Rosie Daykin’s Great Oat Loaf

The other week I came home to a package waiting for me.

It was a box.  And inside was another pretty box.  In that box was a pretty tea towel, some lovely homemade cookies beautifully wrapped, and a cookbook.  And even more kitchen-y goodies.  All from Rosie Daykin and Appetite, Random House Publishing.  Rosie is a wonderful baker, wife, mother, dog and cat lover, and prolific cookbook author based on the west coast of Canada.  And she weaves wonderful stories into her books as she guides you through baking and cooking up recipes that are approachable and fun.

Her latest book is ‘Let Me Feed You’.  This is a book that highlights her mission to make cooking and baking an uncomplicated and joyful experience. It is a way to express the nurturing side of ourselves.  As she puts it, for some of us, “…we soon discover we are natural-born feeders.”  Extra kids at her place growing up was a symbiotic relationship to her: their desire to eat cookies worked very nicely with her desire to bake them.  I can totally relate to this.  For me, watching people gathered around a table eating and laughing is all I desire.  I am quite happy to cook all day, even I don’t eat anything I make.  Fine, okay, I want to eat some of what I make as well!  But it is more of a way to ensure that others are cared for.  Our place is often the place where single friends can show up and I can get excited to feed them (because then I know that they are eating healthy!)

In this book you will find recipes that straightforward and achievable.  They aren’t at all fussy.  They aren’t intimidating. They are one page recipes, with irresistible photographs. They are for busy families who still desire the comforts of a home cooked meal.  Whether a novice to cooking, or an old hand, there is something for everyone in Rosie’s latest book. 

I could see this right from the start.  There is a little bit of everything, from breakfast to desserts.  She has created categories employing her special brand of humour.  “Most Important Meal of the Day” (Breakfast); “I’ll Have a Chicken Salad Sandwich, Hold the Chicken Salad ” (Bread Baking etc) “Liquid Lunch” (Soup); “Green with Envy” (Salads) and so on.  The titles of the recipes are just as captivating: “Noodle Chicken Soup” (she likes noodles!!); “Lox and Bagel Soup” (think of it as a light salmon chowder with bagel chips) “How to Catch a Husband Lamb” (I think this one is self explanatory)  Rosie even has a page dedicated to useless facts about herself.  Always fun to get to know the person behind the recipes, right?!

So this is the first recipe that I decided to try from the book.  The Great Oat Loaf.  We already know I loved Baked Oatmeal (see my Baked  Seeds and Currant Brûléed Oatmeal) so when I read her version for a make ahead dish using steel cut oats, I was totally intrigued.  Steel cut oats are healthy- we know this.  But steel cut oats take forever to cook up in the morning, and if you’re already in a rush, they are rarely your first option.  Nothing could be more simple than this dish.  Taking the morning work out of making fresh batch after fresh batch of steel cut oats will be such a time saver for many of us.  Jim on the other hand is one of those rare people who actually finds the early morning vigil in front of the pot quite therapeutic.  But I decided that I couldn’t pass up an opportunity to make oatmeal into a loaf shape!

Nothing could be more simple.  Boil up water.  Add the oats and salt.  Stir till cooked and thick and pleasantly goopy.  Add cinnamon and stir it through.  Now comes the fun part.  Pour it into a prepared loaf pan.  I decided to spray and line my loaf pan, so that extraction of the chilled oat loaf would be that much easier.  The next morning, I took the loaf pan out of the fridge and lifted the paper edges.  Out plopped a fully formed steel cut oat loaf.  Rosie suggests cutting off slices and warming them up in the microwave.  Afterwards, just sprinkle with some brown sugar and drizzle with a strawberry rhubarb compote, and Bob’s your uncle.  Well, we don’t have a microwave, so I used the toaster oven.  Perfectly warmed through.  The next time, I warmed butter and a bit of grapeseed oil a small skillet and warmed up slices in it.  Perfection.  Golden brown, plus a little crunch!  Or if you wanted to make up a bunch at one time, why not lay a few slices on a baking sheet and warm in a 300F oven till warmed through?  Honestly, the texture of the finished slices is beyond perfect.  Cooked through, not gummy, a most pleasant texture, and yet tender enough to accept brown sugar, maple syrup or even some nut milk into the nooks and crannies.  I am in love with this idea!  Little oat cakes of sorts, crispy and tender at the same time, topped just the way you want. 

