One of my local colleagues recently made her first trip to Europe, spending her honeymoon exploring Italy and France. On her return I very excitedly asked what she thought about the food, and got a surpisingly lukewarm response – apparently it just wasn’t as good as food in Hong Kong. She took particular issue with the breakfast: “Why do Europeans like cold breakfasts? It’s all cereal and bread!” I guess we all like the familiar. The smell of savoury noodle dishes in the morning absolutely nauseates me. When I lived in Vietnam, I always thought of pho as a lunchtime dish, but the locals would happily slurp it down for breakfast. I do like a good cooked breakfast, but for day to day life it is generally something cold, like a bowl of this delicious chocolate granola with yoghurt. It might not impress the people of Hong Kong, but it certainly does the job for me!
Chocolate Cherry Granola
Ingredients:
200g rolled oats
30g cocoa
50g dessicated coconut
50g flaked almonds
160g honey
2 tsp vanilla extract
50-100g dried cherries
Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 200C and line a baking sheet with greaseproof paper.
2. Mix the oats, cocoa, coconut and almonds together in a large bowl.
3. Pour in the honey and vanilla. Mix well to combine until sticky evenly coated.
4. Tip the mixture onto the baking sheet.
5. Bake for 20-30 minutes, turning the mixture upside down with a spoon half way through.
6. Leave to cool.
7. Break the pieces down into little clusters in a mixing bowl. Add the cherries and mix through.
8. Store in jars and enjoy with milk or yoghurt, or alone as a snack.
