Sweet olive pistachio flapjacks

I've finally done it! I've found and made the most delicious sweet flapjack made without any artificially-sweet syrup and with all-natural healthy ingredients. The olive oil imparts an elegant undertone and the tang of the currants plays against the earthy pistachios. Divinity in snack form.

If you haven't made flapjacks before then don't worry if they don't turn out right the very first time. Since the only thing binding the oats is the oil and agave they can crumble if the right proportions aren't used or if they aren't cooked enough. And don't try to eat then right out of the pan! (it doesn't work, trust me.)

I use Flavanan's organic porridge oats and have had much better success with it than with my previous brand, Jordan's organic. Flavanan's oats are more, for lack of a better word, "broken up" and I think this makes the oats coalesce more easily. If I were making these at home, stateside, I would take some Quaker oats and throw them in the blender for a minute before using them in this recipe.

Feel free to take the basic oil, agave, oat ratio and add in other flavors. Any chopped dried fruit or nut would work nicely here. Other oils should work too. As should honey or other natural sweeteners. I found date-syrup at whole foods yesterday and I can't wait to try that with some walnuts next time!


Sweet olive pistachio flapjacks

1 cup olive oil
1 cup agave
1/2 cup chopped pistachios
1/4 cup currants
About 5 cups porridge oats

Preheat oven to 350 with rack in the center of the oven.

Put olive oil and agave in a large pot on stove and stir and bring to a boil. Take pot off heat and add the pistachios and the currants. Gradually stir in the oats. You might need a little more or a little less than 5 cups of oats. The mixture should be more damp than wet, but none of the oats should look dry.

Turn mixture into a greased 8x8 pan and pat it down evenly and firmly. Bake for about 20 minutes.

Let stand for 5 minutes then cut into bars. Do NOT attempt to remove them from the pan until they are FULLY cooled, about an hour.