For this time around I decided to top mine with a seasonal fruit compote of sorts. A quick Roast Strawberry and Rhubarb with balsamic and vermouth.  Just slice about 1 1/2 cups of rhubarb into 1 inch or so slices. Place them in a roasting pan.  Add one cup of halved hulled strawberries.  Mix together 2 tbsp each of maple syrup, sweet vermouth, 1 1/2 tbsp balsamic vinegar and 1/2 tsp salt.  Pour this over the fruit and stir gently to cover evenly with the liquid.  Roast for about 40 minutes at 350F.  The liquid should have turned syrupy.  If not, remove the pan from the oven, place the fruit into a bowl and keep cooking the liquid down in a small pot on the stove top, till slightly thickened. Transfer it to the bowl to cool slightly.  Spoon over ice cream, oatmeal, yogurt, biscuits etc.  Can be stored in the fridge for up to a week.  This is enough for a couple of servings of oatmeal each, so double it if you think you need more.  It’s a great way to use rhubarb in season, and the balsamic and vermouth give a slight savoury slant to the recipe in a great way.  The original recipe is here on the Food 52 site.  Of course, if you are making this for children, then maybe you should try the Cardamom and Orange Blossom Roasted Rhubarb or the Stewed Rhubarb over Almond Grits recipes.  Both are fantastic variations on creating a softened, sweet rhubarb sauce to serve over a variety of dishes.

This recipe is fabulous for Sunday evening meal prep.  The initial work is about 15-20 minutes on the stove.  Then it gets popped into the fridge.  Starting the next morning, you’ve got oatmeal slices for the week!  Can’t you see taking this on vacation?  Prep at home, and then cook slices on a skillet to warm through over the fire at your campsite?!  

And just because it is presented as a make ahead, make-weekday-breakfasts-easier recipe, I contend that this would be a fantastic addition to a weekend brunch table.  You could have all of it sliced up, warmed up in the oven, with a variety of toppings on hand.  It can sit proudly next to omelettes, fried eggs, a fruit salad or even quiche! 

Here are my other observations.  It is simple and direct, and totally creates a blank canvas for everyone to dress as they see fit. So how about in the autumn, why not add some pumpkin pie or apple pie spices to the oatmeal as it cooks up on the stove?  What about drizzling maple syrup, caramel sauce, sautéed apples or even thinned out fig jam over the warmed slices?  How about fresh yogurt or skyr and fresh fruit all summer, and cozy comforting apple butter in the winter?  There are so many options for this recipe!  I will definitely create an Autumn version of this.  

Thanks Rosie, for the beautiful box of goodies, and more importantly, a cookbook that is the kind of book that I will happily recommend to anyone wanting to start a kitchen library, or is just wanting a straightforward, approachable and yet satisfying cookbook.  There are so many books that contain only a smidgen of recipes that the average cook will want to tackle.  This book is not that.  It is a book where every recipe has appeal.  Not easily achieved! Well done.

Love Jen

5 from 2 votes

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The Great Oat Loaf

A simple and yet totally satisfying way to prepare steel cut oats.  Prepare once, pour into a loaf pan, and now you have a week's worth of oatmeal, in slices!  Heat up the slices and drizzle with brown sugar and your favourite toppings. Oatmeal just got a makeover, and the texture is amazing!

Course Breakfast

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Cooling Time 3 hours

Total Time 25 minutes

Servings 1 loaf

Ingredients

• 6 cups water
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 cups steel cut oats
• 1 tsp cinnamon

Instructions

1. Place the water and salt in a large pot and bring to a boil over high heat.
2. Add the steel cut oats and stir vigorously to combine. Bring back to a boil, and then reduce the heat to a gentle simmer.
3. Cover mostly (leave the lid a little ajar to avoid bubbling over and scorching the stove) and simmer the oatmeal for 15-20 minutes. The oats should be cooked through and the liquid mostly gone. It should be nice and thick. Lift the lid every five minutes or so and give everything a good stir to make sure nothing is sticking to the bottom. It should be making those lovely plopping bubbles at the end.
4. After the time is up, add the cinnamon and give another good stir.
5. Remove from the heat.
6. Line a loaf pan with non-stick spray and some parchment paper, so that there is paper hanging over both the long edges.
7. Pour the oatmeal into the pan. Smooth out the top. Let the steam escape and after a few minutes, cover with plastic wrap. Let it cool some more before placing it in the fridge.
8. Let it set at least 2 hours, or overnight.

9. Once set, you can remove the oatmeal loaf by using the parchment handles. Cut off a thick slice and warm. Microwave, toaster oven or even a skillet on medium to medium high heat will work great.

10. Top with your favourite oatmeal fixings. Brown sugar, a bit of milk, berry compote, maple syrup etc.