A few weeks ago Melissa Clark had a recipe in her New York Times column that we knew we had to try: Homemade granola with pistachios, sunflower seeds, apricots — and a dose of silky, fragrant, slightly bitter olive oil. Zounds! we said, and clipped the recipe. Well, we're back to report on it, and watch out! This stuff should come with a warning label.
Like any homemade granola, this recipe came together fast and easy. With the maple syrup, dried fruit, and olive oil, it also wasn't particularly cheap (again, like most souped-up homemade granolas) but it was still cheaper than the granola at Bklyn Larder that Clark based the recipe on.
We also made a few changes (of course). We had dried cherries, but no apricots, so we went with the cherries. Highly recommend. They were chewy and sweet, just tangy enough, but not so big that they dominated any single bite. Also, we couldn't find coconut chips so we used plain unsweetened flake coconut. Delicious.
Those are the details. Easy, quick, delicious even before baked. But after baking, and especially after it sat for a day or two with all those flavors mingling. Oh my. Oh my my.
It was just as Clark described: rich and full-bodied in a way that we've never tasted in a granola, and with a mellow and complex sweetness from the maple syrup. It was toasty, salty, crunchy and altogether utterly addictive. (You notice we're talking in the past tense; this granola is long gone.) We were initially disappointed not to actually taste the olive oil more overtly, but we realized that it really infuses the granola with that rich and slightly bitter taste.
So yes, make this, but put a lock on it. You'll eat it all in one day if you don't stop yourself with some serious willpower. Have you made this granola yet? What did you think?
• Get the recipe! Olive Oil Granola With Dried Apricots and Pistachios at The New York Times
More Granola:
• D.I.Y. Recipe: Basic Granola Formula
• Recipe: Granola with Almonds, Apricots, Cranberries, and Pineapple
• How Can I Create Clusters In My Granola?
• Recipe: Crunchy Granola Bars
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I just tried early bird granola (which the recipe is based on) and it is incredible! I can't wait to try this recipe!
I just made Orangette's Daily Granola, and it was AMAZING. It's about twice the cost of the bulk granola I usually buy, with a lot more nuts, and less sugar. I think it was totally worth it.
Yummmmmm gotta try this.
Emily
I made it. And I agree, it's AWESOME! I too used dried cherries, along with pistachios & flaked coconut.
I made it too and it was dangerously addicting! I used ginger sugar instead of the brown and subbed almonds for sunflower seeds. I also added a bit more salt for a salty/sweet thing. It was amazing.
Also, pound for pound, much less than the granola I usually buy.
Thank you! Making granola was on my list of things to do today and I never made it that far. I'll def. make this tomorrow!
I have been making this every Sunday since the article appeared in the Times. Fairway on the UWS of Manhattan has incredible imported dried fruits from France, and the first week I made it they were out of apricots so I substituted dried peaches and golden raisins. Yowza!
I have since tried it with apricots as written, but much prefer the former. I have also made it with brown sugar and with turbinado sugar, and the turbinado makes much better granola, and, like bitchincamaro, add just a dash more of the kosher salt than called for. I was able to get the coconut chips and I highly recommend seeking them out for their wonderful texture.
This Sunday, cherries!
I found this on the NYT times too and for some reason I didn't much like it, I found the strength of the olive oil a bit jarring... this is from someone who can practically drink olive oil!
I should try it again and see if i like it the second time!
I made it with substitutions too (cranberries for apricots, almonds for pistachios) and it is insanely good - I was desperate to have it for dessert last night and the saltiness was a revelation when spooned over vanilla ice cream. I'm pretty sure I've never said any food is a revelation. It was that good.
I did this with dried peaches for the fruit, and almond slivers instead of coconut, and it was fantastic. I'll be making it again as soon as I pick up more maple syrup!
i, too, tried this this weekend. i also made substitutions: i only had 1/2 cup of pistachios, so i used 1 cup of pecans; allspice for cardamom because that's what i had, dried cranberries for apricots because i don't like apricots, coconut flakes because i couldn't find chips. WOW! the flavor is better than any granola i've ever had before. it's granola for adults! :-)
Delish, delish, delish. Almonds instead of pistachios, half the apricots and extra dried cherries and golden raisins. My oh my! If you're a granola fan, you MUST make this recipe. Yields a LOT, so it's great for gifts too. :)
This is, by far, the best granola recipe I have ever made. DELICIOUS!
Just made it for family and friends for Christmas. They loved it.
This sounds really good. But I was wondering how stovetop granola would compare with oven-baked version ?
I found two recipes. Any opinion/verdict of stovetop vs. oven ?
stovetop granola recipes I came across:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mqNmbC6b2U
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Stovetop-Granola/Detail.aspx
I just made this for a friend's birthday, and it was well received in BOTH our bellies! It's actually lasted surprisingly well in our apartment, still here after 4 days, because it's so filling you don't need much for breakfast. Although I have been having a couple of spoonfuls with yoghurt for dessert too.
I made this and thought it was delicious. A great mix of sweet and salty. A bit indulgent so it won't be my go-to granola recipe, though.
I wrote about it here: http://tastespace.wordpress.com/2010/06/11/olive-oil-granola-with-dried-apricots-and-pistachios/
I made a version of this, which I loved. I used 1/4 cup of olive oil (I thought 1/2 cup was way too much), 1/2 cup of maple syrup, 1 cup of almonds, 1/2 cup of pumpkin seeds, 1/2 cup of flaked coconut, and slightly less salt than was called for (call me crazy, but I don't like my granola to be discernibly salty). Delicious! It was rich and flavorful and sweet, without overdoing it.
Early Bird granola is too rich for my liking—I'll sprinkle a spoonful on yogurt, but after eating a normal portion of it I feel a bit sick. It has 7g of fat per 1/4 cup (and I pretty much always like to eat more granola than 1/4 cup).
You said that this is made with sunflower seeds; however, I did not see sunflower seeds in the NYT recipe. Did you add them? Or did you mean to say pumpkin seeds?
So in love with this! I also tweaked the recipe a bit and used sweet coconut flake instead of coconut chips and almonds instead of pistachios. It's especially good with about a 1/4 c of mini chocolate chips. Zounds! What a great way to wake up in the morning.
Yay! I have everything on hand to make this today!