Steel-cut oats (also called Irish or Scottish oats) take longer to cook than rolled oats but are creamier and chewier.

　　

Ingredients

serves 4

　　1 1/4 cups skim milk

　　1 whole cinnamon stick

　　1/4 teaspoon coarse salt

　　1 cup steel-cut oats

　　1 banana

　　4 Medjool dates, coarsely chopped

　　2 tablespoons brown flaxseed

　　

Step 1

Bring 3 cups water, 1 cup milk, the cinnamon stick, and the salt to a boil in a medium saucepan. Stir in the oats. Return to a boil. Reduce heat; partially cover. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is thick and the oats are tender, about 25 minutes. Discard the cinnamon stick.

　　

Step 2

Cut the banana crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick rounds. Top the porridge with the banana and dates. Sprinkle with flaxseed. Drizzle each serving with 1 tablespoon milk.

　　

Soaking Steel-Cut Oats

Step 3

Steel-cut oats, also known as Irish or Scottish oats, are the result of chopping the whole oat grains into small pieces with steel blades. Rolled (or old-fashioned) oats, on the other hand, are steamed and flattened before being cut to make them more tender. For this reason, they cook much faster than the steel-cut variety and are often preferred as an everyday option. But if you prefer the pleasantly chewy texture offered by steel-cut oats, there is a way to reduce the cooking time by almost half without sacrificing taste or texture. Simply soak the oats overnight in a pot of water to begin softening the very hard coating that surrounds each grain. Bring the water to a boil before stirring in the oats to jump-start the softening process, and then allow the mixture to come back to room temperature and sit, covered, overnight. In the morning, all you will need to do is warm the oats over medium-low heat, stir, and serve.

　　

Step 4

Even if you don’t have time to or forget to soak the oats, you can still make them in the morning; it will just take a little bit longer. Stir the oats into boiling, salted water, and simmer for about half an hour. Don’t stir too often; it will break up the grains and make the texture gluey.

　　

Step 5

You might also decide to toast the oats before cooking to bring out their nutty flavor. Simply heat a little melted butter over medium heat and toast the oats, tossing them gently in the pan or stirring a little with a spoon, until brown and fragrant. Then cook in simmering water.

　　Reprinted with permission from The Martha Stewart Living Cookbook: The New Classics by Martha Stewart Living Magazine, copyright © 2007. Published by Clarkson Potter, a division of The Crown Publishing Group.Buy the full book from Amazon.