Rachel Allen’s Oat, Raspberry and Almond Bars

Ingredients

Makes 12
225g / 8oz flour
225g / 8oz porridge oats
275g / 10oz butter, cut into cubes
175g / 6oz light brown sugar, such as light muscovado
Finely grated zest of 1 small or half a medium lemon
110g / 4oz almonds, chopped roughly
225g / 8oz raspberries

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line a 23cm / 9inch square cake tin with parchment or greaseproof paper. Place the flour, oats and butter into a mixing bowl and use your fingers to rub in the butter to make coarse crumbs. Mix in the sugar, lemon zest and three-quarters of the chopped almonds using your hands, then press the mixture together well so it forms large sticky clumps.

Drop about two thirds of the oat mixture into the base of the tin, spread it out and press down very lightly. Don’t pack it too firmly. Scatter the raspberries on top, sprinkle the rest of the oat mixture over, then the remaining almonds and press everything down lightly.

Bake for about 30-35 minutes until pale golden on top. Cut into 12 bars with a knife while still warm, then leave to cool in the tin before removing.

Quick Hummous

Image Source: Delicious

I love hummous and am very partial to the M&S version but there is nothing like making your own. It may take some playing around with the consistency and it seems to turn out different each time I make it. Sometimes I admit it has a tendancy to taste a tad bland, but you can spice it up with the addition of some other ingredients. At the moment my favourite is some roasted shallots, buzzed in with the main ingredients. I stole that idea from M&S too!

Ingredients

1 tin of chick peas (in unsalted water) or 150 g dried (pre-soaked)

Zest and juice of 1 lemon

3 tbsp tahini (available from health food stores)

2 large garlic cloves, crushed

120-140ml olive oil

Method

Soak the chickpeas overnight in a bowl of water if using dried. Drain, then boil in a pan of fresh water for 45 minutes-1 hour until very tender. Drain and cool.

Otherwise just open the can of ready prepared chickpeas and place in a food processor with the lemon zest and juice, 3 tbsp tahini and 2 large garlic cloves. Whizz while gradually adding 120-140ml olive oil.

Season well with some sea salt to taste and serve with warm pitta bread or crudities.

Healthy Treats: Granola Bars

Ingredients

45g pecan nuts

45g dried apricots, finely chopped

100g figs, finely chopped

45g dried sour cherries (or cranberries)

45g pumpkin seeds

30g sesame seeds

30g ground almonds

200g oats

a good pinch of cinnamon

100ml olive oil

4 tbsp honey

75g demerara sugar

Preheat an oven to 140 degrees/gas mark one. Lightly toast the pecan nuts for five to 10 minutes on a baking tray in the oven. Soak the apricots, figs and cherries in a small amount of boiling water for five minutes, then drain. Roughly chop the pecan nuts and then mix with all the other nuts, cinnamon and chopped fruit.

Heat the olive oil, honey and sugar in a small saucepan till the sugar dissolves, then mix with the fruit and nuts. Mix well and then line a tin with parchment paper (mine is a rectangular tin that measures 20cm in length). Using a wet spatula, pack the granola mix into the tin and smooth the top. Keep dipping the spatula into some water as this helps smooth it down without sticking. Bake for 25 minutes or until it is starting to go golden brown. Allow to cool fully, then remove from the tin and cut into bars. Wrap well in cling film and freeze, or keep in the fridge.

This recipe appears in the print edition of the Irish Times