Spring Seasoning

Our mint is thriving and the lemon tree has more lemons than leaves. Combining the two makes one of my favorite seasonings for plain cooked grains. I like it with barley and brown rice, and the other night I made it with oat groats.

Oat groats are the whole grain of the oat - they look very similar to brown rice. Although we most often think of oats for breakfast, I sometimes cook them for dinner as a change. They have a little inherent sweetness, but the lemon and mint override it.

I served these oats the other night with Balsamic Bean Stew and steamed broccoli.

Oats with Mint and Lemon

2/3 cup whole oat groats

1 1/3 cups water

1/4 tsp salt

scant sprinkle of turmeric

2 tbsp chopped mint

1 tbsp chopped shallot

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp whole cumin seeds, toasted

Combine the oats, water, salt and turmeric in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Cover with a tight-fitting lid, bring to the boil, and simmer over low heat about 40 minutes until the oats are tender. Stir occasionally to make sure the groats are not sticking to the bottom of the pan. All the water should be absorbed. When they're cooked, remove from the heat and let sit, covered 5 minutes.

Stir the mint, shallot, lemon juice and cumin seeds into the oats. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serves 4