No matter how you slice them (or roll or grind them), oats aren't glamorous. They don't look like much, and they have a decidedly chequered PR history – Samuel Johnson described them as "a grain, which in England is generally given to horses, but in Scotland supports the people". They are still valued at least as much by livestock farmers as by cooks. Lucky animals, I say. But they're not having mine.
I love oats. They are just so full of oomph: in taste, texture and the sense that they are an unalloyed force for good (regular helpings are proven to lower cholesterol). And they are a very useful ingredient. Or set of ingredients, because they come in a range of shapes and sizes that behave in subtly but importantly different ways. All start with the whole oat "groat", which is the seed of the ripe oat grass with its inedible outer husk removed. Most porridge oats are made by chopping up the groat, then steaming and rolling the pieces to make fine flakes that cook very quickly. Chunkier "jumbo" oats, rolled from the whole groat, also make good porridge, and are great for flapjacks and crumble toppings.
Oatmeal, which is made by milling the groats, comes in granules. It has various grades: fine (essentially oat flour), medium and pinhead (the coarsest), which makes an excellent, thick porridge. To prepare it (for four), soak 250g pinhead oats in 900ml cold water overnight. Next morning, heat gently, stirring all the time, and add a splash of hot water as it bubbles and thickens. Serve with cold milk and soft brown sugar, runny honey or golden syrup. I know of no better start to the day.
But breakfast should be just the beginning of your oat experience. There are so many more things you can do with this mighty grain. I love a thickie: a fruit smoothie bulked up and made creamy by a handful of oats. And I've been experimenting with oat milk, made by soaking 200gmedium oatmeal in 600ml coldwater for 30 minutes, blitzing ina blender, then passing through amuslin-lined sieve. Use the oat milk plain, sweeten it with honey or add a pinch of salt. It's a refreshing drink, or you can add it to smoothies or use in baking. And it's brilliant on your breakfast cereal instead of milk.
I also enjoy turning porridge into something unexpected by cooking itas a savoury dish (as in Heston Blumenthal's snail porridge). Rolled jumbo oats or pinhead oatmeal can be simmered gently in stock to produce a uniquely warming, creamy-textured dish. Add something fresh, such as greens, and something piquant, such as crisp bacon or salty cheese, and you have a supper that will satisfy, sate and soothe.
Medium oatmeal is a deliciously crunchy coating for fillets of oily fish such as mackerel. And when it comes to cookies and biscuits, oats are total winners, offering their lovely, nubbly texture and gentle earthy flavour.
Whichever oats you choose, and whichever recipe, it's great to know you're eating a whole grain that releases energy in the best possible way: slowly. To mangle another DrJohnson aphorism, only a fool wouldn't swallow them.
Savoury porridge with kale and bacon
Pinhead cooks to a lovely texture not unlike risotto rice. Serves two.
4 rashers streaky bacon
75g pinhead oatmeal
100g kale or cavolo nero, leaves torn from the stalks and shredded
450ml chicken, vegetable or hamstock
20g butter
3 shallots, peeled and diced
1 garlic clove, peeled and chopped
Sea salt and freshly ground blackpepper
Heat the grill. Put the bacon on a small baking tray and grill for four to five minutes, until crisp. Keep warm.
Put the oatmeal in a sieve and give it a good shake to remove smaller grains. Rinse the sieved pinheads under the cold tap and set aside.
Bring the stock to a boil in a medium pan, add the kale and cook for three to four minutes, until just tender. Strain, reserving the stock, and squeeze any excess stock from the kale back into the pan.
Put a small saucepan over a gentle heat. Add the butter and, when foaming, add the shallot and garlic, and sweat for two to three minutes, without colouring. Add the oatmeal to the pan, cook for a minute, pour in the stock and bring to a simmer. Cook gently for 15–20 minutes, stirring from time to time, until the oats are tender and the stock has been absorbed. You want a loose consistency like that of traditional breakfast porridge, so if it seems too dry, add a splash more stock.
Roughly chop the squeezed-out kale and stir through the porridge. Season generously, then spoon into warmed plates or bowls, top with the crisp bacon and serve.
Gingery, chocolatey oat biscuits
These are based on the classic RiverCottage digestive, but made extra-special with the addition of that winning combination, ginger and dark chocolate. Makes 20-25.
125g wholemeal spelt flour (or plain wholemeal flour), plus extra to dust
125g medium oatmeal
75g soft brown sugar
½ tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp fine sea salt
1 tsp baking powder
125g cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
3 balls stem ginger, finely chopped
A little milk
200g dark chocolate (or good milk chocolate), broken into small pieces
Heat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4 and line two baking trayswith nonstick parchment. Putthe flour, oatmeal, sugar, ginger,salt and baking powder inafood processor and pulse. Addthe butterand pulse again untilthe mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. (Alternatively, combine the dry ingredients in a bowl, then rub in the butter with your fingertips.)
Add the stem ginger and, with the processor running, trickle in just enough milk (about 30ml) to bring the mix together into clumps. (Alternatively, mix the ginger into the dry ingredients, then trickle in the milk, mix with a spoon, then bring together with your hands.)
Lightly dust a work surface with flour, tip out the dough and knead gently into a ball. Press into a fat disc, wrap in clingfilm and chill for 30 minutes.
Cut the dough in half. Dust one half with flour and roll it out to 3-4mm thick, dusting regularly with flour to stop it sticking. The dough isslightly sticky and crumbly, so don't worry if it breaks up a bit; just squash it back together and re-roll. (You may find it easier to roll between two sheets of greaseproof paper or clingfilm, also dusted with flour.) Use a 7.5cm cutter, or similar, to stamp out biscuits, and transfer these to the baking sheets with a palette knife; re-roll the offcuts to make more. Repeat with the second piece of dough, then bake for 10 minutes, until golden brown at the edges and lightly coloured on top.
Remove from the oven and leavethe biscuits to cool and firm upon the baking sheets, then transfer them to a wire rack to coolcompletely.
To finish, melt the chocolate in a basin over a pan of simmering water. Dip in one half of each biscuit, and leave to set on a silicone mat or a sheet of nonstick baking parchment, before serving.
Alice's fruity fridge flapjacks
This unbaked, dairy-free flapjack is from Alice Meller, wife of Gill, head chef at River Cottage. It's now a firm favourite in our house. Makes 15-18.
100g dates, stoned
100g prunes
2 ripe or slightly over-ripe medium bananas, peeled
150g honey
2 tbsp coconut oil
325g porridge oats or jumbo oats
100g raisins, currants or dried cranberries
100g dried apricots, finely chopped
25g each of shelled hemp seeds, linseeds, sesame seeds and sunflower seeds (or 100g of whichever seedy mix you like)
Put the dates, prunes, bananas, honey and coconut oil in the bowl ofa food processor. Add two tablespoons of water and blitz the lot until you have athick, fruit-flecked purée.
In a large bowl, combine the oats with the raisins, apricots and all the seeds. Stir in the puréed fruit mix and combine well.
Line a shallow baking tray, about 20cm x 30cm, with baking parchment or clingfilm. Tip in the fruity, oaty mixture and gently press it out as even and level as youcan.
Transfer to the fridge for two to three hours, to set, then turn out and slice into bars. Keep the flapjacks in in a sealed Tupperware box in the fridge.
