There’s an unexpected and breathtakingly beautiful rose garden in Billong St. Neutral Bay. It’s the handy work of one serious green thumb and it never fails to turn heads. I took a walk there recently and thought you might want to come along and smell the roses.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
The beautiful aroma of the garden got me all inspired to use rose in the kitchen this week. I decided to make a winter rose granola. I highly recommend finding some fresh rose petals to sprinkle on the top, since it makes for a real sense of occasion with this one. Pomegranate and rose are a perfect pairing and since pomegranates are in season, it’s time to get out the big bowl, wooden spoon and start smacking those seeds into a beautiful red mess.
 

 
Winter Rose Granola
Makes approx. 5 cups
 
250g rolled oats (2 cups)
80g sunflower seeds (1/2 cup)
80g sesame seeds (1/2 cup)
170g slivered almonds (1 1/4 cups)
60g brown sugar (1/4 cup, densely packed)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
140g apple purée (1/2 cup)
170g honey (1/2 cup)
3 Tbsp pomegranate molasses
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
70g currants
2 tsp rosewater
1 1/2 Tbsp dried rose petals
 
Preheat oven to 150°C.
Line a baking tray with baking paper.
In a large mixing bowl, combine oats, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, slivered almonds, brown sugar, salt and spices.
In a jug, whisk together apple purée, honey, pomegranate molasses and vegetable oil.
Pour the wet mixture over the dry ingredients and mix together thoroughly.
Spread the mixture evenly over the prepared baking tray.
Bake for about 60 minutes or till golden brown. Check and stir the granola every 20 minutes and watch that the edges don’t burn (stirring is important in this step).
Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly before adding the currants, rosewater and rose petals.
 

 
I hope you enjoy bringing the roses into your kitchen as much as I did.
Happy Baking.