Smashed Cucumbers and Scallions over Garlicky Yogurt by Alison Roman

There are a handful of Alison’s recipes that I’m just not looking forward to eating. I don’t mind making them, but eating them is another story. It’s either the flavor combinations that don’t sound appealing or some kind of stew involving lots of different seafoods (she has more than one recipe like this!). I’ve said before that I am committed to trusting Alison. I’m committed to making the recipes I doubt. But just because I make them, doesn’t mean I have to like them. 

I doubted this recipe – hardcore. I did not like the sound of savory yogurt and cucumbers with a salty granola for breakfast. If I’m going to eat a savory breakfast, it absolutely must have eggs. It’s a personal principle. So I made this for lunch – a great decision! 

The recipe contains 3 core elements: 

  1. Plain yogurt mixed with raw grated garlic, lemon juice, and salt and pepper. The ratio of garlic and lemon to yogurt kept this from tasting too much like a dip. 

  2. Cucumbers, smashed with scallions and more lemon juice. I didn’t have scallions so I substituted them with chives. I put my cut cucumbers, chives and lemon juice in a ziploc and pounded them with the bottom of a skillet. By the fifth or sixth hammer, the bag split open and the cucumber pieces spread out over the counter. That was my signal to quit annoying my neighbors. 

  3. Decidedly Not-Sweet Granola - Read all about it in that link. 

I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised. I genuinely enjoyed this meal! The cucumbers bathed in lemon juices and chopped chive were a really nice crunchy counterpoint to the toasted granola. And mixed altogether with the savory yogurt, it was both filling and flavorful. It was a great post-workout meal, one that I’ll make again. 

84 recipes cooked, 141 to go.

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Decidedly Not-Sweet Granola by Alison Roman

Alison has two granola recipes. Kinda-sweet and Decidedly not-sweet. Both are really good.

In my previous granola post, I outlined my criteria for an excellent granola – because yes, I do have standards. Anyone serious about granola should. I will use my developed criteria to develop this rather not sweet granola. 

1. Every good granola recipe has an X factor. 

This granola has 2 X factors: 

Soy sauce (I’ll admit this made me hesitate. Would I like soy sauce on my granola? Would it be too savory to put on my plain yogurt? But it balanced well with the tiny bit of maple syrup, far better than I anticipated! And at least it wasn’t fish sauce!)

Aleppo pepper (the perfect amount of heat)

2. Every good granola recipe is also a template. 

So this recipe did not have as many options listed in it as the Kinda-Sweet one did. I think the spices and maple syrup to soy sauce ratio is non-negotiable. The flavor balance is what gives this granola its namesake. The egg whites must also stay the same - they give the granola its signature crunch. But she does list quite a lot of seeds to put in the granola, half of which I could not find or could not eat (gluten intolerance). In this way, it’s a template. I used: rolled oats, raw pumpkin seeds, flaxseeds, white sesame seeds, fennel seed, aleppo pepper. I did not use: sunflower seeds, buckwheat groats, black sesame seeds, nigella seeds, or caraway seeds. 

3. Every good granola recipe makes a lot of granola. 

Once again, this made plenty of granola – enough to last me and my friend Molly about 4 days in Colorado. It could have sustained us longer, but hey, we were hungry from all the physical activity! We ate this on its own, and with plain goat’s milk yogurt (if you haven’t yet, try it, find it at TJ’s) and a dash of maple syrup. 

In summary, I’d say this is another good granola recipe. Savory with a kick, and begging for a drizzle of maple syrup. 


76 recipes cooked, 149 to go.