Raw sprouted buckwheat bars with dates and cacao

Rather than sugar-heavy cereal bars, here is a batch built on other foundations: they work equally well as an on-the-go snack, a small treat, or crumbled over a bowl as morning cereal. Sweetened with dates alone, they rest on home-sprouted buckwheat and take their flavour from tahini, coconut oil, cacao, vanilla and a touch of cinnamon. The sprouted buckwheat is what makes all the difference in texture: where oat flakes would give a compact paste, sprouted then dried groats keep a clean crunch that runs through every bite. It is also what asks for the most planning - count on roughly four days of soaking and rinsing before you even start the bars - but nothing complicated, just a gesture to repeat morning and evening. The assembly itself takes about twenty minutes. Once pressed and firmed in the cold, they slice with a knife and keep very well in the freezer, where they stay pleasant to bite into without ever hardening completely. This is the kind of preparation you make once to cover several weeks of small hungers.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups sprouted buckwheat groats
• 1/2 cup chopped dates, soaked in filtered water the day before
• 1/4 cup raw cacao powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 heaping tablespoon tahini
• 1 heaping tablespoon coconut oil
• 1/4 cup chopped nuts of your choice
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Preparation

Sprouting the buckwheat

1. Soak the buckwheat groats in filtered water - an overnight soak works very well.
2. The next day, rinse thoroughly to remove the gel-like coating, drain, then rinse again. Repeat this rinse-and-drain daily for about four days.
3. The groats are ready once small tails begin to appear - a sign they have reached their nutritional peak.
4. Leave the sprouted buckwheat to dry overnight in the open air (a dehydrator works too, but is not essential if the air is dry). Once dry, it is ready to use.

Assembling the bars

1. Soak the dates in just enough water to cover them; if you are pressed for time, 20 minutes in warm water is enough to soften them.
2. Drain the dates, but keep the soaking water aside just in case.
3. In a food processor, blend the dates with the vanilla, salt, tahini, coconut oil, cacao powder and cinnamon until you have a smooth paste.
4. Stop the processor and fold in the sprouted buckwheat and chopped nuts by hand, adding a little of the reserved date water if the mixture needs loosening.
5. Press the mixture into a tin or tray and smooth it out with a spatula (or shape it into balls, if you prefer).
6. Freeze for at least 30 minutes to firm up, then slice with a sharp knife. Store in the freezer for a firmer, crunchier bite.

Tip

The daily rinsing of the buckwheat is not a formality: the mucilage it releases while soaking clings to the groats and, if it is not washed away, it turns the sprouting sour rather than supporting it. Rinse until the water runs completely clear, morning and evening, and always let the groats drain with no standing water at the bottom of the container.

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