Make Ahead

Whole Oat Groats with Cherries, Plums, Pistachios & Homemade Almond Milk

by:
May 31, 2011
4.7
3 Ratings
Whole Oat Groats with Cherries, Plums, Pistachios & Homemade Almond Milk
Photo by James Ransom
  • Serves 2
Author Notes

Do you remember the 70s Brit show 'The Good Life'? Where Tom & Barbara Good become self-sufficient? They trade labor for goods, and weave their own lambs wool, after dying it in pots of boiled nettle. If you have not seen it, invest one long rainy weekend and watch the whole however many seasons (It really is that addictive!).

Making this dish made me feel a little like I was becoming a cast member of the show, what with homemade almond milk and all. Whether you use store bought or make your own, this dish dispels the fact that whole oats take a million hours to cook. They don't because you should be soaking your whole grains first, making them uber-digestible, and as quick cooking as any rolled oat that I ever saw. Have a look-see: —fo

Test Kitchen Notes

WHO: Frankieolives is from Los Angeles, CA and loves to write, cook, and blog about it.
WHAT: The bowl of breakfast goodness you should eat every day this summer.
HOW: Make your own almond milk by soaking almonds overnight, and then blending them and straining them. (That's it!) Then, cook your oat groats, top with your fruit and nuts, and drizzle it all with your almond milk.
WHY WE LOVE IT: Everything in this bowl makes sense: the creamy, nutty almond milk against the textured groats, the sweetness of the cherries, the tartness of the plums, the nuts to give it crunch and depth. Your summer produce just got a new home. Also, feel free to swap in steel cut oats if you can't find oat groats. —The Editors

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • Homemade almond milk
  • 1 cup almonds
  • 1 1/2 cups water
  • a little love, sure, why not
  • Oat Groats with First Of The Season Plums & Cherries, Nuts & Dried Figs
  • 1 cup oat groats, soaked overnight with 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 2 in-season plums, if small, one if using larger stoned fruit of your choice, pitted and chopped
  • 10 cherries, pitted
  • 2 tablespoons shelled pistachios
  • 3 tablespoons raw almonds, chopped
  • 6 dried mission figs, chopped
  • 1/2 cup or so homemade almond milk. Recipe above.
Directions
  1. Homemade almond milk
  2. Soak your almonds overnight. Countertop is fine. The next day, drain and rinse.
  3. Pop the almonds with 1.5 cups of water in the blender, and whir until its super smooth. The blender should run freely. If you like a thinner almond milk, simply add more water to the pitcher. I prefer mine on the richer side.
  4. Pour into a chinois and strain, using a wooden spoon to stir and press the mixture and render it of as much milk as possible against the sides of the strainer. The remaining meal should be quite dry, and you should be able to get a full cup of milk from these measurements.
  1. Oat Groats with First Of The Season Plums & Cherries, Nuts & Dried Figs
  2. Bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Drain and rinse your oats, get 'em into the pot. Cook on low for, oh, I don't know, 20 minutes? Until the grains are al dente. If they are al dente and there is still a lot of liquid left in the pot, don't fret. You would rather have too much liquid in the pot than two little and have to add more during the cooking process, which can lend to uneven cooking and undercooked grains. Simply drain the excess liquid and discard. When I made this yesterday, I had 1/3 more liquid left that I had to drain off.
  3. When your oats are al dente, stir in your sliced up figs, and about 1/3 cup the homemade almond milk (recipe above). More if you like it creamier. Cook for a couple of minutes until the figs begin to dissolve. Stir the dissolving figs into the porridge to sweeten it.
  4. I can't believe this is the last step. Spoon into bowls. top with all of your awaiting goodies, and a couple/few more tablespoons of almond milk & enjoy with a good friend!
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  • fo
    fo
  • aargersi
    aargersi
  • lemax
    lemax
  • ortolan
    ortolan
fo

Recipe by: fo

I write. I cook. I want A&M's job! Just kidding. No, I'm not. I used to be a professional chef, and while I no longer want to be in a professional kitchen, I could never stop cooking. How cliche that I write and cook, nonetheless, the two marry quite happily and blogging fulfills both of those passions for me with an immediacy that I crave. I would love some day to do it full-time. I have two blogs at the moment, and I'm developing a third. Have a look: http://mangiatuttadimaiale.blogspot.com/ http://tartine-bread.blogspot.com/

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10 Reviews

lemax
lemax January 17, 2014
Could you please let me know why you need to soak the almonds to make almond milk? I have been using my Vitamix and have not soaked the almonds. Thanks loads....
 
fo
fo August 6, 2013
what a fantastic honor!
 
fo
fo August 5, 2013
wow!
 
ortolan
ortolan August 4, 2013
I just made this; it's hearty but the flavors are just okay. Next time I'll omit the figs and use honey and sea salt to season the groats. They are kind of tasteless, and the flavors don't really come together.
 
kate
kate August 4, 2013
I cup raw oat groats
2 cups water
1 tablespoon acidic medium (apple cider vinegar, lemon juice…)
Soak for 8-24 hours. Drain and rinse.
Well, that answered my "there must be more than lemon juice" question!
 
ortolan
ortolan August 3, 2013
Wondering if this can be made in the pressure cooker? I have a slow cooker/pressure cooker combination that does the work of cooking most of my oatmeal-based recipes for me.
 
ortolan
ortolan August 3, 2013
I answered my own question, sorry! I'll use the stovetop because of the intructions in Step 2. I also always make homemade cashew milk (no soaking overnight, much creamier taste) and am very excited to make this with cashew milk and wonderful greenmarket cherries...
 
fo
fo June 1, 2011
Thank you aargersi. I made the change. I meant to write 'almond milk'. I was afraid that I was going to make that error somewhere along the way! No, not a photographer. In fact, I have my camera on auto setting. Thank you for the compliment. I will pass it on to my Canon ; ) BTW, I love all of your posts!
 
aargersi
aargersi June 1, 2011
This sounds great! Homemade almond milk - whoda thunk it? Love all of the components a lot. You mention rice milk in step 2 but it's not on the ingredient list?
 
aargersi
aargersi June 1, 2011
ps are you also a photographer? Gorgeous pix!!!