No matter how much I love oatmeal (and it’s a lot), I rarely have the craving for a warm  bowl of it during the summer months. I would rather have something refreshing and preferably something that can easily follow with me to the beach for a breakfast out in nature. 

Bircher muesli? If you’re not familiar with it, it is a popular breakfast dish in Germany and Switzerland that is very similar to the trendy overnight oats, but with muesli as a base instead of just plain oatmeal. The name comes from the Swiss man who is said to have come up with the recipe in the early 1900’s.

Add oatmeal and seeds, or a ready-made muesli, soak in the evening, and you have a really creamy and saturated raw-like porridge ready to eat in the morning. You can eat it cold or let it sit out for a while to come to room temp before eating it. Technically you could even heat it up if you are going for a hot porridge but that’s not what we’re doing today.

Bonus tip: make a larger batch of the plum compote, it can store for a week with a tight lid, and it’s good on an array of dishes.

Bircher Muesli with Plum Compote
(2 servings)

1 red apple, unpeeled and coarsely grated
1 cup oatmeal
2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds
2 tablespoons chia seeds
2 tablespoons flax seeds
¼ cup dried organic fruit or berries
½ cup unsweetened preferred yoghurt
1 cup of water

Plum Compote:
2 plums, diced
¼ cup water
1 tablespoon chia seeds

Combine all of the muesli ingredients in a bowl. Stir again after 10 minutes to avoid clumps. Split into two bowls or in glass jars to create a portable breakfast for the next day. Leave to rest in a cool place for 8 hours or overnight.

Simmer the plums with the water in a saucepan until they softened and mix into a puree with a stick mixer. Stir in the chia seeds. Stir again after a few minutes to avoid clumping. Cool for 5 minutes.

Top the bircher muesli with plum compote before serving.

Tip!
Try varying the fruit in the compote. Replace the plum with raspberries, strawberries or rhubarb (+ maple syrup to offset the tartness).

Photo: Fanny Hansson (The new green protein, Bonnier Fakta).

This is a guest post. The opinions expressed are the writer’s own.