Sunday, May 5, 2013

Plum & Oat Bars

Plum & Oat Bars 5

This week on our journey with Yotam Ottolenghi at I Heart Cooking Clubs, we're Going With The Grain.  I love all kinds of grains, and they form a significant part of my regular diet.  Flicking through my Ottolenghi cookbooks (Ottolenghi: The Cookbook, Plenty and Jerusalem: A Cookbook), all manner of quinoa, rice, farro, barley, freekah and bulgur wheat dishes appealed, but somehow this week I felt I wanted to get a little sweet with Yotam.

His recipe for Raspberry and Oat Bars from Ottolenghi: The Cookbook is one that I've had bookmarked for about three years and, deciding that oats were going to be my grain of choice, this seemed like the perfect opportunity to make it.

In the absence of some raspberry jam, I subbed in some of my homemade plum jam, and I found the tartness of the plum jam to be a good foil to the sweetness of the caramel nut topping.  Oh yes, there is caramel and there are nuts!  Came as something of a surprise to me too.  

Plum & Oat Bars 7

Now I don't know about you, but when I come across something labelled as an "(anything) and Oat Bar", I'm mentally imagining something that has some kind of "oaty" topping, or which is vaguely akin to a muesli (granola) bar.  Even when I read through the recipe, I still didn't quite get what this was going to be like - quite possibly because I am not really a baker.  So when Ottolenghi says in the recipe introduction "Wonderful with a strong after dinner coffee", I was thinking "No way!"  Granola bars with morning coffee (possibly even for breakfast), yes, but with after dinner coffee, definitely not.  Were YO and I about to have our first disagreement - surely not.  Now, don't get me wrong, I was not for one moment doubting that these were going to be great, I just envisaged something that didn't quite fit with my idea of a postprandial sweet treat.

Plum & Oat Bars 1

The end result is a light, shortbready, oaty base, topped with a layer of sweet-but-tart plum jam, and then the whole thing is topped off with a thick layer of nuts and caramel.  Oh, that topping!!  Gooey caramel and a mixture of macadamias, hazelnuts, almonds and cashews.  Seriously, this slice is all about the topping, so don't let that title confuse you - this is no dull little "health" bar - this is definitely a decadent little treat, and definitely lives up to its promise of being a great after-dinner treat.  I thought about changing the title to something which might more fairly represent what these bars really are, but then it occurred to me that, as long as I keep calling them "Plum & Oat Bars", I can convince myself that it's ok to eat them for breakfast!

I don't do a lot of baking, and so I don't have an extensive repertoire in that department.  I'm also a fairly "apprehensive" baker, so when something turns out great it both surprises and delights the heck out of me in equal measure.   Well let me tell you that these bars might just be the best thing I've ever baked, and it's exciting to discover that Ottolenghi can surprise and delight me in the sweet department as well as all the savoury dishes I've come to love.

I made a few small changes to this recipe.  Firstly, as mentioned I used plum jam instead of raspberry.  I adjusted quantities to fit the slice tin that I wanted to use, as opposed to the small square tin used in the original recipe.  And, I used a different combination of nuts:  the original recipe called for flaked almonds, pecans, hazelnuts and Brazil nuts.  Really you could use any combination you like.

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Plum & Oat Bars Recipe
Adapted from a recipe by Yotam Ottolenghi
Click here for a printable copy of this recipe

For the base
170g (6 oz) plain flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
140g (5 oz) butter, cut into cubes
80g (3 oz) caster sugar
pinch of salt
110g (4 oz) rolled oats

For the filling
1-1/2 cups plum jam (I used homemade)

For the topping
400g (14 oz) assorted nuts, roughly chopped
(I used a combo of macadamias, almonds, cashews & hazelnuts)
140g (5 oz) butter
100g (3-1/2 oz) caster sugar
60ml (2 fl oz) milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat the oven to 170 degrees C (340 degrees F).  Lightly grease the base and sides of an 18cm x 32cm (7in x 12in) slice tin, and line it with baking paper.

Begin by making the base.  Sift the flour and baking powder together and put into your food processor.  Add the cubed butter, and blitz together until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.  (You could rub the butter into the flour by hand, but I'm an inherently lazy cook, so I'm happy for the food processor to do the work).  Remove to a bowl, add the salt, sugar and rolled oats, and mix to combine everything well.

Press this mixture (though not too hard) into the base of your tin, and bake in the preheated oven until lightly golden - about 20 minutes.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

Once the base has cooled, spread with the jam.

Now make the topping.  Place the chopped nuts in a bowl and set aside.  Put the butter, sugar, milk and vanilla paste in a small saucepan set over medium heat.  Stir constantly until the butter is melted and the sugar has dissolved.  Remove from heat, pour over the nuts and mix well.

Spread the nut mixture over the jam and return the pan to the oven until the nuts are golden brown - about 30 minutes.

Remove from the oven and leave to cool completely before removing from the tin.

Slice into bars or squares and serve.

If you would like to get to know Yotam Ottolenghi a little better, then do go and visit my friends at I Heart Cooking Clubs and see what they've all cooked up ...

IHCC Ottolenghi Leek Badge resized

... or check out Ottolenghi: The Cookbook and Ottolenghi's other great titles available from Amazon USA, Amazon UK or Fishpond NZ.

