Rustic Coarse Style Oatmeal

Our toasted oats are bias-cut, raging with flavor, and quick to cook.

Time: 10 minutes

The profusion of steel and stone cut Irish and Scottish-style oats all wish they had the remarkable flavor and texture of these.

Equipment Mise en Place
For this recipe you will need a medium heavy-bottomed nonreactive saucepan and a wooden spoon.

Ingredients
1 cup (6 ounces) Anson Mills Toasted Stone Cut Oats
2 cups spring or filtered water
Generous ½ teaspoon fine sea salt

Directions

1. Place the oats in a heavy, medium saucepan and cover them with cold tap water. Swirl lightly. Let settle, then tilt the pan and pour the hulls and water off the oats. Drain the oats completely--there will be close to a tablespoon of water left in the bottom of the pot--and add the spring or filtered water.

2. Place the saucepan on the stove and stir in the salt. Bring the oats to a simmer over high heat, stirring frequently, about 3 minutes. Simmer 50 seconds, stirring frequently--the oats will thicken. Remove the pan from the stove, cover and let rest 5 minutes. Serve hot with butter, brown sugar and cream (or any combination thereof).

Serves 3 to 4

Cooking Remarks
We used to stir the oats into boiling water, a traditional cooking method. But since Anson Mills oats must be rinsed before cooking, we realized it made more sense to rinse them, add fresh water and bring them to a simmer in the same vessel. Our concern that a cold water method might produce overcooked oats proved baseless: if anything the oatmeal is better now, lush and creamy but pleasantly dimpled with texture. Be aware of cook and steep times with this dish: the time is brief, the timing critical.

One last thing: it may seem odd to wash the oats in tap water and cook them in filtered. But that's what we've been doing. You make the call.