This is a pretty easy recipe to make if you have the oats already prepared. Since steel cut oats take longer to cook than regular rolled oats, I cook a big batch all at once, put them into a container and keep them in the fridge for a quick healthy breakfast anytime I need it. If you don’t have a torch, you can use the broiler in your oven for the crunchy topping, just be sure to keep a close eye on it as when you put something under the broiler it can go from golden brown to black in the blink of an eye. You can either make one big dish or if you’re serving this for a fancier brunch, you can serve this is in individual ramekins like you would crème brûlée with some fresh fruit on top. Just make sure your guests know it’s oatmeal; even though these oats are delicious, I’d be pretty disappointed if I thought I was digging into a creamy crème brûlée and actually got oatmeal.
Did you know: Brûléeing is nothing more than burning sugar with a fancy French name. You can do it to anything you want, bananas are especially nice, but I’ve had brûléed waffles, cookies, even grapefruit. Once you start, you won’t be able to stop.
Ingredients:
1 cup steel cut oats
3 1/2 cups water
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup skim milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
Sugar for caramelizing
Directions:
Bring the water to a boil in a large pot. Add the steel cut oats and and salt. Stir.
Reduce the heat to medium low and cook for 30 minutes. Make sure you stir the oats occasionally so they don’t stick to the pan.
When the oats start to thicken, at about 30 minutes, add in the milk and vanilla. I think the milk makes the oats creamier. Stir the oats, milk, and vanilla together and cook for ten more minutes.
To brûlée, put your oats into either a large casserole dish or individual ramekins. Top with an even layer of sugar and slowly caramelize with a kitchen torch until golden brown on top. Let sit for a few minutes until the top is hard and crunchy. Alternatively, put your dish under a hot broiler in the oven and watch until sugar has caramelized. Serve with fruit or yogurt.
(makes 6 servings)
