Citrus Butternut Squash Oatmeal with Orange Marmalade

I love combining citrus with hearty produce like sweet potato or winter squash. It adds so much brightness, making porridges like this acceptable year-round, not just in November.

What you’ll need:

• 3/4 cup milk of choice (or water)*
• 2-3 chopped and pitted dates, or 2 tsp maple syrup
• 1/4 cup quick cook steel cut oats*
• 1/3 cup mashed butternut squash (I steamed mine)
• juice of one lemon (about 2 tbsp)
• 1/2 tsp lemon zest
• pinch of salt
• orange marmalade, for topping

How to make it:

1. In a saucepan, bring milk/water and dates to a boil, add oats, and reduce heat to simmer. (If you’d like to add a teaspoon of flax or chia seeds, do so now.)
2. Once more of the liquid has absorbed, stir mashed squash into the oatmeal.
3. Add lemon, lemon zest, and salt. Stir. If using maple syrup, add now.
4. When you’re pleased with the consistency of the oatmeal, transfer to a bowl. Top with a splash of milk, a spoonful of orange marmalade, and any other desired toppings (I added coconut and peanut butter).

Just an FYI:

I highly recommend using a fresh lemon. This oatmeal is actually pretty simple in terms of ingredients, and the lemon is the primary flavoring. That means you want it to be stellar, and we all know that fresh lemon juice is unquestionably better than bottled. Plus, only a fresh lemon can give you zest, and fresh lemon zest elevates any dish.

As I mentioned in my Cardamom Butternut Squash Oatmeal, I cooked my butternut squash by steaming them. I honestly didn’t know that was an option before. I thought sweet potatoes and squash needed to be either boiled or roasted. I will probably become an avid squash-steamer now. 🙂

Obviously, I ate this with peanut butter. I wasn’t sure what would go best with it, but I found that both PB&Co’s Dark Chocolate Dreams and Earth Balance’s coconut-peanut spread tasted surprisingly fantastic. I guess this recipe is more versatile than I realized. I wanted to try it with tahini, too, but I’ve yet to do it.