Bircher Muesli

Serves 1

Ingredients

1/2 cups rolled oats
100ml liquid – water or apple juice, enough to just cover the oats
small pinch salt
1 tbsp sultanas, chopped dried apricot etc (optional)
1 crisp, tart apple, coarsely grated
Dash of milk
Handful of almonds, roughly chopped
Good spoonful of yoghurt
Honey to taste

Summary

Writing out this recipe, I found the best ever summary on all things bircher here. It covers the full gamut of fairly complicated, fancy recipes and I like the way she acknowledges them all, but comes around in the end to ’embrace the Swiss simplicity’. Exactly my thinking. It’s a nourishing apple-y bowl of soaked oats for breakfast, delicious and simple, let’s not make this harder than it needs to be.

Here’s what you need for a single serve. If you have a breakfast crowd, soak a big batch, get an apple each and away you go.

Bircher Muesli

Soak the oats, pinch of salt (and dried fruit) in the water/apple juice overnight. You can absolutely make a bircher without overnight soaking, even 15 minutes in the morning will suffice, but it is worth it.

Try half and half apple juice and water, or if you don’t fancy any extra sweetness just forget the juice. I use water, and find a few sultanas with yoghurt and honey is enough for me. You could also soak in milk.

In the morning, get out the oats and grate the apple over the top. You may want to add a dash of milk to loosen the mix. Stir it all up. Add a dollop of good creamy yoghurt on top, some chopped almonds, honey and bircher simplicity is yours.