Savoury oats are definitely my new favourite way of having a filling breakfast bowl. I really like to start my day sweet, but sometimes I’m really craving eggs. I guess you can’t say I’m a real Dutchie as I don’t like to start my day with bread. Therefore savoury oats are a great healthy alternative, which I also really recommend for lunch or even for dinner with some grilled chicken.

This morning I had some left-over pesto that I made to use for wraps that I took to the office for lunch.  I heat them up with a toastie grill which makes the tortilla nice and crispy. The wraps included (smoked) chicken, prosciutto, parmesan cheese, asparagus and eggs. Because I take it to work, I often make the pesto without garlic and that encouraged me to also use it for breakfast!

I always use the recipe from Skinnytaste as basis and often add some pine-nuts that I roast in a dry pan without olive oil until they are browned. Also I’d like to squeeze in some lemon and in this case I left out the garlic.

Poached eggs are one of my favourite ways of eating these delicious proteins. Making a poached egg can be somewhat intimidating a first time, if you didn’t try to make them yourself yet, but practising makes perfect! If you don’t feel comfortable making a whirlpool in your pan I would just fry an egg or boil an egg to your liking like I did for my first cheesy savoury oats recipe.

PESTO SAVORY OATS.
1/2 cup of oats (I like to use old fashioned oats from Smaakt)
1/2 cup of milk
1/2 cup of water
2 tbsp of pesto
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
salt and black pepper
optional: 1 tsp of flaxseeds

TOPPING.
1 poached/fried/boiled egg
optional: some basil leaves for garnish
optional: chili flakes
optional: sprouts (also called micro-greens)

Warm up a saucepan with the oats, milk, water, pesto, parmesan and season it decently with salt and pepper. Also add in the flaxseed if using, or use as a topping later.

Depending on the oats you are using cook as instructed on the package. On a low heat I cook my old fashioned oats for approximately 4-5 min. Stir occasionally.

Meanwhile the oats are cooking I continue with the egg topping. For my poached eggs I heat up water, some salt and a splash of vinegar in a deep pan until it’s about to start cooking. Seeing all these small bubbles means it’s going to start cooking soon. I crack an egg open in a different small bowl and then make a whirlpool in the water with a fork. Make one that whirls for a while and then slowly add your egg to the water. Cook for 2-3 min and then take it out with a slotted spoon and dry it on a plate covered with some paper kitchen towel.

Tip: the egg white should be cooked through and the egg yolk should be covered with a thin layer of the white but still soft. Be careful when taking it out of the water as you don’t want the egg yolk to break and start running before being able to transfer it to your oats.

When the oats are done cooking serve it in a bowl with the poached egg and garnish it with somme fresh basil leaves or any other topping you like.

Enjoy! xoSam