Would it be presuming of us to think that a few of you are reading this post in horizontal position? We are imagining you lying on the couch with a big bowl of Christmas food leftovers balancing on a pillow next to you and a pile of cookies on the sofa table? It’s how these days between Christmas and New Year usually are spent. And rightfully so, after all the holiday craziness it’s nice to just doze away for a while.
But sometime soon you will probably start feeling for something fresh again. Regardless if it is tomorrow or next year, we’ve got the perfect recipe for you. It’s a true breakfast revelation, and such a pretty one as well.
First time we tried quinoa bircher was at one of the many trendy Melbourne cafes, one year ago, and then again at Satan’s Coffee Corner (that name!) in Barcelona. We knew that we had stumbled over something great and have since then been experimenting with our own quinoa/buckwheat/oat bircher recipes. Simply explained, this bircher is made by mixing quick-cooked quinoa (making it more crunchy than mushy) with oats, yogurt (or coconut yogurt), vanilla and ginger. Then we top it with ripe persimmons, nut butter, bee pollen and these beautiful edible flower petals that we found at a local store. The result is a creamy and fresh breakfast that is super satisfying and really delicious. The petals actually taste surprisingly good – very flower-y – and suits this dish really well, but we mostly use them because they are pretty. If you can’t find any, feel free to make this dish without them.
With this post, we also want to wish you all a happy end of the year and hope that you will get a great start of the next one! We are honestly so happy and grateful to have you reading our posts and trying our recipes. We have a bunch of special and exciting things (new book coming out!) for you in 2016, so stay with us.
Big big LOVE!
/David, Luise, Elsa & Isac!
Quinoa & Oat Bircher with Persimmons & Petals
Serves 2-4
1/2 cup uncooked quinoa + 1 cup water (or 1 cup leftover cooked quinoa/millet/buckwheat)
1 pinch sea salt
1 cup rolled oats or jumbo oats
2 cups unsweetened creamy greek yogurt or non-dairy ‘yogurt’
1/4 tsp ground vanilla or 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp freshly grated ginger
Optional toppings
persimmon or other seasonal fruit
nut butter
bee pollen
dried flower petals
maple syrup
Quick-cooked quinoa: Place 1/2 cup rinsed quinoa, 1 cup water and a pinch of salt in a medium-size saucepan. Bring to a boil, lower the heat immediately to a bare simmer and let gently cook for about 8 minutes. The texture should be soft with a crunchy feeling (think al dente). Drain the excess water and set aside to cool in a mixing bowl.
Combine the quick-cooked quinoa with oats and stir in yogurt, vanilla and ginger. Serve in two large bowls or four smaller and top with thinly sliced persimmon, nut butter, bee pollen and petals. Drizzle over a teaspoon maple syrup if you prefer it a little sweeter.
Store any leftovers in the fridge for up to 3 days. This recipe is ideal for preparing ahead stored in a sealed jar and then have the toppings added right before serving.
PS! I’m suspecting that we’ll get some questions about the bowls. They are from Danish ceramics KH Würtz and they are just as gorgeous IRL.
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