Savory Mushroom Oats

Well begun is half done is also true for the food we eat everyday. Having a healthy and fulfilling start to the day ensures that we try and eat the same way for the rest of the day. That clearly makes breakfast the most important meal and it is important to keep it healthy, all rounded in nutrition, simple and delicious. And adding sufficient variety to breakfast options also ensures that it does not get monotonous. Oats are a brilliant option for breakfast and the health benefits of oats are no surprise to anyone. But most recipes I knew with oats were sweet recipes. In India, we can buy instant oats which come in savory flavors as well but I never quite liked them. So I had been looking at recipes online on how make savory oats so that I could incorporate the same ingredient into my meals with more variety.

These oats with mushroom and thyme are very easy as well but there are a few things that help to make this good in taste and texture. The most important being the variety of oats used. Only good quality rolled oats or steel cut oats should be used for making this. The ratio of water to oats for rolled oats is equal parts of water and oats. For steel cut oats, water should be 1.5 times the quantity of oats. But recently when I have made this with different brands of oats, I have realized that for some rolled oats, only 3/4 cup of water to 1 cup oats produced good results. anything more than that and the oats become sticky. So you will need to experiment a bit with the brand of oats you are using. The test for doneness for the oats is that they should be tender but still have some bite to them. Another way of determining the quality of the oats is to read the package instructions. The rolled oats recipes which have low cooking times mentioned on the package will need less water and may not always be the right choice for this recipe.

Ingredients:
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup water
Button mushrooms (finely sliced) 1 cup
Fresh thyme - few sprigs (1/4 tsp dried thyme)
2 spring onions - finely sliced
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil

Method:
1. Add the oats and water to a pan, add a bit of salt and keep it uncovered over medium low heat till the oats are cooked. Once cooked, set aside.

2. Put a non stick pan over medium high heat and add the olive oil to it. when the oil starts to get heated, add the mushrooms and thyme and cook them till the mushrooms are golden brown. Add the spring onions and cook for another minute.

3. Add salt and pepper to this mixture and then add the previously cooked oats to it. Cook for 1-2 minutes till the flavors of oats and the vegetables are well combined.