I'm a creature of habit.
Although I deviate from the culinary path here and there to try something new, I still like to come back to the classics.
Some ingredients simply taste
best when prepared in
this way.
It becomes particularly difficult for me when a classic hearty dish is suddenly offered sweet - like the notorious chocolate pizza a few years ago.
Apparently it didn't just alienate me, because two years after its release it had disappeared from the deep-freeze shelves again.
It's the exact opposite with today's dish: I've eaten oatmeal sweet for most of my life, with cinnamon and sugar, in muffins or as a healthy breakfast with fruit.
Why actually?
In itself, the grain is a blank slate.
Like wheat flour, which I use to make parathas or pancakes.
Or rice, which I eat sweet or salty.
Only the oatmeal is stuck on the sweet rail.
They are ideal for a quick and hearty breakfast, lunch or dinner.
Because they take on almost every taste, you can combine oatmeal with almost all vegetables and spices.
I didn't think of that myself.
Rather, I first had to learn on TikTok that hearty oatmeal has long been part of the standard repertoire elsewhere, in southern and eastern Europe, for example, or in the Philippines.
The whole thing works like an extra quick "little man's risotto" and can be eaten as a main course or side dish.
Tender rolled oats are simply cooked in the same pot with all sorts of aromatic vegetables, spices and a little broth.
After just five minutes of snipping and a maximum of ten minutes of cooking time, a simple, inexpensive and delicious meal is on the table.
There are no limits to the inventive spirit with this dish - more important is what you have in the pantry and want to use up.
Southeast Asian versions with soy sauce, chili oil, and fried mushrooms, a Mexican twist with kidney beans and salsa, or Indian versions with frozen peas, cilantro, and garam masala are all possible.
I'm making a Mediterranean twist today simply because I don't have to shop for it.
The only important thing is that
all the vegetables should already be cooked through when the oatmeal is put in the pot.
They are ready so quickly that in the short time, apart from fresh spinach, nothing actually cooks.
The cooking time may increase when using frozen vegetables, and the need for liquid when using coarse oat flakes.
This is what you need for a portion of Mediterranean porridge
100 g tender oat flakes
300 ml vegetable broth
1 small onion
1 egg
150 g fresh, deep-frozen or pickled vegetables, today for example a mix of olives, leaf spinach, sun-dried tomatoes and pickled chili
1 tsp dried herbs, such as oregano or basil
oil for frying
Optional: parmesan or feta cheese
How long does it take?
15 minutes
How much is it?
Approx. 1.20 euros per portion
That's how easy it is to make hearty porridge
Finely chop the onion and coarsely chop all the other vegetables.
Sauté the vegetables in a little oil over medium-high heat for about five minutes.
Then add the dried herbs.
Also add the oatmeal and the broth, bring to the boil and let everything bubble for another five minutes on a low heat.
Stir occasionally to keep the porridge from burning.
Meanwhile, fry the egg in a pan and lightly salt it.
Finally, put the optional cheese in the pot and let it melt: Simply crumble in the feta, grate the Parmesan over it.
Place the porridge on a plate, arrange the egg on top, garnish with a few herbs and: dig in!
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