Usually breakfast in my house is pretty simple fare: a scoop of low-sodium cottage cheese with a few sprinkles of lemon juice and a drizzle of honey. Simple and quick, almost no clean-up, tons of protein, no fat… it’s a good start to the day.
But sometimes, that just doesn’t cut it, you know?
Especially on a dreary, cold Sunday.
So this is my next go-to breakfast, partly because everything is easily kept on-hand for it, and partly because the clean-up is just as easy, and partly because it is just so damn tasty… and seems so rich.
The recipe is pretty simple. Take greek yogurt, mix in a handful of chopped pistachios and crystallized ginger, drizzle with honey.
Now, you may be thinking: “Amanda, where in the world do I get pistachios and crystallized ginger? Why on earth would I keep these two things at the ready in my pantry?” And the answers are 1) nuttyguys.com (they always have $12 for $25 Groupons available–do a google search!) and 2) You should keep them on hand to make this breakfast. Or to snack (seriously, why is crystallized ginger so addictive??). Or to make pistachio and ginger scones (we’ll save that recipe for another day). Or to chop and throw over ice cream. Basically, anything tastes better with crystallized ginger and pistachios.
So back to the recipe:
The things which will make this recipe really spectacular are:
- Using a really good honey. If you can find some that’s made locally, it will shine here and be worth every penny.
- Using greek yogurt instead of regular yogurt. I like the Fage 2%. But seriously, any yogurt will work.
- Use unsalted raw or toasted pistachios. Seriously.
- Keep your pistachios and crystallized ginger in the freezer. Nuts go rancid quickly, and there is nothing more disgusting than a rancid nut. But you can keep nuts (almost) forever in the freezer. And since my bag of ginger is so large, and lasts so long, freezing is my default way of keeping it fresh.
- Let the ingredients sit at room temp for a few minutes before you eat them so they can warm up. This is a little bit of the chemistry geek in me making an appearance, but when items are cold, their aromatic compounds (the things that make them smell and taste delicious) aren’t as “active”–when they warm up, they are released more readily. So for the best taste, let it warm up.
- Don’t chop the pistachios too fine, and don’t leave too big of chunks of the ginger. But don’t stress about this. It will still be delicious no matter what you do.
Greek Yogurt with Honey, Pistachios, and Crystallized Ginger
- 1 cup of greek yogurt
- A handful of raw or toasted unsalted pistachios (about 20-30 nuts)
- 2-3 pieces of crystallized ginger (can be found online, or in little boxes in the ethnic foods/asian section of many grocery stores–it will be cheaper bought online)
- Honey!
1. Chop the pistachios and ginger. Reserve a pinch of each to sprinkle on top of yogurt. Mix in the rest with the yogurt.
2. Drizzle with honey
3. Sprinkle with reserved pistachios and ginger. Viola!
