orange, honey and vanilla granola with sichuan peppercorn
a crunchy, floral, burnished answer to a months-long obsession
a few months back, my interest in the orange and sichuan peppercorn flavor combination turned into an obsession. while you can find many recipes, both sweet and savory, that pair orange with fragrant, citrus-y in their own right sichuan peppercorns, what i really wanted was to find a new way to combine them. i tested sugar cookies, semifreddo, marinated olives, pound cakes, but wasn’t happy with any of them. i was about ready to give up, when the stars aligned: i has just used up the last of my favorite cardamom cereal and wanted to make some granola when the thought hit me: what if i could integrate orange and sichuan peppercorn here?
well, it turns out that a sweet, crunchy, deeply burnished granola finished with a light dusting of sichuan peppercorn was the recipe i’d been searching for. the granola itself is has toasty, floral and citrus notes already from orange zest, honey, vanilla and olive oil, and i found the subtle hint of peppercorn was just enough to take it somewhere new without bogging down the other flavors. there’s not enough of the peppercorn to create the tingling, numbing sensation it’s known for or turn it too savory, it’s simply tossed through the warm granola to add another layer of citrus, even lavender and pine notes, and, though i’m clearly biased, i think it’s really very delicious and special.
as with most granolas, i personally like to eat it on a bowl of plain, full-fat yogurt for breakfast or as an afternoon snack. i think it goes especially well with fresh or frozen raspberries, a spoonful of strawberry jam, fresh strawberries or jammy apricots (pit, halve and let gently cook down with 50% sugar [total weight of prepped fruit divided by 2], cool, then store in the fridge). while the sichuan peppercorn is what makes this granola extra special, it’s still a darn good granola without it.
makes about 700 grams granola; can be made up to 2 months in advance
200 grams honey
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
120 grams olive oil (substitute: neutral oil like canola or sunflower)
100 grams brown sugar
zest of 1 orange
450 grams rolled oats (i personally like a multigrain mix like this, which has barley, oat, wheat and rye flakes)
150 grams nuts or seeds of choice (my ideal is 50 grams each sesame, sunflower and pumpkin but you can use a mix of whatever you like)
1 tablespoon sichuan peppercorns
preheat oven to 150°C/300°F. whisk honey, vanilla extract, olive oil, brown sugar and orange zest together in a large bowl. add oats and seeds and mix together until everything is well combined and evenly coated. transfer the mixture to a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and spread into an even layer. bake for 45 minutes, stirring thoroughly halfway through. the granola should be evenly dark golden brown, if it’s not, bake in 8 minute increments, stirring each time, until it is.
while the granola is baking, grind the peppercorns with a mortar and pestle or spice grinder and set aside. if the powder is coarse or has larger pieces of the husk throughout, sift it with a fine mesh strainer and use only the finer powder.
once the granola is baked, remove from the oven and immediately sprinkle with the ground sichuan peppercorn. toss together, then let cool completely (stirring up once or twice to break up any large clumps) before transferring to an airtight container where it will keep for 2 months at room temperature.
Hungry....