I’m continuing with my mission to seek out great fuel sources for Training and racing whilst trying to balance out the sugar rich, carb heavy shop bought bars and drinks. I have always eaten solid food on the bike when racing for anything above a standard distance because I get hungry!!
My carrot, courgette and feta flapjacks have been my firm favourite savoury fuel but these nut bars are pretty epic and give them a run for their money!! I can’t avoid the sticky sweetener of honey in the recipe because it’s the glue that holds it all together although in the grand scheme it is a small amount per bar (10g if cut into 9 squares). It compliments the smokey Piri Piri in the best way!
The trickiest part to these bars is cutting them at the right time. You need to line your baking tin carefully with good quality greaseproof paper so you can lift the cooked batch out easily and then leave to cool. Ive found that a silicone pan with a thick lining (triple fold) of greaseproof paper works best to lift the baked mix out of the pan.
Whilst it is still only just warm, you can try to cut into bars. If the nuts crumble away, stop, give it a few more minutes to cool and try again. If it goes completely cool you won’t be able to cut it neatly. If this happens though, cut it as you can and you’ll still get great chunks of smokey, Nut clusters that would be great stashed in your top bar bag for regular munching.
SMOKEY PIRI PIRI
NUT BARS
Makes 9
250g whole almonds
90g pumpkin seeds
20g flax seeds
20g sesame seeds
10g chia seeds
90g honey
2tsp smokey Piri Piri powder (I used Nando’s)
1- Roughly chop the almonds. Leave half quite chunky and half you can chop a little more
2- Heat a large frying pan on a medium to high heat. Drizzle with a little rapeseed or coconut oil and add the almonds and Piri Piri seasoning. Stir/toss the nuts in the spices for 3-4 minutes. Leave to Cool.
3- Grease and line an 8” Square baking tray ensuring the lining goes up all 4 sides. Use good quality greaseproof paper! Lightly brush with oil of choice. Pre-heat the oven to 170°C (fan assist).
4- Gently warm the honey in a microwave for 20-30 seconds Don’t let it boil!
5- In a bowl, combine the toasted almonds, pumpkin seeds, flax, sesame and chia and pour over the warmed honey and fold together.
6- Pour the mixture into your lines baking tin And even out with a rubber spatula, pressing down into the pan. If the mixture sticks to the spatula, wet it a little to avoid it sticking.
7- Bake for 18 minutes until the honey is bubbling around the edges and the surface is toasted. set aside to cool.
8- leave for 20-30 minutes to cool
and try to remove from the pan. The Nut mixture should still be slightly pliable but not falling apart. If it’s breaking up, leave for a few more minutes and try again.
9- Once out of the pan, leave to cool for a few more minutes before attempting to cut. If the nuts fall away, leave it again for a few more minutes until you can make a clean cut. Don’t leave it to harden completely as you won’t be able to cut cleanly into individual bars. If all else fails it can be muched as large broken clusters and it still tastes good!
Yorumlar