Asparagus oatmeal bowl is a wonderful lunch idea. I created it while making up my mind about what I should eat for breakfast. At the time, I didn’t fancy anything sweet, therefore, I went for something savoury. Oatmeal with savoury toppings, such as asparagus, egg, onion or bacon, can make a great whole grain mid-week lunch or dinner. It’s not only tasty but a very fulfilling and healthy meal, too. Most importantly, you can make it in under 25 minutes time.
We all know oats as a perfect breakfast. You can top it either with fruits, yoghurt, nuts or honey. Most of the time, I use to mix oats with cold milk, add a banana or peach and home-made granola. Although some say oats taste better with milk, I only used water in this recipe.
Moreover, I didn’t cook the oats. I simply poured the hot water over them and stirred. Hot water makes it a little softer, kind of creamy too and helps to release the aroma. In order to add some more flavour, I sprinkled it with sea salt and drizzled with some tangy olive oil. Yummy!
Discover a new side of oatmeal
Oatmeal has a savoury side as well. Discover it by adding and mixing an endless list of ingredients. Maybe it’s something new for you, but you will love it. Oh, I almost forgot to tell you which oats I used. I decided for quick rolled oats. A long story made short; they are one of the most famous in the industry; thin and they cook quickly. I already tried many savoury oatmeal variations. However, the asparagus oatmeal bowl is the first I want to write about and share the recipe with you. I hope to inspire someone of you to use oats in a different way.
Asparagus go great with oats. I think they both have this slightly earthy taste. Haven’t they? Anyway, asparagus are lovely when fresh and crispy. In fact, you should never overcook them or you’ll end up with a sloppy mess. In addition, I recommend saving the asparagus tops and cook them only at the very end.
As you know, the tops are the most tender part of asparagus and they tend to get soft quickly when cooking. Moreover, you can choose between purple, green or white asparagus. Click on this link, if you want to find out „how to get fresh asparagus“.
Crispy bacon, boiled egg…..do I need to say more?
Furthermore, to make our taste buds even happier, I added a little bit of bacon and a boiled egg. Yeah! I love eggs and I love bacon. When you combine them together, everything becomes perfect. Like I always say, bacon goes with everything, also with oats. Wink.
When you want to add some creaminess to your dish, simply make a soft boiled egg. Last but not least, try to combine some fresh herbs to your dishes. I picked melissa for this healthy asparagus oatmeal bowl. Maybe you know it as lemon balm or just balm. It has a mild lemony scent, though.
At this point, can you combine all of these in your mind? Yes? Good! Next step is to combine it in a bowl and taste it. Wink.
Ingredients for 2 portions of asparagus oatmeal bowl:
- 10 green asparagus (cleaned, cut)
- 120 g quick rolled oats
- 1 red onion (thinly sliced)
- 1-2 slices of bacon (crispy, chopped)
- olive oil
- 1 egg (boiled, halved)
- salt, pepper
- melissa (or mint, basil)
Since the quick rolled oats don’t need long to be cooked (well the name says it already, wink), start with the asparagus, egg and bacon. First, put the egg to boil. Second, place the bacon slices into a hot frying pan (without any oil) until crispy and curly. Third, prepare the asparagus. Wash them and peel only when necessary, which means when they are thicker as 1 cm. Furthermore, remove the wooden bottom part and cut them into small round pieces (except the tops).
I sliced the asparagus into thin rounds, in order to make them cook faster. And, as mentioned before, I saved the tops for later. I cooked them only at the end, or better said, I steamed them.
In a frying pan, heat some olive oil, add the asparagus and onion and stir for a couple of minutes. Then, add the asparagus tops to the pan, cover with a lid and remove from the heat.
Salt and olive oil are the reason this oatmeal is so tasty
Divide the oats between two bowls and pour some hot water over them. I don’t like the oats to swim, therefore I added just enough to make them all soak evenly. If you are not sure, how much is enough, add a little at a time until all of the flakes are soaked.
Season the oatmeal with salt and pepper, drizzle with some olive oil and stir. After that, add the asparagus and onion to the bowl. Also here, I kept the tops for garnish. Moreover, take the crispy bacon and crumble it with your fingers directly into the bowls.
Finally, place half of an egg in each bowl and top everything with fresh melissa leaves. Congratulations! You just made a healthy whole grain meal. Serve the asparagus oatmeal bowl either for lunch or dinner and why not, they are great for breakfast, too. Discover a new way how to eat oats and let me know in the comments how you liked it.
Enjoy!
PS
If you like the recipe, if you make the recipe or if you have any new ideas how to improve or change it, let me know in the comments section below or alternatively share your photos and reactions with me on Instagram (@Passionspoon), Facebook or Twitter (@PassionSpoon1). Simply use the hashtag #passionspoonrecipes in your posts. I would love to see them! (wink)
