Recipes

Julia Busuttil
Nishimura's
granola with
poached plums
26 June 2023
Julia Busuttil Nishimura’s granola with
poached plums. (Photography by Armelle
Habib)

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Getting granola right is a

tricky thing. You want it to be
crunchy and clustery without
being too sweet.

This is our house granola. It can be

sprinkled on yoghurt, served with milk,
or with labneh and poached fruits as
I’ve done here.

The secret to good granola is cooking it

low and slow and not disturbing it too
much while in the oven. I let it cool
completely before transferring to a jar
or container. To make your own labneh,
simply tie plain yoghurt in a clean
muslin cloth and allow to hang over a
bowl for at least 4 hours until thick and
creamy.

MAKES APPROXIMATELY 1 KG

Ingredients

300 g (3 cups) rolled oats

80 g (1/2 cup) hulled buckwheat
50 g (3 3/4 cups) puffed millet
55 g (1 cup) coconut flakes
2 tablespoons black sesame seeds
2 tablespoons white sesame seeds
100 g (3/4 cup) pumpkin seeds
40 g (⅓ cup) sunflower seeds
155 g (1 cup) almonds
flaky sea salt
80 ml (⅓ cup) extra-virgin olive oil
100 ml maple syrup
175 g (1/2 cup) honey
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 vanilla pod, split and seeds scraped, or
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
100 g dried fruit, such as apricots,
sultanas, sour cherries etc.
labneh or milk, to serve

Poached plums

3 tablespoons marsala
2 tablespoons brown sugar
juice of 1/2 lemon
6 blood plums, halved and stones
removed

Method

Preheat the oven to 150°C. Line two

large baking trays with baking paper.

In a large bowl, mix together the oats,

buckwheat, millet, coconut, seeds,
almonds and a large pinch of salt.

Meanwhile, combine the olive oil, maple

syrup, honey, brown sugar, cinnamon,
vanilla and 1 tablespoon of water in a
medium saucepan and bring to a simmer
over a medium heat, stirring to dissolve
the sugar and honey. Stir in the baking
powder and take off the heat – it should
foam up. Immediately pour the hot
mixture into the oats and stir so that
everything is well coated.

Divide the mixture evenly over the

prepared trays. It should sit relatively flat
to ensure even cooking. If the trays are
too crowded, use three trays instead.
Bake for 1 hour or until a deep golden
colour. During the cooking, stir the
granola every 20 minutes, more often
towards the end, to ensure it isn’t
burning and everything is cooking evenly.
Allow to cool completely on the trays,
then break up into clusters. Add the
dried fruit and transfer to jars or an
airtight container. The granola will keep
in the pantry for up to 3 months.

For the poached plums, simply combine

the marsala, brown sugar, lemon juice
and 2 tablespoons of water in a small
saucepan over a medium heat, stirring to
dissolve the sugar. Add the plums and
cover with a lid. Simmer for 5–10 minutes
or until the plums have just collapsed.
Allow to cool.

Serve the granola topped with the plums

and a dollop of labneh or some milk.

Recipe from A Year of Simple Family

Food by Julia Busuttil Nishimura
(published by Plum)

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