Nordic Cardamom and Apple Granola
This granola is special because it is homemade and has a Nordic spice, cardamom. It powerfully reminds me of this special place Dalarna north of Stockholm, where my husband and I stayed in a wonderfully old log construction hotel on a rainy summer night. For breakfast, we ate a homemade granola, which inspired me to make my own one.
The hotel is in the picturesque village of Tällberg, which sits on a steep slope overlooking a lake. In the nearby town of Mora, we visited Anders Zorn’s rustic and almost Viking-like studio built traditionally with logs. The late Anders Zorn (1860-1920) is one of Sweden’s most well-known and prolific artists internationally and especially famous for his many portraits, including American presidents.
Makes 10 portions
INGREDIENTS
400 ml (170 g) Jumbo rolled oats
100 ml (45 g) Spelt, Rye or Barley flakes
50 ml (35 g) linseed
50 ml pumpkin seeds
50 ml sunflower seeds
50 ml Apple juice concentrate
50 ml Runny honey
50 ml Rapeseed oil
5 Cardamom pods or 1 tsp ground cardamom
1 tsp ground cinnamon
Two pinches of sea salt
Toasted coconut flakes
Dried cranberries
INGREDIENTS BERRY SAUCE
1 package of raspberries (150 g)
1 package of strawberries (400 g)
1-2 tbsp of casting sugar
TIPS: The berry sauce will last three days or more depending on the amount of sugar. Use raspberries or strawberries on their own if you prefer.
INGREDIENT BUTTERMILK
1 pint or 1 litre of whole milk
100 ml live yoghurt or Swedish filmjölk
100 ml sour cream
METHOD GRANOLA
1. Preheat the oven 150°C
2. Mix the dry ingredients except for the coconut and cranberries
3. In a medium pan, mix the oil with the apple juice concentrate and honey. Heat it on the stove without boiling. Heating the fat and sugar together before mixing with the dry ingredients gives a more even coverage and helps to infuse the cardamom and cinnamon.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir to evenly coat
5. Transfer to an oven tray lined with baking powder and season with the sea salt
6. Toast in the oven for 20 min or until deliciously crispy and golden. Check and/or stir every five minutes. Make sure not to overcook your granola.
The more you stir, the looser the texture. If you are looking for clumps, stir only halfway or add more honey before toasting.
7. Add as much coconut flakes and dried cranberries as you like
METHOD BERRY SAUCE
Heat the raspberries and strawberries in a pan with the sugar. Cook until you reach your preferred texture. Let is cool down before serving.
METHOD BUTTERMILK
1. In a pan, heat the milk and cream to 90°C, don’t let it boil
2. Let the milk and cream cool down to room temperature
3. Add the live yoghurt or Swedish filmjölk, stir and pour back into the empty milk bottle
4. Fill up a hot water bottle and wrap a towel around it and the milk bottle. Leave at room temperature overnight, then refrigerate for at least three hours. The homemade yoghurt will keep for at least three days.
Anders Zorn (1860-1920) transported a thirteenth-century building from his grandfather’s farm for his studio, which he later transformed and extended inspired by Swedish traditional architecture and the English Arts & Crafts, which was fashionable at the time.
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