It seems to me that most people kind of like oatmeal but don’t really love oatmeal. Most people may eat it because it is fast, cheap and healthy. Those might be the three big reasons to love oatmeal, but those reasons are negated when most of the time oatmeal is bland, mushy and cold.
Oatmeal is usually cooked in the microwave or boiled on the stove and stirred into kind of a porridge. But I assert there is a better way for the lowly oat to shine!
Let me challenge the microwave to start. I really have no issue with making oatmeal in the microwave, but I find it to be a little mushy. The packets of instant varieties don’t contain a quality oatmeal and after all, the oatmeal itself is the most important element of the dish.
When oatmeal is cooked on the stove, we tend to stir it a lot which actually breaks up the oats and creates a mushy consistency. I also have found that I prefer less water than the package directions suggest, again because it makes it mushy.
Here is my method for cooking oatmeal, and it more closely emulates cooking rice or quinoa. It yields an oatmeal where the grains of oats are looser and more separate and actually have more of an al dente texture. The oats are not floating in a pool of goo that is cause by excess moisture.
1. Put 1 3/4 cups of water in a 1-quart sauce pan. If you want to add berries to the oats, reduce the water to 1 1/2 cups.
2. Add a pinch of salt and bring water to a boil
3. Add 1 cup of quick cooking oatmeal, I like McCain’s myself but you can you use any variety you like. Turn the temp down as low as possible. It should be an extremely low simmer, not boiling. Put a lid on the pot, and do not stir or touch at all.
4. Once liquid has evaporated, turn the heat off and let rest a couple of minutes.
My second challenge to the classic oatmeal preparation is the addition of milk. I'm not saying that you should never add milk to oatmeal; in fact, I do with some preparations but consider what is it really adding to the dish and whether it compliments your oatmeal. I did not grow up having milk so I have never developed a taste for milk with my oatmeal so most of the time I do not add it. Instead, I add either butter or coconut butter/oil. I love to add butter because it is a complete protein and it helps with carb crash that can occur with oatmeal, but don’t get me started on the nutritional benefits of butter because I could write a whole blog on that! If you are using milk, heat it up first so it doesn’t make your oatmeal cold.
I thought I would leave you with a couple of topping ideas to shake your oatmeal preparation up:
Blueberry Oatmeal: Stir in ½ cup fresh blueberries once the oatmeal is cooked ¾ of the way, but don’t stir the oatmeal after that. Put the lid back on and let finish cooking. Top with a pat of butter, milk or non-dairy milk, more fruit and a little maple syrup or brown sugar if you want.
Pura Vida Oatmeal: Top with a little coconut butter/oil, flax seeds and or chia seeds, toasted coconut, bananas, berries, almonds. This is inspired by an amazing little restaurant in Miami that serves amazing and healthy food. Check it out if you are there.
Just like Grits Oatmeal: Butter, maple syrup, over easy eggs with a good amount of salt and pepper on them. This preparation is inspired by grits.
These are pretty basic ideas, but I hope if anything they inspire you to think about breakfast and oatmeal a little differently. For brunch inspirations, check out The Chopping Block's upcoming classes!