Have you ever started a book and felt an immediate sense of kinship with the author?
This was my experience within the first few pages of Whole-Grain Mornings: New Breakfast Recipes to Span the Seasons
. I just adore Megan Gordon‘s writing, and her recipes are so up my alley. I’ve been cooking from the book for a few months now, so it’s time I tell you about it! I’m also going to share one of the recipes that I’ve been enjoying from the book: Dried Mango and Toasted Coconut Muesli.
Whole-Grain Mornings is chock full of health-promoting, seasonally inspired recipes. Megan is a whiz with granola (she actually owns a company called Marge: it’s seriously the best granola I’ve ever tasted) and you’ll be happy to know she shares a few takes on granola in this book. But the book goes way beyond granola: Megan also shares recipes for things like nut milks, yogurt, fried rice, and numerous condiments and egg dishes. And while it is a breakfast cookbook, I don’t really think there’s a reason to limit the recipes to morning consumption only.
I have made the Smoked Salmon Crème Fraîche Tart, the Whole-Grain Pancake Mix, and the Whole-Grain Gingerbread (I photographed them all because I wasn’t quite sure which recipe I would end up posting here). They were all delicious…
…as was this Dried Mango and Toasted Coconut Muesli.
Muesli isn’t something I make very often…I usually do go for granola instead. But this muesli is briefly toasted, so it’s actually similar to granola (though with far less oil, and with very little added sweetener). I was drawn to this recipe because of the coconut and dried mango…these lend a tropical “vibe” that’s more than welcome this time of year! It’s been so snowy and cold this winter: if I can’t be on the beach, I am going to fantasize about being on the beach, and the ingredients in this muesli help a lot.
Muesli is usually soaked for a short while or overnight (in milk, nut milk, juice or another liquid). Soaking grains does have some potential benefits which Megan mentions in her book (and which I discuss in my book, as well), but soaking doesn’t work that well in this case due to the toasted nature of this muesli. As for serving it, Megan likes to eat her muesli with thinned yogurt; I prefer mine with (raw) milk.
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Recipe for Toasted Coconut and Dried Mango Muesli
Ingredients
- *1/2 cup/125 g rye flakes (I couldn't find these so I used rolled oats
- *1 cup/100 g rolled oats
- *1/2 cup/65 g raw pepitas I used chopped raw pecans instead
- *1/4 cup/15 g wheat bran I used ground flax seeds instead
- *1/4 teaspoon kosher salt I used fine sea salt
- *1/2 cup/25 g unsweetened coconut flakes
- *1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon optional
- *1/4 cup/60 ml honey plus more for serving
- *2 tablespoons coconut oil or extra virgin olive oil
- *1/2 cup/60 g chopped dried mango I used organic, unsweetened dried mango
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
- 2. In a medium bowl, stir together the rye flakes, rolled oats, pepitas (or pecans), wheat bran (or ground flax seeds), salt, coconut flakes, and cinnamon.
- 3. Heat the honey and coconut oil in a small saucepan over low heat until warmed. Pour the mixture into the dry ingredients and stir until combined (you can use your hands to help here). Spread evenly across the prepared baking sheet and bake until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes, stirring occasionally to ensure it's cooked evenly. Remove from the oven and let cool completely on the baking sheet. Add the dried mango and stir to combine.
- 4. Serve with milk or yogurt and a generous drizzle of honey. Store in an air-tight container at room temperature: the muesli should remain fresh for at least three weeks.
