Savory Oats

Post by Anna

November is ripe with opportunity to do many of my favorite activities, including but not limited to wearing earth tones and eating warm things with the texture of baby food.

It was only a matter of time until someone figured out something brilliant to do with the leftover oatmeal at Joe Bar. Every morning we make a pot of steel cut oats—the really gelatinous kind that stick to your ribs and make you want to go out and chop wood, or something. It’s great in the morning with some brown sugar and The Stranger horoscopes, but we usually toss it after a few hours — it’s a hard sell at lunchtime, and even less desirable in a Tupperware. Seeing food get tossed so unceremoniously is of course, painful, and I knew something had be done. 

It was not me but my co-worker Zack who had the ingenuity to add a little salt and pepper, gruyere, a touch of olive oil, chives, some greens and a fried egg.  Boom—savory oats, breakfast of champs. This could be made just as well with pre-cooked oats, resurrected from the fridge with a touch of water or cream and re-heating over the stove. You can take care of this whole project in under two minutes, just enough time to wolf it it down in the supply closet and get back to work.

Prep time: 2 minutes / Cook time: 2 minutes / Adapted from Zack’s brain

WHAT YOU NEED:

• 1 cup cooked Irish steel-cut oats (these are hands down the best oats for this Tupp Up, with a nuttier flavor and chewier, creamier texture)
• A handful of chives
• A handful of cheese (I used gruyere)
• A handful of greens (I used arugula)
• 1 egg, fried over easy
• A splash of cream
• Salt and a boatload of pepper

WHAT YOU DO:

This can go, really, however you want it to. The addition of cheese, chives, salt, pepper, and a runny egg seem crucial to achieving that creamy, grits-like texture, but feel empowered to go hog wild. Some chopped bacon, if you’re into that, or lemon-y greens would be a nice addition.