Amaranth Granola

Amaranth granola with yoghurt honey and berries

Although thought to have originated in South America. species of Amaranth can be found growing everywhere, often uncultivated as a weed - in some parts of the world it is referred to as pigweed. In Kenya, it is cultivated as a popular leafy vegetable, known locally as Terere (Kikuyu) or Mchciha (Swahili). It is often fried simply and served with fish or meat and ugali. It is an important crop locally, as it is highly nutritious and easy and quick to grow. 

Amaranth also produces a highly nutritious, high protein pseudo-cereal that is often sold as a health supplement or mixed into fortified flour. This week, whilst shopping at the supermarket, I picked up a pack of whole amaranth grains. Wanting to leverage on some of the interesting health benefits I decided a good way to bring it into my diet would be by making a homemade amaranth granola. What’s great about amaranth in granola, is it really holds its own - maintaining that crunchy texture when mixed with milk or yoghurt. 

After experimenting, this is the recipe I settled on. I really like a cluster-y, crunchy granola so decided to add in the almond flour/meal to really help bring it together. Feel free to experiment freely with the nuts, seeds and dried fruit to your preference or availability, great additions include: walnuts or pecans, desiccated coconut, dried pineapple or dried blueberry. 

Ingredients

• 2 cup jumbo oats

• 1 ½ cup popped whole amaranth grains (4-6 tbsp raw - if puffing yourself)

• 1 cup almonds (to divide): you can also get 1/2 cup of almonds and 1/2 cup almond flour/meal

• 1/2 cup sunflower seeds

• 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds

• 1/2 cup flaxseed - I’m using brown flaxseed but feel free to use golden flaxseed

• 1/2 cup black raisins

• 1/4 cup golden raisins

• 2 tsp cinnamon

• 1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

• ½ tsp salt

• 1/4 cup olive oil - here you could also use coconut oil

• Between 1/4 to 1/2 cup honey (sweetness to preference)

How to Make Amaranth Granola

Prepare

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C and line a shallow baking tray with greaseproof paper.

Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper

Assemble

Firstly divide the almonds in half, take half and chop roughly into pieces.

Roughly chopped almonds

Blend the other half with the cinnamon and nutmeg to make a course almond meal, you don't want to blend this for too long or you'll release the oils and make almond butter. You can skip this step if you bought almond flour/meal - I prefer to do it myself to have more control over the texture.

Roughly ground almonds

Mix amaranth grains, oats, chopped almonds, roughly ground almonds (with cinnamon and nutmeg) sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, flaxseed, raisins and salt in a large bowl. 

Mixed dry ingredients

Add oil and honey and mix everything well. 

Add honey and oil

Transfer the mixture to a baking tray and spread evenly using a silicone spatula. 

Spread mixture evenly on the baking tray

Bake

Transfer to the tray and bake for 15-16 minutes until the granola is lightly browned. Be careful whilst baking the granola, once it has baked for 12 minutes keep a close watch as it will burn in the blink of an eye.

Baked granola

Remove from the oven and let the granola cool down for at least 20-30 minutes. Granola will crisp up as it cools down, make sure to cool it well. Serve with yoghurt and fruit, or alongside your favourite cereal.

Transfer to an airtight container and store in a cool dark place for up to a month. 

Granola in airtight jar containers