Strawberry Ginger Compote and Homemade Granola Served on Greek Yogurt
My oldest daughter Emily joins me again with a wonderful combination; a strawberry compote served with Greek yogurt that is topped with a super nutritious granola. I love it with ice cream too and the compote completed a breakfast I made for Lauren the other day when I used it to top strawberry and cream cheese stuffed French toast. Em helped me cook several dishes this past weekend for her sister and we’ve now got the freezer packed with kale smoothies, spinach lasagna, butternut squash mac and cheese and more…all coming soon to #WaunWednesday! Take it away Em!
When my friend Cindy returned from a long trip to London a few years ago, she was obsessed with a strawberry rhubarb yogurt she had found there. Every time we’d go to the store, she’d look for strawberry rhubarb yogurt, and she would leave disappointed. Not long ago, I ran across a yogurt by a company called Noosa, a yogurt made locally in Colorado, and there it was; Strawberry Rhubarb. I called Cindy to tell her of my discovery and she was so excited she asked me to pick her up from her house so she could buy some. RIGHT NOW. And it was good. Their yogurt truly is thick like Greek yogurt, but maybe a little sweeter, with the perfect complement of fruit compote nestled at the bottom.
For this edition of #WaunStrong Wednesday, I decided to play with the idea of recreating Cindy’s favorite yogurt topping, and add some crunchy whole grain granola from a recipe found in the cookbook Grain Mains. I started with frozen strawberries and rhubarb (although you could easily use fresh), and kicked it up with an addition of lime juice, ginger and honey. I opted to use Stevia instead of refined sugar, but the honey nicely balanced out the sweetness. The granola featured a variety of whole grains, including oats, Kamut and barley, and was perfectly sweetened with just a touch of brown sugar and honey. As a crunchy topping to the creamy yogurt and tart compote, it made a for a light and refreshing breakfast parfait; I could see using it as well with ice cream for dessert. The pretty pink color is an added bonus, for my sister.
Strawberry Ginger Compote and Homemade Granola Served on Greek Yogurt
Ingredients
For the Strawberry Compote:
- 2 pounds frozen strawberries
- 12 oz. frozen rhubarb
- 1 cup water
- 1 ½ tsp ginger paste
- Juice from ½ a lime
- 1 tsp liquid Stevia
- 3 Tbsp honey
For the Way-More-Than-Just-Oats Granola (from the cookbook, Grain Mains)
- ⅔ cup almond oil
- ⅔ cup honey
- 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
- 3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats do not use quick-cooking or steel-cut oats
- 1 cup Kamut flakes
- 1 cup wheat flakes
- 1 cup barley flakes
- 1 cup sliced almonds
- ¾ cup instant nonfat dry milk
- ½ cup packed dark brown sugar
- ½ cup toasted wheat germ
- 1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
- 1 ½ tsp salt
Instructions
To Make the Strawberry Compote:
- Put all ingredients in a large saucepan, cover and bring to a boil.
- Uncover, reduce heat to low and bring to simmer. Let simmer for five minutes. Using an immersion blender, puree the mixture. Continue to simmer for 8 – 10 minutes until mixture thickens.
- Skim foam from surface. Remove from heat and refrigerate until cool.
To Make the Granola:
- Position the racks at the top and bottom third of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
- Stir the oil, honey, and vanilla in a small saucepan over medium-low heat until the honey dissolves. Continue heating, stirring a few times, just until a few whiffs of steam come off the top. Set aside off the heat.
- Mix the grains, almonds, dry milk, brown sugar, wheat germ, cinnamon, and salt in a big bowl. Pour in the oil mixture. Stir until everything is moist. Spread the mixture into even layers on two large rimmed baking sheets.
- Bake until crunchy, about 20 minutes, stirring once halfway through baking. Cool on the sheets set on a rack for at least 1 hour and it hardens. Break the granola into bits, chips, and flakes for storage.
Gosh wow I would love a bowl of this! The compote looks and sounds great and wouldn’t it be divine over ice cream? But I am really loving this granola and I think I may be the last remaining food bloggers never to have made granola…. now I’m thinking…
This recipe sounds fantastic! Hearty, healthy, and a little sweet. Simply lovely! I bet my girls and I will all enjoy it. Yum!
This is my absolute favorite type of breakfast!
Mine too Jen; I could eat this every morning and not tire of it.
What a pretty breakfast! Strawberry and rhubarb are divine together and the ginger in your compote sounds marvelous – I’ll be making a batch soon. Noosa yogurt is the best! I got hooked on the yogurt in Australia a couple of years ago, especially the mango, and when I came home and discovered Noosa’s mango yogurt I did a happy dance. Love this granola recipe, too. Thanks for sharing, Emily!
I’ve not even had it myself so she’s opened my eyes to a brand I have to try. Come share some granola with us!
Don’t know if you got my comment. This is gorgeous. My theory is that gorgeous food is good for you!
Thanks Abbe; I agree! I got both comments too; I think it’s a plugin I use; it deletes spam but sometimes delays good comments too.
Totally gorgeous! Totally healthy! Totally good!
Totally true!
I actually had fresh strawberries and Greek yogurt for breakfast this morning! I really like the idea of adding rhubarb to the mix (in which case sweetener definitely is called for!). And I didn’t add granola, but that’s a wonderful idea. Great breakfast! Thanks.
Have you ever made your own granola John? Once you do, you won’t go back…and it’s perfect in this pairing too.
I love Noosa yoghurt! It is made by our favorite dairy – Morning Fresh – I made a video at their farm before they took on the Noosa line from Australia, and now Matt Lucas (in the video) is in charge of Noosa. Beautiful country, amazing local milk and some great folks! http://youtu.be/EA6dpWeUFV4
Love the video Mick; now I want to go up there and interview them bad!
I love the combination of rhubarb and yogurt, I think they make an excellent pair!
Pretty too! If the photos were missing? Oops. I know I included them (I think). And you’re right Sylvie…it’s a great pairing; ups the tart factor a bit and I’m good with that.
Ooooo, nice Em! I’m a yogurt wimp and don’t like the tartness of Greek but I bet it would be great with vanilla. I know, I know, I never like anything that’s really good for me. Now any kind of granola, I love! Can’t wait to try this recipe.
I love Greek Gods yogurt with honey…but it’s not lowfat and I say who cares; it’s an indulgence that I think is worth it!
I didn’t know that Noosa was made here in Colorado, another friend told me how wonderful it was recently; I’ll be on the look out for it at the store next time. This sounds healthy and like a great way to start a day. I might also finish the day with the ice cream suggestion!
Did I really publish that post without photos? I thought I had included them but last night they were gone! Or maybe it was all my imagination? See how I am right now…totally nuts? 🙂
YUM! I love granola and compote on yogurt! I haven’t had a chance to make Granola yet but this looks wonderful 🙂