Savory Mushroom Steel-Cut Ris-oat-to

Wow, if you had told me 10 years ago that I was going to make a recipe highlighting mushrooms, I never would have believed you. But here it is, in all its glory:

What you’ll need:

• 1 tbsp oil
• 1/4 cup diced onion or leek
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 3-4 oz baby bella mushrooms (about six), chopped
• 2 cups no-chicken broth, or vegetable broth*
• 1/2 cup steel cut oatmeal
• 1/4 cup frozen peas (optional)
• 1 tbsp grated vegan parmesan (optional)
• salt and pepper

How to make it:

1. Heat a little bit of oil in a saucepan over medium heat.
2. Add onion/leek and garlic and cook until onion is turning translucent.
3. Add chopped mushrooms. Stir occasionally until juice from the mushrooms evaporates. Add a pinch of salt.
4. Add oats and broth (and wine, if using*). Bring to a boil, and then reduce to a simmer. Allow to simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5. If desired, add peas and cook until peas are tender and most of the broth has been absorbed by the oats.
6. Once the oatmeal has reached a risotto-esque consistency (between 20-30 minutes), add vegan parmesan, and add salt and pepper to taste.
7. Finally, remove from heat. Top with fresh herbs, more parmesan, and/or more pepper.

Just an FYI:

My diet bares little resemblance to what it was before 2010. The idea of eating even a single bite of broccoli, kale, brussels sprouts, or green beans (okay, ALL vegetables, who am I kidding) was essentially out of the question. And BEANS. Dear reader, I never ate beans. They reminded me of little beetles. What a picky eater I was.

But my change of opinion about mushrooms is especially shocking. In fall of 2010, as I started experimenting with flexitarianism and meatless meals, I wanted to find a way to recreate my mom’s tacos–using a homemade spice blend, kidney beans, and mushrooms. You see, I wasn’t just trying to give up meat, but (trying to make my heroes Michael Pollan and Jamie Oliver proud) I was also trying to learn how to cook from scratch.

I was perhaps taking on too much at once. The spice mix didn’t taste exactly like the Ortega packets (probably because it was lacking the 430 mg of sodium, haha), the beans looked creepy (like beetles), and the mushrooms were, well, a fungus.

I had never eaten, cooked, or touched a mushroom before, and there I was, reading blog posts about how to wash, cut, and cook a mushroom. I cringed the entire time, taking the fungus thing a little too literally, and worrying that I was holding something toxic and putrid in my fingers.

The combination of my cooking inexperience and picky palate meant I didn’t particularly enjoy the final product of that recipe, but it didn’t sway me. I continued experimenting with beans, mushrooms, and all types of vegetables. And here I am today, always stocked with several cans of beans and constantly throwing mushrooms into my pasta dishes. And oatmeal.

Just like my Lemon Asparagus Steel-Cut Oatmeal was inspired by risotto, so was this one. Risotto recipes can have surprisingly lengthy ingredients lists, with white wine and broth and several types of mushrooms (including dried mushrooms, which are like hella expensive). I tried to simplify things slightly, as is my style, without losing the risotto flavor.

I thought this was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G, but let me know what you think!

Random Recommendations:

• [reads] my article “Signs Your Catastrophic Thinking Is Ruining Your Relationships” via HealthiNation
• [vids] a compilation of all of Jordan Fisher’s dances on Dancing with the Stars