Oats make a crunchy overcoat for fried fish, a textured crumble topping, or the perfect spring breakfast, writes Hugo Arnold
I've been getting my oats all winter, so to speak. The inner glow that this warm comfort food gives is enough to lift even the dullest of mornings, and that is before I have considered my "additionals". These are a tin of goodies - dark brown sugar, maple syrup, chopped dates and figs, currants and raisins - to mix and match at will. I top the whole lot with organic milk, and even a splash of whiskey is not unknown.
Oats get a hard time when compared with wheat. This is a shame, given their nutritional values, which are among the best of the grains. Protein scores a hefty 16 per cent, and the fat level is among the highest found in the common cereals. These days that may seem like a poor characteristic, but it is why porridge made from oatmeal tastes so good.
I've been a fan of oatcakes all my life, and despite manufacturers trying to make biscuits for cheese with every conceivable flavour - from black olives to rosemary to cheddar cheese (yuck) - I remain loyal to oatcakes, plain and simple. They let the cheese do the singing. There is a tendency to over-sugar these simple biscuits, and while sweetness is required to some extent, it's the oats I really want to taste.
Oatmeal is perfect for coating mackerel before shallow frying it in butter, the soft overcoat browns up a treat and gives a little crunch, to add textural contrast. Some smoked eel coated with oats and served with creamed horseradish and a light salad started a dinner recently with the reminder that northern European treatments can be every bit as good as the much-followed Mediterranean routes. And why stop with eel? This treatment works well with red mullet - along with a punchy relish - and the likes of plaice (although wait a few weeks for this queen of the flat fish as their roes are huge and the flesh currently flabby).
You can make crumble with oats, and the next few months are just the time for this retro pudding. Forced rhubarb, with its seductive pinky hue, is a favourite, especially when laced with ginger or cinnamon.
Flummery and Atholl Brose are set liquid desserts, made by soaking the grain and then using the resulting liquid, combined with fruit and honey, and sometimes with alcohol. Both these treatments highlight the need to use good oatmeal, as the delicate flavour has to stand up to some robust treatment.
With spring just around the corner, my urge for porridge switches to granola, that "cooked" muesli favoured by west coast Americans. Toasted oats never tasted quite so good.