This idea for this muesli came from a single rubied ingredient: pomegranate molasses, lustily purchased last night after my transglutaminase class at Brooklyn Kitchen.
What is this stuff? It's like a fruity ketchup, enriched with sweetness and umami. It is a complexity agent, like hoisin. Grenadine is to pomegranate molasses as Vanessa Hutchins is to Penelope Cruz. You get it.
The muesli is basically a vehicle for this sweet, sour and berried ingredient. The base is wholesome and robust: rye, barley, oats, wheat, flax seed meal, and something I just whipped up in the Vitamix, quinoa flour. It is sweetened with a generous drip of PoMo and some maple syrup for woodsy depth. Dried currants and cranberries echo the pomegranate flavor.
The jamminess just had to be paired with nuts. Think peanut butter and jelly, dates stuffed with almonds, a pear frangipane tart. So I did what was natural and added some almond flour and pecans.
Like figs, pomegranates are ancient symbols of death, fertility, temptation and the natural jewels of the earth. I'd like to think there's something mythical, or at the very least lyrical, about this dish of simply fruit, nut and grain.