Apple Crisp with Maple Pecan Granola
Apple Crisp & Maple Pecan Granola
* Serves approximately 4 * Ingredients - Granola
* Makes 4 cups granola *2 cups - oats
1/2 cup - coconut flakes
1/2 cup - raisins
1/4 cup - crushed almonds
1/4 cup - halved pecans
1/4 cup - quinoa
1/2 cup - melted vegan butter
1/4 cup - maple syrup
1/2 tsp - pure vanilla extract
2 tbsp - brown sugar
1/2 tsp - sea salt
1/2 tsp - cinnamon
1/4 tsp - ginger
Ingredients - Sauteed Apples
1/4 cup - vegan butter
4 cup - peeled + large diced apples
1 tsp - sea salt
1/2 tsp - cinnamon powder
1/4 tsp - cardamom
1/4 cup - lemon juice
1/2 cup - brown sugar
1/2 tbsp - corn starch + 3 tbsp cold water
Other Ingredients
Vegan vanilla ice cream - I used Oatley
Instructions
Step 1 - Gather all ingredients & make the granola
There is nothing worse than going to make something and realizing you don’t have the stuff !
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit then mise en place all your ingredients and then start building the granola in a large bowl with the oats, coconut flakes, almonds, raisins, pecans, quinoa, cinnamon, and ginger. Give that a good toss and then pour over on top the melted butter, maple and vanilla extract before giving it another good toss to combine everything well.
Then on a lined sheet tray lay out all the granola, pat it down and spread it out with a spatula and then bake for about 10 minutes, rotate the tray and then follow up with another 10 minutes for even color. Then set aside to cool down to use later.
Step 2 - Peel & chop the apples
Peel off all the skins and then chop up all the apples into a medium dice. While I dice the apples I like to let the diced apples sit in a bath of water and some lemon juice to prevent them from browning.
Once all the apples are peeled and chopped. In a medium sized saute pan, warm up some vegan butter and drop in all of the diced apples and give it all a good toss to cover the apples inn the butter. Let this simmer for about 10 minutes stirring it here and there. Sprinkle over some salt to help some of the water release from the apples and give another stir to combine and wait about 5 minutes.
When the apples have softened a bit add in the cinnamon and cardamom and mix it all up really well to allow the spices to incorporate. Then let this simmer on medium low heat to let the apples take in the spices and cook down with the butter for about 5 minutes.
Step 3 - Thickening time
To sort of deglaze the pan, pour in the lemon juice and stir everything well for a minute before stirring in the brown sugar on medium low heat. Let this bubble up and caramelize with the apples and spices for about 10 minutes stirring here and there.
The last step to bring this all together is making a little slurry with the corn starch and cold water in a ramekin. Then pour in over the apples to let this all thicken into a nice apple pie filling texture and cook down. After stirring this gently for a bit, this is when I turn off the heat and drop in a tablespoon or so of cold butter to emulsify and bring this together.
Step 4 - Plate
I like to use a small bowl and spoon in a bit of that granola to sort of be a little nest for the ice cream. I used Oatley vanilla ice cream and did 2 good sized scoops. I like to top the ice cream or spoon the caramelized cinnamon apples just beside it before garnishing with just a touch of granola before enjoying right away.
