Overnight Soaked Muesli

Is it just I, or other readers who love to eat the Bircher muesli usually on offer at hotel breakfasts? I could never resist a large dollop or two. When I researched this many years ago, I realised that it was actually quite rich, made with cream and fairly large amounts of sweeteners like honey.

I then came across a recipe by Jamie Oliver for “Pukkola” and that was my first attempt at making something akin to the Bircher.  Oliver just mixes oats with dry fruit and nuts and soaks it all overnight.

Fast forward a few years, trying to feed it to 2 young children, one of who was somewhat picky, and would pick out bits of dried fruit he didn’t like. Wasting any food at home is a no no. So I started processing the ingredients in my food processor so that large bits wouldn’t be visible. Et Voila! It was now nearly impossible for brat no. 2 to pick out unlikeable bits of dates, figs etc.

I don’t really follow a recipe for the mix, and usually throw in whatever I like and have handy so I wrote down what I used last time, so that I could blog it.  Feel free to mix your own.

It’s now become a regular breakfast staple at home, appearing on the menu about once a week. I love to serve it with fresh fruit, and a small topping of homemade granola to provide a crunchy contrast to the creaminess of the muesli.

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Overnight Soaked Muesli

To soak the muesli overnight, you could use either juice or milk. I don’t stock any juice at home so use plain milk. I also find that using juice makes the end result sweeter, so I would recommend cutting back on the dried fruit in the mix if you prefer to soak the mixture in juice. I do use a tablespoon or so of cream whilst serving the kids, but stick with whole milk homemade yoghurt for the adults. There isn’t much of a recipe, but here’s my attempt in giving you some ideas on what you could use. Other additional include sesame seeds, flaked coconut, other nuts like Brazil nuts and macadamia.

Course

Breakfast

Cuisine

Modern British

Prep Time

10 min

Servings

cups of dry muesli

Ingredients

• For the dry muesli:
• 3 cups rolled oats
• 2 tablespoons chia seeds
• 2 tablespoons flax seeds
• 1/2 cup raisins or currants
• 1/2 cup dried apricots halved or roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup figs or seedless dates, halved
• 1/4 cup sunflower seeds
• 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
• 1/4 cup walnuts
• 1/4 cup almonds or cashews or pistachios

To serve:

• 1 cup dry muesli mix (for 4 servings)
• 1 to 1 1/2 cups milk to soak
• 1 green apple can substitute with a pear or an eating apple
• plain yoghurt
• 2-3 tablespoons cream optional
• fresh berries and banana
• 3-4 tablespoons crunchy granola
• maple syrup to drizzle optional

Course Breakfast Cuisine Modern British Prep Time 10 min Servings cups of dry muesli Ingredients For the dry muesli: 3 cups rolled oats 2 tablespoons chia seeds 2 tablespoons flax seeds 1/2 cup raisins or currants 1/2 cup dried apricots halved or roughly chopped 1/2 cup figs or seedless dates, halved 1/4 cup sunflower seeds 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds 1/4 cup walnuts 1/4 cup almonds or cashews or pistachios To serve: 1 cup dry muesli mix (for 4 servings) 1 to 1 1/2 cups milk to soak 1 green apple can substitute with a pear or an eating apple plain yoghurt 2-3 tablespoons cream optional fresh berries and banana 3-4 tablespoons crunchy granola maple syrup to drizzle optional

Instructions

To made the dry muesli:

1. Just place all the ingredients in a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Pulse until coarsely ground.

   
2. Store in an airtight container in a cool dry spot. The mixture can last for a long time, up to 2 months. It’s essentially the nuts that can go rancid, so if your kitchen is warm, store in the fridge.

   

To use:

1. I use about 3 heaped tablespoons (1/4 cup) of the dry mix per person. The night before, place the dry mix in a medium bowl.
2. Grate the apple with the skin on. Green apple will be more tangy and goes very well with the sweetness of the dried fruit. But pear and red apples are fine too.
3. Mix the grated apple and enough milk to fully cover the dry mix.
4. Leave overnight in the fridge.

   
5. The next portion, the muesli will have soaked all the milk and would be quite dry. Add yoghurt or yoghurt and cream to loosen the mix to a spooning consistency, or as you like it.

   
6. Serve out into shallow bowls. Top with the crunchy granola, some berries and banana and dash of maple syrup.

   

Recipe Notes

• If using dates, you might find that the food processor doesn't do a good job of chopping them. If you want them as finely chopped as the other ingredients, process the dates first with part of the oats until you get the consistency you want. Then add the rest of the ingredients and process again.

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