Land of Fruit and Nuts

I love granola. It's one of the staple items on my shelf, to sprinkle on Greek yogurt with fresh fruit on top for breakfast, or as a late-night snack with milk. This month's Body & Soul magazine had a good looking recipe with a few variations, so I hit the bulk foods section of the grocery store and the dried fruit stand at the farmers' market and was good to go.

I had to add extra honey because the nuts I used were roasted and salted - try to find raw unsalted nuts and you can keep the sweetener to a minimum. This recipe makes a lot, so pack some up in bags for gifts!

Pistachio & Cherry Granola

• 6 C. old-fashioned oats
• 1 1/4 C. shelled pistachio nuts
• 1/4 C. sunflower seeds
• 1/3 C. flaxseed meal, wheat germ, or a mixture of the two
• 3 large egg whites
• 3/4 t. kosher salt
• 3/4 C. sweetener, such as honey, agave syrup, or molasses
• 1/3 C. extra virgin olive oil
• 1 C. dried cherries
• 1/2 C. unsweetened toasted coconut

Preheat the oven to 35o degrees.

Combine the oats, nuts, seeds, flax and/or wheat germ in a large bowl.

In another bowl, whisk egg whites and salt until frothy. Whisk in the sweetener and add the olive oil.

Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Stir until the oats are evenly coated.

Transfer the mixture to two rimmed baking sheets and spread flat.

Bake for 20 minutes, then gently flip with a spatula, movie granola from the outer edges to the center of the sheet.

Continue to cook until golden, about 10 minutes more.

Cool completely on pan, then transfer to a bowl and gently stir in the dried fruit and coconut.

Update 4/8: I made another version that I also loved, using slivered almonds in place of the pistachios, raw unsalted pepitas in place of the sunflower seeds, crisped rice in place of the coconut, and currants in place of the cherries. I also toasted it a little longer and it was delicious!