Monday, October 4, 2010

Turkish-ish Delight Oats

Okay, so I really don't know a thing about Turkish food, except that I know it's similar to other Middle Eastern cuisines that use tahini and apricots. When I decided to combine tahini and apricot preserves in my oat bowl a while back, I referred to the dish as Turkish Delight Oats. But since I really don't know what I'm talking about, we'll just call it Turkish-"ish."

The combination of raw tahini (or in this case, Artisana cashini butter) and sweet apricot perserves is heavenly to me, especially mixed into a bowl of hearty steel cut oats. I topped this bowl with an extra dried apricot just for fun:

Though I typically use McCann's or Bob's Red Mill steel cut oats, I picked up these freshly-ground local oats from the FunderFarm booth at the Memphis Farmers Market on Saturday:

I blogged about FunderFarm and their freshly-ground grains a few days ago when I tried their whole wheat pastry flour. Once again, fresh made such a difference. These oats were ground down a little more than the steel cut oats that I'm used to, and that made for a fluffier bowl of oatty goodness.

The recipe for my Turkish-ish Delight Oats is really quite simple, but I'll include it here along with a little tip for making oats overnight.

Overnight Turkish-ish Delight Oats
Serves 1
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1/4 cup steel cut oats
1 cup water
2 Tbsp. tahini or Artisana Raw Cashini Butter
2 Tbsp. apricot preserves

The night before, place the oats and water in a small saucepan with a lid. Bring to a boil and cover. Immediately turn off the heat. Leave the covered saucepan out overnight. This process actually soaks the oats into a cooked state so you don't have to wait 20 minutes to cook them in the morning.

The next morning, remove the lid and turn heat to medium to warm the oats. When oats are warm, remove from heat. Stir in tahini and apricot preserves. Enjoy!

Don't forget to enter the 101 Things to Do with Tofu cookbook giveaway. Details here. I'll pick a winner on Wednesday.

17 comments:

miss v said...

i don't know anything about turkish food... except that this looks really good. apricots and oats sounds warm and yummy as it has been pretty chilly in the midwest.

The Health Sensei said...

interesting breakfast...i might have to try that.

jessy said...

i haven't had steel cut oats in the longest time, it's probably been years. i remember them taking a while to cook and i just haven't had the time lately in the mornings to make some up. i love your idea of starting them up up the night before - and the idea to combine combination of tahini and apricot preserves sounds heavenly! i can't wait to make these for myself. thanks, Bianca!

Leslie Richman said...

I just got some cashini butter- this looks like a fun way to try it out!

Anonymous said...

Turkish food does not rely on apricots or tahini, although there are many dishes using these ingredients, especially apricots, as Turkey is one of the biggest apricot producing countries in the world. Turkish cuisine is in between Greek & Middle Eastern. Ottoman Empire ruled all these countries for hundreds of years, therefore, it's normal how all dishes are influenced.. For example "Dolmades" is the Greek version of "dolma" which means "stuffed" in Turkish. Although known mostly for the kebabs, Turkish cuisine is one of the most suitable for vegetarians/vegans as there are hundreds of ways to prepare vegetables, which are consumed at every meal. To get an idea of Turkish Cuisine try following links: http://www.turkish-cuisine.org/english/index.php
For recipes there are many sites but, for English speaking audiences try:
http://english.turkishcookbook.com
http://almostturkish.blogspot.com/

Anonymous said...

That sounds delicious! I'll have to save the recipe to try out asap!

Amey said...

here, I got all excited that you had made turkish delight! :)

Abigale Consulting said...

Something new to try..love it.

aimee said...

This sounds great, Bianca. Thanks for the idea! I really like the taste of tahini...

Unknown said...

i still have YET to do overnight oats..i don't know why since everyone raves about how much better they are! your turkish oats sound great though! :)

Melisser; the Urban Housewife said...

Looks good to me! I love overnight oats and quinoa!

Millie said...

I am planning to spotlight and feature throughout the month of November cookies that vegans can enjoy for the Holidays. These cookies are all made by my blogroll vegan friends.

I would like to include you as one of my blog guests for that month.

Every 4 days I will highlight one of my vegan bloggers from my blogroll with one of their best holiday cookie recipes. I will highlight their blog on my blog for 4 days.

I will post the written information they sent me for the month of November for 4 days. Then I will highlight another blogger friend. Once I have highlighted you, you then need to post it on your blog sending your blogger friends towards my blog to see your guest post.

Make sure your recipe is not complicated.

If you are interested to join me on this month of great vegan or raw cookie recipes please email me all the information I have requested by October 20th.

Your entry must be in writing and sent to me via email. I need you to send me a photo of yourself and a photo of your family. In your summary tell me a little bit about yourself, where yo live, your marital status, your career and of course your recipe complete with a photograph of your cookies.

scoobynana2@hotmail.com

Thank you.

MeloMeals said...

that sounds delicious. I think that tahini is underrated.

jodye @ 'scend food said...

What a great idea. I've been trying to use tahini in more sweet dishes lately with great success. I've never had turkish delight, but I'll trust you that this is delicious!

Mihl said...

Mmmm, I am totally making this for breakfast tomorrow.

Monique a.k.a. Mo said...

That sounds like something I need to try! I love nut/seed butters in my oatmeal.

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