Pear Bircher muesli with pecans and ginger recipe

The beauty of Bircher is that you don't have to stand over a stove to cook it and lose some of your porridge to the bottom of the pan. An overnight of soaking the oats in the fridge means dishing up quickly in the morning, leaving you more time to get ready for the day - or maybe even spend an extra hour in bed! We've gone for a twist on the apple variety using pear instead, with an added crunchy topping made with pecans, ginger and maple syrup. Yum!

Ingredients

• 3 dessert pears, peeled, cored and then grated
• 1tsp ground ginger
• 300g porridge oats
• 650ml mixed apple and pear juice
• 4tbsp maple syrup
• 1tbsp sunflower oil
• 1 ball stem ginger, chopped finely plus a tbsp of syrup from the jar
• 75g pecan halves, roughly chopped
• 30g sultanas

Method

1. In a large bowl, combine the grated pear and ground ginger. Add the oats and juice, stir well and then leave overnight.
2. Whilst the oats are soaking make your crunchy topping. Pre-heat the oven to 350°F/175°C/Electric Fan 160°C/Gas Mark 4 and prepare a baking tray with baking paper. Combine the two syrups, oil and then add the pecans and chopped ginger. Spread on the baking tray and pop in the oven.
3. After 10 mins take the tray out, give it a quick stir and add the sultanas. Give it another little stir and put back into the oven for another 10 mins. Remove from the oven, cool and then transfer to an airtight container until ready to use.
4. About 30-45 mins before you're ready to plate up, take the soaked oats out of the fridge so it gets close to room temp. Dish up into bowls and then scatter on the pecan and ginger topping. Drizzle over some extra maple syrup if you'd like, then serve.