Fig, Apricot and Pistachio Granola

The granola you buy at the supermarket is usually full of added sugars and I find it has a fairly disappointing fruit-to-oat ratio, with the fruit mainly made up of raisins. Making it yourself gives you the opportunity to go wild with your dried fruits! It can be quite high in calories, so keep an eye on portion size, but all that oaty, fruity goodness will set your day off with the best of intentions. Serving it with yoghurt, as well as being cooling and refreshing, provides an extra-large protein boost to keep you feeling full all morning – but milk is great too. Almond milk adds an extra nutty layer of flavour.   Makes 7 servings (a week’s supply)   1 apple, peeled and cored 200 g (7 oz/2 cups) oats 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon pinch of salt 1 tablespoons maple syrup 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 5 dried figs, chopped 8 dried apricots, chopped 1 tablespoon almonds, chopped  1 tablespoons pistachios, chopped 50 g (2 oz/¼ cup) yoghurt, per serving (optional)

Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F/Gas mark 4).

Chop the apple into chunks and place in a small saucepan over a low heat with enough water to cover the pieces. Simmer for 10–15 minutes until soft, then remove from the heat and mash to make a puree.

Mix together the oats, cinnamon and salt, then stir through the apple puree, maple syrup, vanilla, figs, apricots and almonds. Spread out on a baking tray and cook in the oven for about 20 minutes, turning the mixture over gently every so often so it cooks evenly and watching that the fruit doesn’t catch and burn. Hopefully you will get some nice clumps of sticky oats – don’t break them up as these are what make it so delicious and satisfying when you come to eat it.

When the oats are a nice brown colour around the edges, remove from the oven and stir through the pistachios. Leave to cool before storing in an airtight jar.

Serve, if you like, with yoghurt or milk of your choice.

 The Fast Days Cook Book by Laura Herring is available from Amazon and all good bookshops.