Maple, Avocado and Berry Breakfast Bowl

I’m living the bowl life, these days, as my new book, Great Bowls of Food, has just launched. It’s exciting, as the book has had a nice review in the Star Tribune, I’ve talked about it on the radio, and I have many more TV, radio and podcast appearances lined up. The book features bowls for every meal of the day, including breakfast bowls.

Even though I turned in the manuscript for this book about a year ago, my relationship with big bowls of food has only continued to deepen. For today’s blog, I’m toying with the mix of sweet and savory that can make a breakfast bowl into something more interesting than just a bunch of sugary cereal.

Yes, it is the magic of salt.

For a base, I went with black rice, for a dramatic backdrop that has its own enigmatic sweetness. The purplish bran layer is just chewy enough to burst as you bite into the tender interior, so it grows sweeter as you chew. A drizzle of tart-sweet maple yogurt adds a little protein and good bacteria, and also makes a pretty lightning stripe of contrast on the rice.

On top, the usual breakfast bowl suspects of berries and banana bestow all their fruity antioxidants and goodness, as well as some lovely colors to play against each other.

But where it gets most interesting is the avocado. Of course, the avocado is a creamy, rich fruit with plenty of fiber and good fats. But it’s usually served savory, in Guacamole or salads. But here, I drizzled it with sweet maple syrup, a sprinkle of salted pistachios, and a pinch of crunchy salt.

Much like the current obsession with salted caramel, this combo plays up the sweet and rich qualities of the avocado. The salt cuts the richness, while accentuating the sweetness of the maple.

This would be a fun place to bring out those fancy salts you bought and never think to use, like Pink Himalayan or Grey Celtic salt.

It’s simple, easy, and a quick breakfast recipe that anybody can make.

Maple, Avocado and Berry Breakfast Bowl

Serves 2

2 cups cooked black rice or other grain

1/2 cup plain yogurt or non-dairy yogurt

1/4 cup pure maple syrup

1 cup fresh raspberries

1 cup fresh blackberries

1 banana, sliced

1 avocado, halved, pitted, and sliced thinly in the shell

1/4 cup roasted, salted, shelled pistachios, chopped

Spread the black rice over the bottom of two bowls. Stir the yogurt with half of the maple syrup and drizzle it over the black rice.

Arrange the berries and banana slices on top of the black rice, leaving room for the avocado fan.

Fan the avocado slices across one side of the black rice and drizzle the bowl with the remaining maple syrup. Sprinkle the chopped pistachios on top, and sprinkle a pinch of coarse salt on the avocado.

Serve immediately.