I am not a culinary patriot. I appreciate seasonal veggies, Polish kasha, beautiful, juicy apples and other national ingredients. Polish cuisine is really great and diversified. But if there was a chance to switch my culinary passport I would definitely choose hummus homeland (second option: Thai curry one).
Chickpeas, aubergines, pomegranates, cauliflowers, fresh mint and cilantro, those are the things I love. It doesn’t’ mean I hate Polish dishes. I enjoy eating them, but to be honest I’m not the best cook at this category. Luckily, I don’t have to, my grandma and my partner Radek are the best at making pierogis, borscht etc. I wouldn’t dare to compete withe them. I prefer focusing on right chickpea to tahini ratio, roasting aubergine to achieve this perfect, melting-in-the-mouth consistency. Salad with dates, cake with rose water and figs, breakfasts full of cilantro and za’atar. This is my culinary identity, my homeland, my comfort food.
I event manage to put my favorites in granola: rose water, pistachios, dates. There is also something from Polish pantry: millet, raw buckwheat groats, sunflower seeds. To make everyone happy I made it gluten free! So enjoy, despite your culinary preferences…
Rose water granola
with pistachios and dates
Ingredients:
for 1,5-liter jar
1 cup millet falkes
½ cup raw millet
½ cup raw buckwheat groats
½ cup sunflower seeds
½ cup pistachios (without shells)
½ cup raw almonds
1 tbsp pomegranate molases
3 tbsp agave nectar or other liquid sweetener
3 tbsp rose water
5-6 Medjool dates(about ¾ cup chopped)
Preheat oven to 150°C. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Mix all the wet ingredients. In a large bowl combine the dry ones. Spread evenly on the baking sheet. Drizzle with the wet ingredients. Place in the oven for 25 minutes, stir around a couple of times. Let the dry ingredients cool of before adding the dates. Store the rose water granola in a large glass jar.
