BUCKWHEAT GRANOLA

I've had several little realisations lately - like that my favourite colour is yellow, not blue - or that the metal circle on the side of my toast tongs is a magnet (genius, by the way) - or that to make the perfect French press coffee you need to plunge straight away - or that granola is almost infinitely tastier and better in every dimension when you make it with buckwheat. Madness, you say? Maybe, but the right kind of crazy, I assure you.

Making granola on buckwheat requires a teensy bit more prep (soaking), and a longer, slower cooking time, but it's absolutely, assuredly worth it. The buckwheat absorbs a lot of liquid during soaking which then evaporates in the oven, leaving crunchy crunchy deliciousness. It's also fragrant and tasty in a way you could never achieve with oats.

Now that I'm back on campus and the working year has commenced, breakfast suddenly becomes a very important part of my day. I've been doing lots of breakfasts in jars - make them the night before (or even days before), and in the morning you've already made a good choice (go you!). I can grab it out of the fridge and take it to uni if I'm in a rush, or eat it at home. Easy peasy.

 

buckwheat granola.

makes ~2-3 cups

recipe notes.

• this recipe has a long cooking/prep time, but - before you run away - it's mostly inactive - which means you can have a cup of tea and watch a movie/read a book/be awesome while the granola's doing its thing
• really make sure you give the buckwheat a good rinse after the first soak to get rid of the slimy coating it develops
• if you're not into seeds or cranberries, feel free to substitute - i'm a lazy cook, so seeds appeal to me because hey, no chopping
• if your granola still seems too wet after 1.5 hrs, keep checking every 10 minutes or so until it seems dry enough, bearing in mind that it will crisp up as it cools

ingredients.

1 cup (200 g) raw buckwheat groats
scant 1/2 cup (60 g) sunflower seeds
scant 1/2 cup (60 g) pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
1/3 cup (40 g) dried cranberries
2 tbsp (25 g) sesame seeds
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp maple syrup
pinch of salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon

Place the buckwheat in a bowl, cover with filtered water and soak for 1 hour. After 1 hour, drain, rinse well, and cover the buckwheat with fresh water and let soak for another 45 minutes.

Preheat oven to 120 C (250 F) (no fan). Line a baking tray with baking paper. Line a strainer with cheesecloth and drain the buckwheat, rinsing again. Let the buckwheat sit and drain for 10 minutes. 

Meanwhile, combine the remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Once the buckwheat has drained, add it to the other ingredients, stirring thoroughly to coat. Tip the granola onto your baking tray and with wet hands, work it into as flat a layer as possible.

Place in the oven for 1.5 hours. When cooked, the granola should be lightly golden and not feel completely wet to the touch. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely. It should form little granola sheets as it cools. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for 1-2 weeks (though mine never lasts that long).