Overnight Oats with Chai Tea Spiced Pear, Yoghurt and Maple Caramelised Pecans
Start you day with this delicious breakfast!
I think most of us agree that oats are a great way to start you day. They are cheap, easy and provide a whole host of health benefits. But I am going to be honest here and admit that I hate porridge. My partner Che makes it for himself and the girls most morning and honestly, I am super impressed with their sustained effort at having this for breakfast pretty much every day. And weirdly they seem to like it. Obviously I keep my thoughts on the topic to myself, I don't want to discourage them!
I do however like soaked oats. I think it's just the gluggy texture of porridge that I can't handle. I used to love overnight oats for breakfast when I was a kid. But we were not allowed to have any yummy sweet topping as my parents were pretty strict about food.
I grew up in a community in central Victoria where a number of families lived and worked together on a large property. There was gang of us kids roaming around and causing trouble for the “adults” as we called all the parents. We had a lot of freedom but one area where they were really strict was sugar. We were NEVER allowed sugar. Like not even honey. And guess what? This rule did not apply to the adults! None of us kids have ever gotten over the unfairness of this rule, something we regularly bring up to point out their failings as parents. We did learn that there was one adult, Terry, who didn't have kids and was much easier to persuade to bend the rules. Thank god for Terry and those sneaky spoonfuls of honey.
Anyway I have gotten way off track. My point is that I like overnight oats so I thought I should make up a delicious version to share with you. And here it is! The star of this recipe really is the poached pear and maple pecans which I usually use in my pear, rocket and Parmesan salad (recipe here), but they also go perfectly in a sweet recipe like this one. I added some spices and black tea to my pears which made them even more delicious! Plus I love that the tea flavour reflects that this is a breakfast recipe. Add some yoghurt for tang, maple syrup for sweetness and crunchy caramelised pecans for crunch and you have got yourself a pretty good breakfast if you ask me!
Overnight Oats with Chai Tea Spiced Pear, Yoghurt and Maple Caramelised Pecans
Makes: 6 serves
Dietary guide: This recipe is vegan if using vegan milk and yoghurt. It's also gluten free if you make sure your oats are GF. To make it FODMAP friendly use fresh banana instead of poached pear and make sure your yoghurt it lactose free or use coconut yoghurt.
Ingredients
For the pecans
180g of raw pecans
50g of maple syrup
30g of caster sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla paste
Pinch of salt
For the pears
½ cup of white sugar*
3 cinnamon sticks
3 cloves
1 star anise
Small knob of ginger sliced
2 cardamon pods
1 vanilla pod
4 cups of water
1 black tea bag such as English Breakfast
6 pears or 8 if they are small
For the oats (single serve**)
½ a cup of whole oats
¾ a cup of your choice of milk
2 tablespoons of Greek yoghurt or a vegan alternative
Extra yoghurt to serve
Maple syrup to serve
*You can use a sugar alternative if you like such as maple syrup or honey. Alternatively you could skip the sugar all together if you prefer.
**This recipe makes enough for 6 except I have kept the oat recipe at a single serve measurement; the idea being you can prep the nuts and pears ahead of time and just whip up a single serve of the oats the night before. The pears and nuts will last at least a week so there is 6 delicious breakfasts for you! You can of course make a large batch of oats up ahead of time but I prefer making a single serve the night before. If you are making this for more than just yourself, obviously multiple that oat recipe as needed.
Method
Cut the vanilla pod in half lengthways. Scape out the seeds and add both the pod and the seeds to a large saucepan along with 4 cups of water, the sugar, spices and ginger. Bring to the boil, turn down to a simmer and add the tea bag. Let it steep for a few minutes and then discard the tea bag. Peal and cut the pears in half. Add the pears to the water and turn the heat down as low as it can go. Make a cartouche* and place it snuggly on top of the pears pressing down lightly to get rid of any large air bubbles. If any of the pears are poking up well above the water line, add a little more water until they are properly submerged. Cook the pears for about 45 minutes. I like to gently turn my pears after about 20 minutes to ensure even cooking. Keep a close eye on the pears after the 30 minute mark – it's important not to over cook them. When they are nearly done or al dente, turn off the heat and leave the pears (cartouche on) to cool in their liquid. The residual heat should finish cooking them off so they end up the perfect semi firm texture. If they end up to hard you can always re-heat them and cook them some more, or if you think you have overcooked them, remove them from the liquid to cool (this way the won't continue to cook). Store the cooled pears in their liquid in the fridge until needed.
Whilst the pears are poaching, prepare the maple pecans. Pre-heat the oven to 160 degrees Celsius. Line a baking tray with baking paper. Place the pecans, sugar, maple syrup, vanilla and salt in a small mixing bowl. Mix well and pour onto the baking paper ensuring an even single layer of nuts. Bake in the oven for approximately 20 minutes stirring a few times. When they have turned a dark golden colour, remove from the oven and let cool. Roughly chop leaving a few whole for decorations. Store in an air tight container.
To prepare the over night oats mix the oats, milk and yoghurt together and store in the fridge for at least 4 hours. I prefer to make mine fresh each night but you can make a larger quantity if your like as it will last for a few days in the fridge.
To serve add the oat mix to a breakfast bowl, top with extra yoghurt, 2 pear halves sliced, a small handful of nuts, some extra maple syrup and a sprinkle of cinnamon. Enjoy!.
*For instructions on making a cartouche google it or visit this website: https://lostinapot.com/cartouche-making/
