Granola

I have fallen in love with granola, in life and at work. I exercise every morning, and then I have a monstrous day in front of me. Granola gives me energy. It's quick, tasty, and healthy. At Eleven Madison Park, instead of brioche or chocolates, we give our guests a jar of breakfast granola as a gift at the end of a meal. We also make savory granolas. For a tomato salad with mozzarella ice cream, we make a Provençal granola that includes basil, garlic, and Parmesan; I use it on top of beet salad, too. This past spring, we made a lobster dish with carrots in an orange beurre blanc. For texture, we added puffed rice. Then I said, "What if we add lentils?" Then we added tapioca, then vadouvan, a mild French curry made with piment d'espelette. It might seem unusual, but if it has oats and grains, some sugar and salt, and it's crispy, to me, that's a granola. —Daniel Humm, Eleven Madison Park, New York City