jam, crystallised honey and molasses), and short-date or excess store-cupboard ingredients such as oats, nuts, seeds, dried fruit, and spices.
Chocolate and banana store-cupboard granola
This is a wonderfully flexible recipe, so add nuts, seeds and dried fruit to suit your taste and budget. The more nuts and fruit, the more luxurious the granola will be. Clean and save any used jars to store your granola, and turn them into beautiful gifts by tying a string bow and adding a small gift tag.
Granola does take a fair bit of oven time, but there are ways to make it more energy-efficient. Spread the mixture thinly on the baking tray(s) to help it cook faster, and turn off the oven about 10 minutes before the end of the cooking time and finish off the granola in the residual heat.
Makes About 20 servings
400g peeled ripe bananas (ie, about 3–4 bananas)
150g sweetener – honey, maple syrup, jam, molasses or brown sugar
80g oil – extra-virgin olive oil, coconut oil or vegetable oil
2 tbsp vanilla extract (optional)
4 tbsp cocoa powder
2 tsp sea salt
4 tsp warm spices – ground cinnamon, ginger or turmeric (optional)
1 tsp stronger spices – ground cloves, nutmeg or star anise (optional)
400g rolled oats, or a mix of flaked grains such as rye, barley or spelt
300–400g mixed nuts and seeds – walnuts, almonds, sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds
300–400g mixed dried fruit – chopped dates, figs, apricots, raisins or goji berries
Optional ingredients (all to taste)
Desiccated coconut
Cacao nibs
Chocolate chips
Rose petals
Mash the peeled bananas in a bowl until smooth, then stir in the sweetener, oil, vanilla extract (if using), cocoa powder, salt and any of the optional ground spices. Fold in the rolled oats , then cover and leave to steep for 30 minutes, until the oats have plumped up and started to absorb the banana.
Spread this mixture evenly, no more than 1cm thick, on to two large baking trays lined with greaseproof paper, then bake in a 190C (170C fan)/375F/gas 5 oven for 30 minutes. Stir in the mixed nuts and seeds of your choice, and push the wetter bits of the banana mix to the edges of the trays, to help them crisp up. Return to the oven for 10 minutes, then stir and repeat every 10 minutes, until the mix is golden and crunchy. Stir in your chosen dried fruit, then leave to cool completely. Stir in any other optional store-cupboard ingredients to taste, then decant into clean jars, seal and store for up to four weeks.
