Most mornings, I eat eggs for breakfast. Although the gluten-free options seem to be growing every day, I like to keep things simple. But sometimes I crave something a little sweeter. When that craving hits, I often make oatmeal with allll the toppings.
I will never understand how anyone can eat a bowl of plain oatmeal. It sounds like some type of taste-bud torture. But I don’t care for sickly-sweet oats, either. That’s why rhubarb makes the perfect topping.
I was so excited when I saw stalks of rhubarb at the farmers market last weekend – it might have been the first rhubarb of the year. Strawberry is fantastic with rhubarb, but it’s not the only fruit that pairs well with the stalk. Enter the blood orange. Like rhubarb, it is red and tart, but delicious if prepared the right way.
I used just the juice of the blood orange, as the segments didn’t easily separate from the membranes like they do with grapefruit. If you aren’t able to get your paws on blood oranges, you could use any type of orange, or even orange juice.
I found ½ a cup of brown sugar was enough to make a compote that was plenty sweet. And I added ginger and cardamom for depth and a bit of zing. Ground ginger is fine if you don’t have fresh on hand – just cut the amount in half.
On oatmeal: While oats are technically gluten-free, they’re easily tainted with gluten, so I always get gluten-free oats. Bob’s Red Mill has tons of options.
While the fruit compote is the star of this dish, the vanilla whipped cream really brings it to another level. So you’ve got the starchy, filling goodness of the oatmeal, the bright, fruity sweetness of the compote and the rich creaminess of the topping. Pour yourself a nice hot cup of coffee and you’ve got yourself a next-level breakfast.
Obviously making compote or whipped cream from scratch is not something you want to do every day, so thank god they both freeze and refrigerate well. Just pull ‘em out any time you want a bowl of oatmeal, some pancakes or French toast.
Looking for something slightly more healthy for breakfast? Try my Spiced Greek Yogurt recipe with honey, nuts and berries.
Rhubarb-Blood Orange Oatmeal
Ingredients
For the compote
- 2 cups rhubarb, cut into 1-inch pieces
- Juice of 2 blood oranges, about 1/2 cup
- 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced*
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup water
- ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
For the whipped cream
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- ½ tablespoon vanilla
For the oatmeal
- 1 cup gluten-free steel-cut or rolled oats
- Water (3 cups for steel-cut, 2 cups for rolled)
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
- Combine all compote ingredients except cardamom in medium saucepan. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer over medium-low about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally and mashing rhubarb. Add cardamom and cook 10 minutes more. Turn off heat and allow to cool and thicken.
- Meanwhile, for the oats, bring water and salt to a boil over high heat. Add oats and reduce to medium-low, stirring occasionally for 10-20 minutes, depending on your desired texture. Remove from heat and allow to thicken.
- Combine whipped cream ingredients in mixing bowl and beat with electric mixer for a couple minutes until stiff peaks form.
- For each serving, spoon ½ cup oatmeal into a bowl and top with ½ cup compote and ½ cup whipped cream. Garnish with a sprinkle of cardamom, cinnamon or even nuts and enjoy!