Cardamom and Tea

savory oatmeal, two ways

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Assyrian cuisine tends to be really open-minded about whether certain ingredients are inherently sweet or savory. On the other hand, in the US where I grew up, yogurt (for instance) is almost always considered a sweet food. While it’s sometimes used as an ingredient in savory dishes, you’d never find a cup of yogurt with olive oil and za’atar in the dairy aisle of the supermarket. But savory yogurt is totally a thing in Assyrian cuisine, and Middle Eastern cuisine more generally. And furthermore, enjoying a bowl of yogurt with oregano and garlic isn’t thought of as a sweet and savory twist. It’s just plain old savory, since yogurt is such a neutral.

The same goes for porridge. Apple cinnamon or maple brown sugar will never disappoint, but my family’s favorite way to eat porridge is with a generous splash of salted butter. One of my aunts sprinkles her rice porridge with lots of coriander seeds, and a few other family members even dust theirs with Turkish coffee. I’d take these savory rice porridges over sweet any day (except maybe the Turkish coffee one which is just a little too efficient for my taste).

But on the other hand, when my family eats oatmeal, we usually have it American-style, on the sweet side, most often with a few drops of maple syrup, which we would always bring back from visits to our Vermont family. While I enjoy sweet oatmeal, and even have a delicious sweet oatmeal post coming up soon, I recently cooked savory oatmeal for the first time. While I suppose there might come a day when I’ll eat sweet oatmeal voluntarily, there’s currently no end in sight to my savory oatmeal breakfasts. It’s like treating yourself to a decadent oatmeal risotto for breakfast every morning. 

For this post, I’ve written up recipes for my two favorite savory oatmeal bowls. The first one (above) is inspired by breakfast at my grandmother’s house. When we would sleep over at her house when we were little, and now whenever we visit her in Phoenix, she always cooks fried eggs, crispy bacon, and oatmeal for breakfast. And, while I never tried combining everything in one bowl before, it turns out these things all taste really phenomenal together.

The second recipe (below) is inspired by my family’s favorite way of eating rice porridge, with lots and lots of melted butter on top. But it’s also inspired by my favorite add-on to Japanese ramen: buttered corn. The two go together so beautifully, and they are just as magical on top of a perfect bowl of oatmeal.

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savory oatmeal

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Ingredients

  • 1 cup old fashioned oats*
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 cup your milk of choice
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

Instructions

  1. Bring everything to a simmer over medium heat, stirring every minute or so.
  2. Once it comes to a simmer, reduce the heat to low and continue to cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the liquid thickens and the oatmeal softens and cooks through. Everyone prefers a different doneness, so taste it while you cook, and stop cooking once it’s done to your liking.

Notes

 * If you’re cooking for someone who can’t eat gluten, make sure you use gluten free oats.

Topping inspiration:

Breakfast at Nana’s

Basic oatmeal (above)
Bacon (optional)
Cooking oil
Eggs
Salt
Green onions, chopped
Garlic, crushed through a garlic press
Za’atar
Crushed red pepper

  1. While the oatmeal is cooking, microwave some bacon until it’s crispy, and then cut it into small pieces.
  2. Once the oatmeal has cooked, turn off the heat, and leave it on the warm burner so it doesn’t get cold.
  3. Heat a small skillet over high heat for at least 3 minutes, until it’s very hot.
  4. Add about 1 or 2 tablespoons of oil to the pan, swirl it around, and immediately crack an egg wherever the oil is pooling. Be very careful—it will splatter violently.
  5. While the egg is cooking, season it with some salt and (carefully!) baste it by spooning hot oil onto the whites to help them cook faster. The egg is done once the whites are set and brown on the bottom and around the edges (just about 2 minutes). Remove to a plate and repeat if you’re making multiple servings (replace some of the oil as you go).
  6. Once you’re done with the eggs, carefully dump out the remaining oil and replace with about 1 teaspoon of fresh oil. Add some green onions and garlic to the still-hot pan and stir for about 2 minutes. Season to taste.
  7. Serve the oatmeal and top with the bacon, crispy egg, and onions and garlic. Sprinkle with za’atar and crushed red pepper.

Buttered corn oatmeal

Butter
Salt
Corn (fresh or frozen)
Scallions, chopped
Freshly ground black pepper

  1. While the oatmeal is cooking, melt a generous portion of butter in a skillet over medium-low heat. Once it’s melted, add some corn, salt to taste, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the corn warms through (about 3 minutes for fresh).
  2. Add some scallions to the corn and season it with a little black pepper. Stir and cook for about 1 minute.
  3. Spoon the corn and scallions over the oatmeal, and drizzle to taste with the remaining butter. Feel free to add a fresh pat of butter if there’s not enough melted in the pan.

