Gooseberry and Elderflower Bircher Muesli

Gooseberry and elderflower bircher muesli

As I’ve mentioned before, I love an oat or two. They form the basis of about 75% of my breakfasts (we’ve written extensively about my other choice in the shape of a duck egg) and the year is split into two phases: porridge or bircher muesli. The latter tends to herald the arrival of summer when I switch from the creamy warmth of porridge to the softness of soaked oats and a heap of seasonal fruit to start the day. However this year, the switch has not been followed by an actual change in the seasons so I decided to make my muesli a bit more of a treat and flavour it with the light and tangy tastes of gooseberry and elderflower.

Super simple, but so good it’ll make you leap out of bed on a Monday morning, this is a seasonal treat and a half. Instead of using the more traditional apple juice to soak the oats, I used elderflower cordial.

Gooseberry and Elderflower Bircher Muesli (serves one)

  • 50g oats  (use jumbo oats or look out for Flahavans)
  • 60ml/1/4 cup elderflower cordial
  • 60ml/ 1/4 cup water
  • 2-3 tablespoons Greek yoghurt
  • handful gooseberries, topped and tailed
  • teaspoon sugar
  • vanilla extract

This is a dish best prepped the night before, but don’t panic, it’s very simple. First add a teaspoon of sugar per handful of gooseberries and add a scant sticky trickle of vanilla extract and then roast your gooseberries in a 180℃ oven for about 20 minutes or until they collapse in their own syrup slightly. Set aside.

Soak the oats in the elderflower/water mix overnight. You can do it for 5 or 10 minutes before you eat, but overnight really plumps the oats up and makes them even better.

Then next morning, fuelled by the live giving power of tea, tip a couple of tablespoons of Greek yoghurt (proper stuff, not that weird no fat high sugar stuff that advertisers seem to think womenhood is entirely constructed of) and add in your roasted goosegogs. Stir round and then melt into the sweet creamy oats and sour kick of the yoghurt and fruit and feel ten times more awake, surprisingly healthy and totally full up til lunchtime. It might even kid you it’s actually summer…

6 replies
  1. thelittleloaf
    thelittleloaf says:

    Ooh yum! I love love LOVE the idea of using elderflower to soak up my bircher oats. I’ve been using a mixture of apple and pear juice recently, but it’s good to mix things up and I bet it works wonderfully with the tart gooseberries. Delicious post 🙂

  2. shuhan
    shuhan says:

    love that you let the oats soak up all that gooseberry and elderflower goodness, one of my flfavourite flavour combinations of summer I must say! (proper stuff, not that weird, no fat high sugar stuff that advertisers seem to think womenhood is constructed of)<–EXACTLY! my philosophy to food is really just eating real whole, local, and in season. sod that fat/carb debate. (btw not sure if it's my com or your blog, but I always have problems entering my comments which is why I don't often comment. I can't see what I type so I'll just pray this goes through right probably will be full of typos typo errors. )

  3. Miss South
    Miss South says:

    Shuhan, sorry it’s tricky to comment. I have problems with WordPress allowing me to comment on other people’s blogs sometimes. Very frustrating!

    Agree with you on the local seasonal whole vibe. I think our grandparents had the right idea. The odd prepack biscuit is fine, but keep the processed stuff to a limit. And take your lady-yoghurt-as-a-great-treat and be gone. My idea of a good time is a rare steak actually…

    Margo, you saw the reverential look and hushed silence over the Flahavans. Oats are awesome!

    The Little Loaf, this was a perfect Monday breakfast. Made me want to leap out of bed in anticipation!

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