I love the oriental blend of Chinese five spice. I first encountered it in sweet treats when I made Gwyneth Paltrow’s muffins in her first healthy living book for Goop. They were delicious and I’ve been experimenting with it ever since. This is a really healthy treat packed with healthy spices – cinnamon, star anise, fennel, cloves and Sichuan pepper.
I love that you get to choose what goes into your homemade granola. Personally if I’m embarking on a healthy living kick and watching my sugar intake I cut out the dried fruit as it is so sugar heavy but as a treat it makes a really lovely addition.
Ingredients
350g gluten free oats
100g buckwheat groats
100g almonds
100g pistachios
100g pecans
100ml rapeseed oil
½ tsp sea salt
1 tsp Chinese five spice
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
100ml coconut oil melted
150ml maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla essence
Optional – 200g dried mixed fruit – raisins, cranberry, blueberries etc
Directions
Preheat the oven to 160 degrees C/140 degrees C fan, gas mark 3
Line a baking tray with baking parchment
Mix all the dry ingredients except the dried fruit together in a large bowl. Mix in the oil, maple syrup and vanilla extract. Combine everything really well so all the ingredients are coated with the luscious oily mixture.
Spread the mixture on your prepared baking tray and bake for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and turn the granola so that no areas catch and burn. Return to the oven and bake for a further 10 – 20 minutes. The less you stir the granola the more chinks you will get once it is cold.
Once it’s a golden brown, remove from the oven and allow to cool. Add the dried fruit if using it and store in a n airtight container for a month or more.
Top Tip: Do not store it on the work top or you will be grabbing a handful every time you pas!