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potato chop skillet

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Last fall, I posted my recipe for potato chop, or breaded and fried potato croquettes stuffed with seasoned ground beef and parsley. Since potato chop isn’t something my family makes, I started from scratch with my own recipe, drawing on my memory of potato chops I’ve eaten in Iraqi and Assyrian restaurants, and asking around to hear how others have made theirs. Coming up with a recipe for something complicated that you’ve never made before requires a lot of test batches, and so I can’t tell you how much potato chop we ate last fall.

But once the marathon of croquette-stuffing and onerous deep frying finally came to an end, the only thing I was sick of was just that: all the stuffing and deep frying! I never once got tired of potato chop itself. So I decided to come up with something a little easier, but still inspired by classic Middle Eastern cuisine.

This recipe for potato chop skillet is inspired by kibbeh bil sanieh, which literally means kibbeh (Middle Eastern dumplings) in a tray. With kibbeh bil sanieh, instead of stuffing and deep frying the kibbeh individually, you layer the ingredients together in a sheet pan, bake it, slice it, and serve it. The same idea applies here: you sandwich a layer of flavorful ground beef between two potato layers, top it with some breadcrumbs that have been tossed in olive oil, and bake it until it’s golden brown and delicious.

I’m not going to try to convince you that this tastes exactly the same as classic potato chop, but it certainly captures its spirit, and takes way less time to prepare. You can totally prep this on a weeknight—it takes about one and a half hours from start to finish, but only takes thirty minutes of active time. And best of all, there’s no deep frying required, which means no deep frying clean-up. Potato chop skillet works great as a main or side, and it’s best served next to a big pile of greens dressed in lemon vinaigrette.

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potato chop skillet

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  • Prep Time: 30 minutes
  • Total Time: 1 1/2 hours
  • Yield: 5 large or 8 small servings

Ingredients

For the potato crust:

  • 2 pounds 8 ounces russet potatoes
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
  • Salt to taste (I use 3/4 teaspoon)

For the ground beef filling:

  • 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon olive oil, divided
  • 1 medium onion, minced
  • 3–4 garlic cloves, crushed with a garlic press
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons baharat*
  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
  • 1 bunch cilantro, leaves chopped
  • 1 bunch parsley, leaves chopped (set aside a teaspoon for garnish)

To assemble:

  • potato mixture (above)
  • filling (above)
  • 3/4 cup breadcrumbs
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil (plus more for oiling the skillet)
  • 1 small pinch salt
  • 1 egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon water

Instructions

  1. Make the potato crust: Bring a large stockpot of salted water to a boil. While you’re waiting, peel the potatoes and cut them into large approximately 1-inch pieces.
  2. Boil the potatoes until very tender, about 12 minutes. (Alternatively, feel free to microwave them).
  3. Mash the warm potatoes with the butter, then let them cool.
  4. Mix the cornstarch into the cooled potatoes and salt them to taste. Set aside for later.
  5. Make the ground beef filling: While the potatoes are cooking and cooling, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat for 2 minutes. Add the onions and cook, stirring every minute or so, until they brown slightly and soften, about 5 minutes.
  6. Reduce the heat to low, add the garlic and baharat and give everything a stir. Push everything out to the sides of the pan, add 1 teaspoon of oil to the center, add the ground beef and salt, then turn the heat to high, and mix everything together, breaking up any big clumps.
  7. Keep stirring until any juices have evaporated and the meat has browned, about 5 minutes.
  8. Remove the meat from heat and let it cool to room temperature. Once it’s cooled down, add the cilantro and parsley and stir to combine.
  9. Assemble and bake: Preheat the oven to 400° F convection.**
  10. Oil a 10-inch cast iron skillet.*** Scoop half of the potato mixture into the bottom of the skillet, flattening it out with an offset spatula or the back of a glass.
  11. Evenly spread the cooked ground beef filling over the first potato layer.
  12. Place scoops of the other half of the potato mixture over the beef filling. Carefully break up the potato scoops with a fork so that the beef layer is covered evenly, and then smooth it out with an offset spatula (careful that you don’t mix the beef layer into the potato layer).
  13. Mix the breadcrumbs with the olive oil and salt.
  14. Generously brush the potato layer with some of the egg wash (discard or save the rest).
  15. Top evenly with the breadcrumb mixture.
  16. Bake for about 45 minutes, until the top is nicely golden brown. Cool for a few minutes in the pan before slicing and serving (it will hold together more as it cools). Optionally, garnish with the reserved parsley.

Notes

* If you don’t have a baharat blend on hand and don’t feel like making one, feel free to use 1 1/2 teaspoons paprika, 1 teaspoon black pepper, 1 teaspoon cumin, 1 teaspoon coriander, and a pinch of cinnamon.

** If you don’t have a convection oven, no worries, it might just take a little longer to bake, you might need to increase the temperature slightly, and you might need to rotate it to make sure it’s cooking evenly.

*** If you don’t have a cast iron skillet, feel free to use a similarly sized oven-proof skillet or cake round.

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