The Beauty of Bircher Muesli

In our house we predominantly have cereal for breakfast during the week. During summer I favour Bircher Muesli, whereas in winter, we naturally eat a lot of porridge.  I always look forward to when the time comes around to make Bircher Muesli again as there's nothing better or more suited to my tastes than having a bowl of oats, fruit and yoghurt for breakfast in summer.

As with many well known foods the modern versions that we know bear little resembelance to the original, and so it is with Bircher Muesli.  The original actually used very little oats and was made with cream, whereas it is accepted that modern versions are made with yoghurt.  Apart from the basics of oats, fruit and yoghurt you can pretty much improvise with Bircher Muesli and this is what I like about it.

I always make a large quantity of the basic mix and then I top it with whatever fruit I feel like each day.  Nuts are optional but a very nice addition.  The bowl of muesli keeps for several days in the fridge and couldn't make breakfast much easier to manage really.

Bircher Muesli

Ingredients:

Muesli:

2 cups of rolled oats

1 - 1½ cups of fruit juice (any flavour, but apple works well)
3 tbs of slivered almonds
3 tbs of sunflower seeds
2 tbs of flax seeds
Cinnamon, to taste
2 tbs sultanas or other dried fruit (optional)

For Serving:

2 desert spoons of low fat natural yoghurt or sheep’s milk yoghurt

Your choice of chopped fresh fruit, dried fruit and nuts.

Method:

Add all the dry ingredients to a bowl and then add the fruit juice. A pyrex bowl with a plastic lid is ideal.

Mix everything together so that all the dry ingredients are wet and then cover and leave in the fridge overnight.

To Serve:

Add yoghurt to ½ cup of muesli and stir to combine in a bowl. Then add chopped fresh fruit, dried fruit and nuts as desired.

Some suggestions are - mango and macadamias, pear and roasted hazelnuts, apple and walnuts or almonds, barberries and pistachios, strawberries, blueberries and pecans.