Trout Fried with Oatmeal: The Breakfast Book

Here we are again, it's Cook the Book time. This chapter of Marian Cunningham's The Breakfast Book is all about breakfast meat. Somehow, I found a fish dish.

I've never made trout before. My favorite way to eat it is smoked on toast with mayo. The recipe I found calls for trout, but it's encrusted in oatmeal and then fried. All signs pointed to yes for me, so I gave it a try.

The flavor was great, the fish was moist. The almond milk I used added a little bit of nuttiness to the oatmeal, so it was all good. If I could just get past the smell of the fish itself, this would be one of my go-to breakfast dishes.

My mother always has something to say about how fishy fish can smell. I hadn't ever experience this level of fishiness-of-the-fish before. Whoa! I made this two times because the first time I made it, the smell turned me off so much, I was afraid to eat it. The second time, I made it as soon as I got it home from the market, but the smell was the same. I do have an extra sensitive nose, which may have contributed to my reaction.

You may have a different experience, so I ask you to please give this a try, and to let me know. I hope you enjoy the flavor as much as I did!

Check out the posts by my cook the book partners:  Rachel, Aimee, Emily and Claudie.

Trout Fried with Oatmeal

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup milk (I use Almond Milk)
• 2/3 cup rolled oats
• 1/4 cup shortening, or a combination of oil and butter
• 4 trout
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Lemon wedges

Method:

1. Pour the milk in a large deep plate and spread the oatmeal on a piece of waxed paper. If you want a finer-textured oatmeal than the flakes, whir the rolled oats in a food processor.
2. Put the shortening in a large skillet and heat it over high heat.
3. Dip each trout in the milk and then in the oatmeal, coating each side completely,
4. Put the trout in the hot shortening and turn the heat down to medium-high.
5. Salt and pepper hte trout and cook for 3 to 4 minutes; then turn the trout and cook for 3 to 4 minutes on the other side – don't overcook.
6. Remove from the pan and serve with lemon wedges.

Slow Cooker Oatmeal: Plain is Best (or Add some Bacon)

Oatmeal is really the breakfast of champions. I love oatmeal made just with water. No toppings, no butter, no sugar. We used to get those prepackaged cinnamon sugar oatmeals, but I never loved them. Plain oatmeal is my favorite.

There are many health benefits to eating oatmeal: lowers cholesterol, adds a good amount of fiber to your diet and stabilizes blood sugar. An extra benefit that I love most: if I eat oatmeal in the morning, I'm full until well into the afternoon.

I have to admit that I not only eat plain oatmeal, I also top mine off with bacon. It sounds a little crazy, but the salty bacon adds just the right something-something to my morning oatmeal. I do love to have a cup of tea and a hard boiled egg alongside my oatmeal.

Yesterday I experimented by freezing a few portions of my slow cooker oatmeal in small containers. Defrosted in the microwave for just a minute and I had a nice bowl of oatmeal at my desk. It's handy for me to be able to pre-cook a bunch of oatmeal and pack it into single servings to bring to work with me. I suppose you could just use the instant kind of oats and make them in the microwave, but I prefer a slower-cooked oatmeal.

However you eat it, do eat oatmeal. It's just so good for you, it's tasty and satisfying, too.

Oatmeal: Slow Cooker Style

Ingredients:

• 8 cups water
• 2 cups steel-cut oats
• 1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste

Method:

1. Combine water, oats and salt in a 5- or 6-quart slow cooker. Turn heat to low.
2. Put the lid on and cook until the oats are tender and the porridge is creamy, 7 to 8 hours.
3. Spoon the oatmeal into single serving freezer-proof containers. Freeze until ready to eat.
4. Defrost single serving in the microwave for 1 to 2 minutes.
5. Eat plain, with dried fruit or add some bacon, like I do.