As I share more and more stories about my life with you, you will find that I am a creature of habit. Some people will find it astonishing that a chef like myself, would eat the same thing for weeks on end and not get sick of it. For me, it's a form of consistency in my life that provides me with comfort. And I go through these phases where I will commit myself to eating one thing over and over for months, before I move onto the next obsession. When I was pregnant with my second child, I went through an oatmeal phase. For over 3 months, I would eat oatmeal for dinner at least 3-4 nights a week. I would switch between sweet oats to savory oats just to change it up a bit. Needless to say, I got really creative with my oatmeal recipes. One of my favorites is a fall inspired one, it's inspired by the vegetables I see at the Farmer's market.
Savory Fall Oats With Winter Greens and Mushrooms
Ingredients: Serves 1
1/4 cup rolled oats
2 cups water or chicken stock
4 cups of mixed baby winter greens (chard, spinach, kale,)
1/2 teaspoon avocado oil
1/2 teaspoon minced ginger
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon dashi powder
2 teaspoon ponzu
2 whole fresh shitake mushrooms or crimini, sliced thin
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
Salt and pepper to season
Nori Seaweed for garnish
Method:
1. Heat a small stockpot, drizzle with avocado oil, add garlic, ginger and mushrooms. Cook for 2 minutes to release the umami flavors of the mushrooms before adding chicken stock and dashi powder. Bring to a boil.
2. Once the stock is boiling, add oatmeal and whisk on high heat.
3. Add winter greens once the oatmeal starts to thicken into a creamy consistency. Add more chicken stock or water if it's too thick.
4. Season with ponzu, salt and freshly cracked black pepper. Taste before serving. One spoonful should be full of flavor and textures from the mushrooms and winter greens.
5. Ladle into a bowl, drizzle sesame oil and garnish with toasted nori slivers for added umami.
Tasty Extras: toasted sesame seeds, fried shallots, chopped scallions, chili oil
