Bircher Muesli aka Improved Overnight Oats

When I was in Australia in 2006, I kept running into a curious breakfast offering known as 'bircher muesli'.  I couldn't quite figure out what was going on - it was a delicious cold oatmeal dish with a nice blend of textures, from the slightly chewy oats and fruit to the crunchy nuts.  Garnished with fresh fruit, this became one of my favorites, and I brought the concept home.  It turned out that the secret was to not cook the oats, but instead to soak them overnight in the fridge with a mixture of other healthy breakfast items and fluids.  The oats absorb the liquid and become not only edible, but delicious and probably slightly more healthy than the cooked variant, although I would question their nutrient availability.

The other day I was talking about this dish with a food marketing friend, and she told me that the internet was currently flooded with prissy fitness instructors' recipes for "overnight oats".  Apparently a variation of this dish has caught on among American health-starved food fad folks, and they have stripped out some of the better elements and loaded it up with only the healthiest of liquids and additives.  I believe that the Australian version is far superior, as they like to add things like flavor and texture to their dish, and since they are very much a muesli and porridge culture, I trust their judgment.  So before overnight oats goes the way of the jello mold, let me see if I can reclaim the Australian flag here and rescue this dish from the fad category.


Bircher Muesli
By Flip Shelton (an actual Australian!)

"Tailor your flavours using any combination of dried and fresh fruit and nuts. If you don't like yoghurt, add more mashed banana and fruit juice. Double the recipe to make enough for several days' breakfasts - it tastes even better after a little time in the fridge." - Flip, proving that this is definitely not from America

Serves 1-2

• 1 cup rolled oats
• ½ cup apple juice (or freshly squeezed orange juice)
• ½ cup yogurt
• 1/8 cup currants, or golden raisins
• 1/8 cup slivered almonds
• a sprinkling of ground nutmeg
• a sprinkling of ground cinnamon
• ½ Granny Smith apple, grated (skin on), to serve
• ½ banana, sliced or mashed, to serve
• seasonal berries and mint sprigs, to serve

Combine the rolled oats, apple juice, yoghurt, currants, almonds, nutmeg and cinnamon in a large bowl and stir together. Chill overnight (or for at least two hours).

Te serve, stir in the grated apple and banana, put into a bowl and garnish with seasonal berries and mint sprigs.

I like the color contrast of the oats, the banana, and the green grated apple, so I don't stir to incorporate.

Now, the most important part - variations.  Here are a list of different things to add to this that I have come across, either from the Aussies or from the crazy health-conscious Americans.  See if you can guess who provided what ideas:

• Add passionfruit pulp
• Use dried cranberries instead of golden raisins
• Add dried apricots or dried pears
• Use pumpkin seeds instead of almonds
• Replace apple juice with almond milk
• Add chia seeds
• Replace apple juice with milk, add cocoa powder
• Add peanut butter or PB2
• Add maple syrup and blueberries

I also like the idea of serving this in a mason jar.  I'm going to try that and post more pictures soon.

Moroccan Chickpea Stew

In a bizarre fit of vegetarianism, I decided to make a chickpea stew the other day.  I had something similar at a French bistro, and it was so good that I decided to try it at home.  The beauty was that I had most of the ingredients in my pantry already, so I just had to buy some yogurt (which makes the dish, so don't skip it).

Moroccan cooking is heavily influenced by the French, so that's why I've added thyme to my recipe.  You won't see it in the original pictures, but I added it to the leftovers the next day and reheated on the stove, and it really brought a sweet, perfumed flavor to the dish that elevated it from a somewhat bland stew to something that seemed more, well, global.  If you really want to get crazy, the advice I got yesterday was to add za'atar, an Arab spice blend containing sesame seeds, sumac, thyme, salt, and other spices.  You can also cook this in a tagine if you're lucky enough to have one.

Moroccan Chickpea Stew, served over rice and garnished with greek yogurt

Moroccan Chickpea Stew

Adapted from Cooking Light

• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 cup diced yellow onion (about 1 medium)
• 1 cup diced carrot (about 1 large)
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 jalapeño pepper, minced, seeds mostly removed
• 1 1/2 cups cubed waxy potato such as Yukon gold, peeled, about 1 large
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 tsp fresh thyme, minced, or 1/2 tsp za'atar seasoning (optional)
• 1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained, or 4-5 fresh tomatoes, peeled
• 1 (15 1/2-ounce) can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained
• 1 (14-ounce) can vegetable broth
• 3 cups hot cooked rice or couscous
• 1/2 cup plain low-fat yogurt, preferably greek

The setup.  You can use either canned chickpeas or the dried kind, but you'll need to cook them extra if you choose the latter.  FYI, I used a russet and was careful with the cooking time, but Yukon gold is preferred.

I should have used canned tomatoes, but I liked using my heirlooms from my garden.  If you're using whole though, peeling them would be preferable.  See my guide on that here and here.

Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat.  Add onion, carrot, garlic, and jalapeño to pan; sauté 6 minutes or until tender.  You can brown these slightly, but make sure not to burn anything.

Saute the more hearty vegetables first

Stir in the potato and next 8 ingredients (through broth).  Bring to a boil.  Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes or until potato is tender.  If you use waxy potatoes like Yukon golds, you have some safety margin on overcooking.  If you use russets though, the starch will dissolve and your potato will turn to mush if you go too long.  Just something to be aware of.

Once you've sauteed the stronger vegetables, add the quick cooking potato, tomato, and chickpeas, along with the broth and spices.

The finished stew.  Everything cooks down quickly, so it's a very fast dish.

To serve, plate over rice or couscous.  A nice presentation I had once was to serve in a roasted eggplant half, which is then placed on a bed of couscous.  Top with yogurt and perhaps minced cilantro.