Herbed Whole-Oat Salad

Yield

Serves 4 to 6 as a side dish

Ingredients

1. • 1 cup whole oats (also called oat groats)*
   • 1/2 cup minced onion
   • 1 large shallot if desired, minced
   • 1 1/8 teaspoons ground allspice
   • 1 teaspoon salt
   • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, or to taste
   • 2 tablespoons olive oil (preferably extra-virgin), or to taste
   • 1/2 cup finely chopped fresh parsley leaves
   • 1/3 cup finely chopped fresh mint leaves
   • 1 cucumber, peeled if desired, seeded, and chopped
   • 1 cup vine-ripened cherry tomatoes, quartered

Preparation

In a large saucepan of salted boiling water cook oats 25 minutes. Drain oats in a colander and rinse under cold water. Set colander over a kettle of boiling water (oats should not touch water) and steam oats, covered with a kitchen towel and lid, until fluffy and dry, 5 to 10 minutes (check water level in kettle occasionally, adding water if necessary).
      
While oats are cooking, in a large bowl stir together onion, shallot, allspice, and salt. Stir in hot oats and cool. Stir in lemon juice, oil, parsley, mint, and salt and pepper to taste. Add cucumber and tomatoes and toss gently. Salad may be made 1 day ahead and chilled, covered (herbs may discolor slightly).

Bring salad to room temperature before serving.

Source:  Epicurious

Oatmeal Tabbouleh

Unlike traditional tabbouleh, which is a really a parsley salad with a little bit of fine Bulgar, this is more of a lemony grain salad with a generous amount of parsley and other herbs. For best results, toss the soaked oats with the dressing and refrigerate overnight.

 Yield  4 servings   Time1 hour

Ingredients

• ½ cup quick-cooking steel-cut oats
• Salt to taste
• 1 cup boiling water
• ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
• ½ teaspoon cumin seeds, lightly toasted and ground
• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 2 to 4 tablespoons chopped fresh mint (to taste)
• 2 tablespoons chopped chives
• 2 to 3 medium tomatoes, finely chopped (omit if not in season)
• 1 cucumber, 2 Persian cucumbers, or 1/2 European cucumber, seeded if necessary and cut in small dice

Preparation

1. Combine the steel-cut oats and salt to taste in a bowl and pour on 1 cup of boiling water. Let sit for 25 to 30 minutes. Drain through a strainer and press the oats against the strainer with the back of your spoon to extract water. Transfer to a bowl.
2. Combine the lemon juice, salt to taste, cumin and olive oil and whisk together. Toss with the oats and let sit for at least 20 minutes or, preferably, cover and refrigerate overnight.
3. Add the remaining ingredients, toss together and let sit for 10 to 15 minutes or longer (in the refrigerator if longer than 15 minutes) before serving.

Source:   NY Times Cooking

Stone Fruit Glaze and Dip (or Sauce and Compote)

Preperation time:  20 mins.  Cooking time:  5 mins.  Serves:  6

We had eight for Xmas and these pictures reflect a little over exuberance!  It ended up being sufficient for at least double, which turned out just as well for the left over Xmas ham.  The oranges were particularly juicy and I ended up reducing the sauce for about half an hour.  All turned out well in the end.  An excellent replacement for the traditional gravy or apple sauce.

Ingredients

4 Peaches
2 Nectarines
1 Tbs fresh Fennel
1 Garlic Clove
Splash of Oil
1 Tbs Pomegranate Molasses
1 Orange (Juiced)
Handful of fresh Mint
Pinch of Salt

Method

• Slice 4 peaches and 2 nectarines.
• Saute in pan for 3-4 minutes with a tablespoon of fresh fennel, 1 crushed garlic clove and a splash of oil.
• Add 1 tablespoon of pomegranate molasses, the juice of one orange, a handful of mint and a pinch of salt to pan.
• Stir all ingredients together for 1 minute.

Serve sauce with your favorite meat as a sweet sauce alternative.

Source:  Vince Garreffa