Oatmeal with chia and spiced nuts: a chef's recipe

Mes chéris, this was the most popular recipe of the Club’s first month. I was ready for anything except porridge taking first place.

But you know, this isn’t porridge in the usual sense. The milk is steeped with bergamot. The nuts are caramelized with honey and cinnamon. The yogurt goes on last, cold against the hot nuts. And a pinch of salt to sharpen the flavors and give them depth. Oh! Divine.

Recipe: the oatmeal

1. 

   Pour the water and milk into a saucepan, add the sea salt and set over medium heat. Bring the mixture to a boil. There’s no need to let the milk boil hard. The moment it comes to a boil, take the saucepan off the heat.
2. 

   Add the tea bag and leave it for 4–5 minutes to steep, so the milk and water take on a rich tea flavor and aroma. What matters here is steeping the tea in the hot milk, not boiling it: that way the flavor comes out cleaner and softer, with no extra bitterness.
3. 

   Remove the tea bag. Strain the tea mixture through a sieve into a bowl or container. Add honey to taste and stir. Keep the sweetness moderate at this stage: remember, the honeyed nuts on top will bring sweetness of their own.
4. 

   Add the chia seeds and oats. Whisk thoroughly so the chia spreads evenly through the liquid instead of gathering into dense clumps. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap pressed directly onto the surface and leave at room temperature for 20 minutes.
5. 

   After 20 minutes, remove the wrap and whisk the oatmeal thoroughly once more. This step matters: it keeps the chia seeds from clumping into one dense lump and spreads them evenly, so the texture turns out airier, fuller and exactly the right consistency.
6. 

   Cover again with the wrap pressed onto the surface and leave for another 20 minutes. Then move the oatmeal to the fridge.
7. 

   Whisk the finished oatmeal well. If it seems too thick, add a little milk and stir until it reaches the texture you like. It should be creamy, soft and loose, but not runny. Don’t warm the oatmeal. In this recipe that’s non-negotiable: it’s exactly what keeps the lovely contrast of temperatures and textures.

Recipe: the nuts

1. 

   About 10 minutes before the oatmeal is ready, turn to the nut mixture. Roughly chop the walnuts. If the almonds are whole, roughly chop them too. Leave the sunflower seeds as they are. Heat a skillet over medium heat, a 5 on a 1-to-10 scale. Add a little olive oil and let it warm up. Tip the nuts and seeds into the pan.
2. 

   Toast, stirring now and then, until lightly golden. The key cue: the moment the sunflower seeds in particular start to color ever so slightly and show their first golden tint, take the pan off the heat. Seeds burn very quickly, and the nuts will keep cooking in the residual heat of the pan.
3. 

   Right away, add the cinnamon and stir so it coats the nuts evenly. Then add the honey, stir again and pour in the 10 ml of water. The water keeps the glaze more fluid and stops the mixture from turning too quickly into a dense, sticky mass like nut brittle. Add a pinch of sea salt and stir once more.
4. 

   Transfer the nut mixture to a bowl or container and leave it for a couple of minutes to cool slightly. Don’t spoon it onto the oatmeal straight away: nuts that hot will burn your mouth. In those few minutes the mixture has time to calm down a little, but it won’t set hard or need reheating.

To serve

Divide the oatmeal among plates or bowls. Top with the Greek yogurt.

Add the warm nut mixture. Serve right away.