This month we are celebrating citrus. In cooking you can use the zest, the juice, or eat the fruit flesh itself.
Citrus can add sourness or sweetness and it pairs well with so many things. I don't think I've ever cooked a savoury dish that didn’t taste just a little better for a pinch of lemon zest.
Chocolate and orange are really good friends - they complement each other really well. This chocolate granola is easy to make, it makes a lovely crunchy topping for ice cream, Greek yoghurt, or for a once in a while breakfast!
Makes 1 large jar
Ingredients
265g rolled oats
30g light muscovado sugar
pinch sea salt
30g cocoa powder
1 orange, zested
60mls olive oil
120ml maple syrup or honey
1 teaspoon orange extract
1 orange zested
100g dark chocolate chips
50g nuts
Method
- Pre-heat your oven to 170ºC (fan).
- Combine the oats, muscovado sugar, cocoa powder, salt and the orange zest in a medium sized bowl.
- Put the maple syrup and olive oil in a small saucepan, heat gently and stir until the maple syrup and oil are well combined. Add the orange extract. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry and stir to combine, till there are no dry bits of oats / cocoa left.
- Line a baking tray and spread out the granola evenly, in a thin layer. Bake in the oven for 15-18 minutes, stirring after 10 minutes to ensure it cooks evenly. When the granola is done it will still be soft and a little wet when it comes out of the oven, that’s fine as it will harden as it cools.
If you cook it till its dry, chances are it will burn, and it’s hard to tell when chocolate is burnt because of the brown. - Sprinkle over half the chocolate chips whilst still warm, and stir so they melt into the granola, stir in the nuts, then leave to cool completely.
- When fully cooled, sprinkle over the remaining chocolate, and transfer to an airtight container where it will keep for a few weeks.
Recipe and photos by Food Learning Officer, Ceri Jones