The seasons are changing and so is breakfast.

Over the past miserably cold winter months in South Africa, I’ve been eating warm porridge for breakfast every morning. For the first few days I enjoyed it, but then as time went on I was sick of the same old flavour and texture. I tried jazzing it up with a little coconut oil, cinnamon, and even vanilla extract. Sure it made a difference, but I guess I’m not a winter person. I love the heat and the warm light of summer. In winter, the sun sets around 6pm leaving me no time at all to take foodie photos for my blog and Instagram.

Finally summer is near and I’m taking advantage of it. If you’re in the northern hemisphere, you go and enjoy your winter! I’m done! This recipe is one of my first summery recipes for the summer season. Granola is one my favourite things to eat for breakfast. It’s also such a basic recipe that you could adapt to your liking. For example, if you can’t stand coconut, replace it with seeds or nuts. You could also add different flavourings like ground ginger, cardamom, or even rosemary (if you’re adventurous). It’s a great way to use up bits and bobs in your pantry. You can do just about anything you like with it. You could mix it with grated apples and yogurt; serve it in a fruit salad and, my personal favourite, serve it plain with milk. That’s simply because I love the taste of this homemade granola. Once you’ve made the granola, and really it takes very little effort, you can store it in an airtight container for 2-3 weeks.

This recipe is such a great one - beyond being gluten free - it makes the most crunchy and tasty granola. To make it you simply roast your dry ingredients to which you add a butterscotch sauce. I’ve added salt to this recipe. The salt cuts through the sweetness of the granola giving it a balanced flavour.

Homemade Gluten Free Granola

Makes 1 large jar

Ingredients:

• 450g rolled oats
• 100g slightly crushed hazelnuts
• 100g desiccated coconut
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 200g golden syrup
• 100g honey
• 100g Demerara sugar
• 50g butter
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees on the grill setting.

2. Place the rolled oats, hazelnuts, coconut, salt and cinnamon in a large rectangular baking dish. Mix well together.

3. Place in the oven and leave to grill for 5 minutes. Stir regularly so that nothing burns.

4. Whilst your dry ingredients are in the oven, prepare your butterscotch sauce. Place your syrup, honey, sugar, butter and vanilla extract into a heavy based saucepan. Put over a medium heat and leave to melt. Shake the pan regularly so that the sugar doesn’t burn. Once all has melted, stir and bring to a rapid bubble. Remove from the heat.

5. Once your dry ingredients are golden, pour your butterscotch sauce over. Mix well. Flatten slightly with the back of a spoon.

6. Switch your oven onto the normal fan setting. Place your granola into the oven and leave to cook for a further 10 minutes. By this time it should be dark golden brown. Remove from the heat and leave to cool slightly.

7. Once the granola has cooled slightly, spoon into a sterilised jar (to sterilise a jar, place in a recently warm oven and leave to sit for 5 minutes). Keep the lid off and leave to cool further. Once completely cooled, cover with a lid and store in cool area.

The granola can last 2-3 weeks in the jar.

Article and photography by Ben Orkin

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