River Cottage Breakfast Recipes

Swiss Style Muesli

Ingredients

• 200g porridge oats
• 150g mixed dried fruit of your choice, such as raisins, sultanas, dried apricots, dates, prunes
• 100g nuts of your choice, lightly toasted if you have time
• 100g wheat flakes (optional)
• 3-4 tbsp seeds, such as pumpkin, sunflower, sesame or flax (optional)
• To serve (for 1)
• 1 crisp eating apple
• Juice of 1-2 oranges (or a little milk, if you prefer)
• Sugar or honey
• Plain yoghurt

METHOD

How to make swiss style muesli

1. To make the muesli, put the oats in a bowl. Roughly chop larger dried fruits, such as apricots, dates and prunes. Leave the nuts whole, or chop them roughly if you prefer. Add the fruit and nuts to the oats, together with the wheat flakes and seeds if using, and stir to combine. Tip into an airtight container, seal and store in a cool, dark place until required.
2. For a serving of muesli, put about 50g of the muesli mix into a bowl. Coarsely grate or finely chop the apple (including the skin) and add this to the muesli. Squeeze the orange(s) and add the juice to the bowl (or use milk, if you like). Stir to blend everything evenly and leave to soak for about 10 minutes. Finally, sprinkle over just a little sugar or trickle over some honey, add a good dollop of yoghurt and serve.

honey and peanut butter booster bars

Ingredients

• 125g unsalted butter
• 150g soft brown sugar or light muscovado sugar
• 125g no-sugar-added crunchy peanut butter
• 75g honey, plus a little more to finish
• Finely grated zest of 1 orange
• Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
• 200g porridge oats (not jumbo)
• 150g dried fruit, such as raisins, sultanas and chopped apricots, prunes or dates, either singly or in combination 150g mixed seeds, such as pumpkin, sunflower, poppy, linseed and sesame

METHOD

How to make honey and peanut butter booster bars

1. Grease and line a baking tin, about 20cm square. Put the butter, sugar, peanut butter, honey and grated citrus zests in a deep saucepan over a very low heat. Leave until melted, stirring from time to time.
2. Stir the oats, dried fruit and three-quarters of the seeds into the melted butter mixture until thoroughly combined. Spread the mixture out evenly in the baking tin, smoothing the top as you go.
3. Scatter the remaining seeds over the surface and trickle with a little more honey. Place in an oven preheated to 160°C/Gas Mark 3 and bake for about 30 minutes, until golden in the centre and golden brown at the edges.
4. Leave to cool completely in the tin (be patient - it cuts much better when cold), then turn out and cut into squares with a sharp knife. These bars will keep for 5-7 days in an airtight tin.
Variation: Banana booster bars: Replace the peanut butter with 1 medium ripe banana (about 175g), mashed. Stir it in after all the other ingredients have been combined.