Mushroom Savory Oats

For the longest time, I’ve tried to convince myself to become an every-day-oats kinda gal. The problem is, at around day 14 there’s always a giant wave of palate boredom and I give up. I mean, I can only eat so much fruit-laden heaps of fiber before I go insane!

In my latest attempt, as I willed myself to finish day 10’s bowl of cinnamon apple flavored fiber, I started to play the why-can’t-you-just game with this bowl of oatmeal…

Why can’t you just not have fruit? Why can’t you just have veggies instead? Why can’t you just be cheesy?! And why can’t you…. then it hit me. I CAN JUST!

Turns out putting savory stuff on your oats is frickin’ delicious! I’m not saying it’ll magically make you an every-day-oats person, but it might push back your palate boredom enough to fight the good fight one more day. And in my book, that’s a win!

So here’s the recipe that changed the breakfast game for me. I hope it inspires you to give oats another try.

The Recipe

Makes about 4 cups (2 hearty servings)

Ingredients

Oatmeal

2-3 cups broth (chicken, beef, vegetable, any will do), or water (🔥Mushy Mush)

1 cup oats, rolled or steel cut

Mushrooms

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

¼ onion, red or yellow, sliced

6-8 ounces of mushrooms, any type, sliced

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce or soy sauce (optional) (🔥Gimmie Umami)

2 teaspoons sherry or champagne vinegar (optional) (🔥Balancing Act)

1 tablespoon minced fresh herb(s) of choice (optional) (parsley, chives, cilantro, or scallion)

Assembly

2 eggs

Parmesan, for serving (optional)

Freshly cracked pepper, for serving

Instructions

Make oatmeal:

1. In a medium saucepan, bring the broth or water to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer (🎩Simmer Down Now). Gently stir in the oats; if the water starts to bubble over, reduce the heat even further. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the oats have nearly absorbed all the liquid and are your desired texture. Turn off the heat and cover with a lid to keep warm for later.

Fry garlic chips:

1. Heat olive oil in a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic then fry, stirring occasionally, until they are mostly golden brown (🎩Bitter Ending). Kill the heat and immediately remove the garlic from the oil, leaving as much oil in the pan as possible. Place the garlic in a small dish and reserve for later.

Sauté onions and mushrooms:

1. Turn the heat back up to medium and add the onions, stirring occasionally. Cook until they’re soft and starting to brown. Add the sliced mushrooms and the Worcestershire sauce or soy sauce, if using. Sauté the mushrooms, stirring frequently, allowing them to release their moisture into the pan. Continue cooking until the mushrooms are soft and nearly all the liquid has evaporated, but not dry. Turn off the heat and add the herbs and vinegar, if using. Stir to combine.

2. Portion the oatmeal onto two plates, spreading the oatmeal widely into a 1-inch thick bed for the toppings. Spoon half the mushroom mixture over each oatmeal bed, emptying the pan.

Fry eggs:

1. Set the heat to medium-high. Pour a teaspoon of oil into the pan and let the oil heat for a minute. Then crack an egg into the oil. Let the egg cook until your desired doneness. Transfer the egg to top oatmeal bowl. Repeat with the final egg.

Garnish:

1. Top each bowl with garlic chips, freshly cracked pepper, and a dusting of grated parmesan.

Enjoy!

Hot Tips 🔥

• MUSHY MUSH — For softer oatmeal, use 3 cups liquid; for heartier oats use 2 cups. Be sure to use at least the amount of liquid that the oatmeal container calls for!

  GIMMIE UMAMI — A splash of soy sauce or Worcestershire sauce turns up the savoriness of this dish. But a little goes a long way, so don’t add much more than a teaspoon!

• BALANCING ACT — To balance the richness of this dish, add in some acidity. If you don’t have sherry or champagne vinegar, sub in 1½ teaspoons of white wine vinegar or rice vinegar. A tiny squeeze of lemon juice will also do!

Tricks 🎩

• SIMMER DOWN NOW— To simmer, first bring the liquid to a hard boil (bubbling vigorously and quickly), then immediately turn the heat down to point where the liquid is still bubbling but it’s gentle and with smaller bubbles. Depending on how much heat your burner provides, this might be the “low” or “medium-low” setting. Regardless, the important thing is that the liquid has just enough heat for a gentle bubble.

• BITTER ENDING — Shoot for golden brown, not dark brown, because garlic turns bitter when too dark. As you fry, the garlic chips won’t cook evenly; some will brown faster than others depending on thickness. Ensure you don’t overcook the faster-cooking pieces! Kill the heat before the darker chips turn dark brown, or risk the entire batch tasting bitter. Better to err on the side of under-frying than over-frying here.