Aoife Cox writes: Sister Sadie: Breakfast at 11
Almost 11am. Up and going since 6am and two breakfasts to the good already. Hurrying along Harrington St., I spot Sister Sadie, Brother Hubbard’s new south side sibling on her opening day. My body has started the detour across the road before my mind catches up and follows through with the procurement of coffee and breakfast number three, a cinnamon scroll that cheers me on, and reminds me that Dublin can indeed be heaven around this time of day. Another, different day, I return properly, and sit myself down for the S. S. autumnal bircher muesli - and it is worth pausing to admire the seemingly effortless prettiness of that which sails within her: creamy soaked oats, dressed with pomegranate seeds, toasted hazelnuts, warm fruit and geranium compote and mint, a dazzling early morning composition of textures, colours and tastes. If it is indeed true that you should breakfast like a king, then at Sister Sadie, your throne awaits.
Garret Fitzgerald - How I Do It:
Bircher Muesli is something I have been eating for years. I was always surprised that it so rarely makes an appearance on a breakfast menu in Ireland. It is that wonderful combination of delicious and healthy that is often a challenge to come across on a typical breakfast menu.
When it comes to the warmer months, I miss my morning bowl of porridge – this is the next best thing. Ours is a particular take on the classic recipe. We launched it as a “Summer Porridge” but, as it has been so popular, we have had to keep it on the menu all the time and, therefore, we let it evolve with the seasons. At the moment, it is on the menu as our Autumn Bircher bowl and soon we will be doing our Winter Bircher bowl, which will have an indulgent festive twist!
To make it, we take some wonderful Irish organic oats and we soak them in (Irish!) organic apple juice overnight. To this, we also add a mixture of dried fruits such as golden sultanas & cranberries and a little hint of spice, depending on the time of year (at the moment, there is a hint of cinnamon and also nutmeg). After soaking in the fridge overnight, all of these flavours and textures come together wonderfully.
We serve it to you in a bowl, with sliced banana, a dollop of crème fraiche or greek yogurt, a drizzle of maple syrup, toasted chopped nuts and torn mint. Each spoonful gives a burst of flavour and texture unlike the previous one, or the next!
One of the best things about this muesli is that there is so much opportunity to create new variations with the basic recipe of soaked oats - to experiment with new flavours, be they fruits or spices, nuts or seeds, that I'm certain it will always be popular on our menu.
http://brotherhubbard.ie/sistersadie
Read more articles in Megabites....
