Olive Oil Granola

One of our biggest fans reads the New York Times Food Section religiously. He sent me a link to an article and recipe by Melissa Clark about this granola made with olive oil. I  adapted it to include more nuts and nutmeg. Debuting at our farmer's market stand, it was a huge success. I had to repeatedly tell the customers the granola wasn’t for sale, but rather our olive oil was the real star.

• 3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1 cup dry roasted pistachios, hulled
• 1 cup pecans broken
• ½ cup whole raw almonds
• ½ cup pine nuts or hulled sunflower seeds
• 1 cup coconut chips or flaked coconut
• 3/4 cup pure maple syrup
• 1/2 cup of EVOO 
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
• 3/4 cup chopped dried apricots or raisins or a combo of both

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. In a large bowl combine all of the ingredients  except the dried fruit and mix well. Spread mixture on a rimmed baking sheet in an even layer and bake for 45 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes, until golden brown and well toasted.

Remove from the oven and mix with the dried fruit. Let the granola completely cool before putting in an airtight container.

Serving suggestions : sprinkle over plain or vanilla yogurt, ricotta cheese, or soft goat cheese 

Yield: About 9 cups.