Super Easy Healthy Granola

I've recently started making my own Granola, its super easy, cheaper and much healthier than the stuff you buy in the shops. It took a few attempts but I think I've finally perfected it so I thought I would share my recipe with you all.

 All you need is:
1 cup/85g of Roll Oats, I use own brand basic oats - nothing fancy.
1/2 cup/2 good handfuls of Nuts of your choice - almonds and cashews in this case.
1/4 cup of Seeds - mixed seeds work perfectly.
A good squidge of runny honey, about 2 table spoons.
A splash of boiling water.

Preheat the oven to  180°C / 350°F / Gas Mark 4.

Equipment:
Large mixing bowl
Measuring cups/scales
Whisk
Baking sheet

Grab a nice big bowl, I love my large Joseph Joseph nest bowl for this job, throw in all of your dry ingredients and give them a shoogle (a bit of a mix up).

Squeeze your runny honey all over it, this is the ideal time to have the kettle boiling with a wee bit of water in it.

Have your whisk at the ready for the next step. Pour in the water as soon as it had boiled, you need it to melt the honey a bit. Remember that you can always add more water but you can't take it away! Now get that whisk in and give it a really good mix. I prefer a whisk because I found that the honey would stick to the surface of the spoon and it just doesn't get a chance to stick with the whisk.

All the ingredients should start clumping together that classic granola style, if it's still looking a bit loose then just add a drop more boiling water or some more honey.

Once you are happy with the consistency pour it out onto you baking sheet and spread it out evenly and pop it in the oven for about 20-30 minutes. After 15 minutes check on it, I find in my oven that the outer granola tends to cook a bit faster so I give it a wee mix about at this point and pop it in for the last 10-15 minutes. Just keep an eye on it. once it's a nice golden colour pull it out and let it cool and your done.

Top Tips 

I love my granola with Skyr yogurt and fresh fruit normally but for the last week I've been having it with stewed rhubarb from the school garden, its like having rhubarb crumble and cream! 

I have mine with flavoured yogurt and fruit but if you like natural or Greek yogurt you could add cinnamon, ginger or nutmeg to jazz it up.

Keep it in a tub to keep it dry and crisp. 

Golden Beetroot and Goats Cheese Tart

If you follow my Instagram feed you’ll have seen I’ve been reaping the rewards of the school’s fruit and veg patch. We have raspberries and rhubarb coming out of our ears, the blueberries are on the turn and we spotted potatoes the other day! A couple weeks ago we spotted veggies in a planter box too, I pulled two golden beetroots on Tuesday and had no clue what to do with them. I’m not a beetroot fan really but it seems to be one of those ‘on trend’ super food veggies so I keep trying it, but really it just tastes like dirt. We did a little research into the golden variety in the office (summer holidays are a very busy time for us…) and apparently golden beetroot taste less earth than the usual run of the mill purple beetroot. After quite a bit of trawling through Pinterest, as you’ll see on my ‘Things I want in mytummy’ board, I decided to go with the faithful goats cheese and beetroot tart. I used inspiration from several recipes for my creation and a little of my own flare.

All you need is:

2 Golden beetroots

200g of Soft goats cheese

1 Packet of ready-made puff pastry (pre-rolled or block)

1 Egg - whisked

Runny honey

Fresh basil

Salt and Pepper (the seasoning not the 80’s all-female rap group)

A little flour

Preheat the oven at about 200 °C or gas mark 6.

Raw and ready to go! 

The first thing you need to do is get the beetroots roasting. Start by slicing the greens off, rub them in some olive oil and wrap them individually in tin foil and pop them in the oven for 45 minutes to an hour or until you can slide a knife in easily. Take them out and unwrap them to let them cool.

Next get your surface floured for rolling out or unrolling your pastry, you want it nice and thin. I went with a rectangle but you could be more adventurous with circles, heart shapes or even polygons, go wild! I don’t have a very large baking tray so I halved it and made two tarts. Before you start topping the tart you will want to transfer it onto your lightly floured baking tray, moving it once it’s loaded up is not easy.

Nicely roasted, isn't this bowl beautiful?

Brush your egg wash over the pastry, and scatter/spread about 2 thirds of the goats cheese on top. Now back to the beets, they should have cooled down a bit by now and you should be able to rub the skin off, it’s really easy and surprisingly satisfying too. Then you want to either careful slice your beets with a knife or if you are lucky, like me, then slice them up with a mandolin. This is when you really see how golden they are and see the beautiful layers. 

Look at those rings! 

Now you want to top the goats cheese with the beetroot slices, I went with simple over lapping lines. Finish off by crumbling the last of the goats cheese over the top and season with the salt and pepper. Pop it in the oven on the middle shelf for 20 minutes or until the pastry has a nice colour to it.

The basil on the window sill, where The Doctor is currently living...

Tah Da! All you need to do now is dribble a little honey and sprinkle some fresh basil leaves over the top and you’re good to go.

Golden Beetroot and Goats Cheese Tart

Bon appetite!