Memorial Day is the day we honor the men and women who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. It’s always the last Monday in May and is generally thought of as the beginning of vacation season, warmer weather cookouts, and picnics in the park. My salute to Memorial Day is my red, white, and blue Fresh Fruit & Oat Brûlée!
I absolutely love oats! They are incredibly versatile, can be made in advance and heated as desired, and tweaked a zillion way to your liking. For this recipe, use your favorite oats and preferred way of cooking. I always choose Bob’s Red Mill Organic Steel Cut Oats (also known as Pinheads or Irish Oats). And, to really enhance the nutty flavor of the oats, toast them in the oven or saute in a skillet on the stove top until golden brown before cooking — it’s definitely worth the extra effort!
Besides it’s hearty deliciousness, there are so many healthful reasons to love oats:
- It lowers cholesterol
- May reduce the risk of developing high blood pressure
- It lowers risk of diabetes
- It’s full of antioxidants
- It stabilizes blood sugar
- It boosts immune system
- It’s gluten-friendly
With so much happening outside, who has any extra time to spend in the kitchen this time of year? That’s exactly why my recipe for Fresh Fruit & Oat Brûlée is perfect — it takes just a few ingredients and comes together in a snap. The hard part is deciding whether to have it for breakfast, brunch, or dessert. Confession: I love it for dessert!
Besides water and salt, here’s all you will need:
It’s as easy as 1, 2, 3, 4!
Drizzle with a little (or a lot!) of cream and enjoy!
Happy Memorial Day!
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup heavy cream, plus additional for serving
- ¾ cup steel cut oats
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup sliced banana
- ½ cup sliced strawberries
- ½ cup whole blueberries
- ¼ cup turbinado sugar
- Bring water and cream to a boil. Add oats and salt and reduce heat to a low simmer. Cover and cook, stirring every few minutes, until liquid is absorbed, about 18 minutes.
- Heat oven on broil setting. Place 4 (1-cup capacity) oven-safe ramekins or custard cups on a rimmed baking sheet. Divide cooked oats among ramekins and top with fresh fruit as desired. Sprinkle each with 1 tablespoon sugar.
- Monitoring carefully, place baking sheet with ramekins under broiler until sugar has melted and caramelized, about 2-3 minutes. Alternately, use a culinary torch to accomplish this.
- Serve warm with heavy cream as desired.
Use your favorite oats and preferred way of cooking.
Perfect use of leftover cooked oats!
Simple, elegant and beautiful! Oh yes and healthy and delicious too! Nice share.
Thanks so much Roberta!
It was great meeting you at Camp Blogaway, Brett. Such a great weekend. Your blog looks great and I loved looking at the photos of your house. Awesome recipe for Memorial day!
Thanks, Bill! It was a pleasure to meet you and looking forward to our paths crossing again soon!
I click over to your blog when I need a mental health break. Thanks Brett!
Aw, you made my day, thanks Christina!
This looks so good Brett. It is kind of like my favorite creation at Whole Foods. I love their steel cut oats with bananas, blueberries, brown sugar, and I must confess, a couple of pieces of their thick bacon. Oh, breakfast heaven! Now I’m going to need caramelized sugar on top! Steel cut oats make it all OK, don’t they? Have a happy 4th.
My thoughts exactly Karen! 🙂 I never can decide if this is better as a dessert or breakfast.
Looks delicious Brett….so beautiful
Thanks, Pam!!