VEGETARIAN

WAY-MORE-THAN-JUST-OATS GRANOLA

²⁄₃ cup almond oil

²⁄₃ cup honey

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats (do not use quick-cooking or steel-cut oats)

1 cup Kamut flakes

1 cup wheat flakes

1 cup barley flakes

1 cup sliced almonds

³⁄₄ cup instant nonfat dry milk

½ cup packed dark brown sugar

½ cup toasted wheat germ

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1½ teaspoons salt

1. Position the racks at the top and bottom third of the oven (or do the best you can dividing your oven into thirds) and preheat to 350°F.

2. Stir the oil, honey, and vanilla in a small saucepan over medium-low heat until the honey dissolves. Continue heating, stirring a few times, just until a few whiffs of steam come off the top. Set aside off the heat.

3. Mix the rolled oats, Kamut flakes, wheat flakes, barley flakes, almonds, dry milk, brown sugar, wheat germ, cinnamon, and salt in a big bowl. Pour in the oil mixture. Stir until everything’s moist. Spread the mixture into even layers on 2 large rimmed baking sheets.

4. Bake until crunchy and irresistible, about 20 minutes, stirring once halfway through baking. Cool on the sheets set on a rack for at least 1 hour, maybe 2. Don’t mess with it as it cools. It’ll harden to a great crunch. Then break the granola into bits, chips, and flakes for storage.

SERVES 16

Active time: 15 minutes

Total time: 1 hour 50 minutes

Make ahead: Store in a sealed, airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 month.

MAKE IT EASIER!

• Cut down on the number of different flakes. Use the rolled oats as they are, but use 1½ cups wheat flakes or kamut flakes and 1½ cups barley flakes.

TESTERS’ NOTES

• Most nut and seed oils are available in toasted and so-called “untoasted” varieties. If toasted (that is, the nuts were toasted before the oil was extracted), the can or bottle will be so labeled. In this book, we call for untoasted nut and seed oils unless otherwise stated. For the best flavor, do not use a refined oil but rather one marked “unrefined” or (even better) expeller-pressed or cold-pressed. Because nut oils do not move quickly off supermarket shelves, always smell the oil before you use it. Once opened, reseal the can or cap the bottle and store the oil in the fridge.
• Whole-grain flakes give this granola an irresistible crunch. You can find them at gourmet supermarkets, in health food stores, or from suppliers online. Do not substitute grain flake cereals.
• Feel free to swap out the nut-and-nut-oil combo to create your own version: walnuts and walnut oil, pecans and pecan oil, hazelnuts and hazelnut oil.