          Ottolenghi: The Cookbook

And while we're on the subject of Going With The Grain, check out these other grain-filled recipes from Ottolenghi I've shared before:

Aubergine & Lemon Risotto 3

Fried Zucchini, Pea & Quinoa Salad 2

This will be my submission this month to Sweet New Zealand, inspired by Alessandra Zecchini and hosted this month by Bridget at After Taste - can't wait to see what sweet treats everyone has come up with this month.

Sweet New Zealand Badge A


I will also be sharing this post at Food on Friday hosted by Carole at Carole's Chatter and at See Ya In the Gumbo hosted by the lovely Michelle at Ms. enPlace.

See Ya in The Gumbo Badge

31 comments:

  1. You are right, this may have been something I would have passed over until I read your comments. Definitely more appealing now!

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    1. I can absolutely promise that the rather "ho-hum" title in no way does these justice :-)

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  2. Yum! Have just finished dinner could you end one my way please??? I love how he even elevates the humble oat bar to something a little decadent & delicious :) These look & sound wonderful Sue. Since I don't have any of these to hand I am now going to have to raid the pantry for chocolate!!

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    1. Mairi, I would happily send a few your way. Yes, Ottolenghi can surprise even with a simple oat bar.

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  3. Hi Sue,
    Lovely oatbars! I never did thought of making something sweet with Going With The Grains! Haha! Making this with homemade jam sounds wonderful, which reminds me I have a jar of homemade plum jam in my fridge too! This looks delightful and something that would be gone in a flash in my house!
    Looking at your other delicious grain recipes, I've got to expand my take on grains, other than rice!
    Have a great and delicious week!

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    1. Hi Joyce, it was a nice change to go in a sweet direction for this theme. I highly recommend these if you've got some homemade jam on hand (actually you could make these with any flavour jam I think) - they disappeared pretty quick around here too :-)

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  4. Sue, these look delicious, I'd love to believe they were health food!

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    1. Clare, there is no question that these are health food. Oats, fruit, nuts - what else could they be??!

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  5. Great health bars! I'm with you.I thought these looked like glorified granola bars, but boy he sure jazzed them up with that topping! Great alterations on your part, incidentally!

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  6. Sue that looks delicious! i'm imagine crunch from Nuts and freshness from plump! PS love your serving plate ;)

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    1. Thanks, Ananda. You have it exactly right - there is a nice bit of crunch from both the nuts and the base, and the soft, oozey and slightly tart jam in the middle. That's one of my favourite little plates - I have a matching tea cup and saucer - it was a set that belonged to my grandmother, so has special memories as well.

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  7. Oh wow! These look absolutely scrumptious!

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  8. Sue - Your post had me giggling the whole way through. I'm so happy that you and Ottolenghi didn't have your first disagreement:) When I saw these bars on your facebook page the other day I was really captivated. I'm equally drawn to these kinds of dessert recipes. These look fabulous!

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    1. Thanks, Kim. I'm very pleased that YO and I didn't have a falling out too - would break my heart.

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  9. Whew. I'm glad YO didn't break your heart.
    This is such a super and unexpected choice for this week's theme--I love it! I would also love to sit down with some coffe and one...ok maybe two...of these bars.

    Thanks in advance for linking up this week!

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    1. Thanks, Michelle. I can confirm that these really are fabulous with coffee, and that it is extremely difficult to stop at just one.

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  10. These look amazing--for breakfast or dessert or anytime. ;-) I am a big fan of raspberry oat bars but I love the idea of the plum jam in these even more.

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    1. Breakfast, morning tea, lunchtime, afternoon tea, dessert, supper - works for all of the above. I love raspberry and oats too, Deb, but I'm definitely happy I chose the plum - I think the slight tartness works really well in these. But really I think you could use anything. I'd quite like to try it with apricot jam, and possibly even with the fig and chocolate jam I made a couple of weeks ago, because really chocolate could only add to the equation.

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  11. This looks and sounds amazing. Just need to work out now how to make a wheat free and sugar free alternative. Loving your posts from Ottolenghi :o)

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    1. Thanks, Julie. A wheat free and sugar free version sounds like a great idea - love to hear about it if you come up with anything.

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  12. I can't believe I have missed that recipe in the book! Looks amazing. I have Jerusalem arriving soon too.

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    1. Thanks, Alli. You are totally going to love Jerusalem when it arrives xo

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  13. Oh, these oat bars do look appealing, Sue! I love jammy treats and the nut topping sounds outrageously good. I was smiling at you and Ottolenghi having a disagreement - I'm happy it was averted!

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    1. Hannah, I'm pleased to that any disagreement between YO and I was so happily averted. I love jammy treats too, and there is something a little nostalgic about this - kind of reminds me of something Mum used to bake when I was kid, though it definitely had a topping like this on it!!

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  14. Lovely dish! Would you be happy to link it in to the new Food on Friday which is all about plums? This is the link . I do hope to see you there. Cheers

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    1. Thanks, Carole, and thanks for the invite. I didn't know about Food on Friday - I'm happy to join in :-)

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    2. Sue, thanks for adding to the "plummy" collection. It is nice to find and follow another Kiwi blog. I look forward to seeing you again soon. Cheers

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