Oat Soup (Gluten Free & Dairy Free)

Congratulations to Janet and Gina, winners of my Povitica giveaway!  Thank you all for your entries!  Next month I’ll be giving away a copy of The Vegan Slow Cooker.

Oat Soup sounds strange to me and I can not take credit for this recipe, but while my mother visited a few months ago, we politely agreed to allow her to make this soup for dinner one night.  I am glad we did.  While the name may have conjured up an image of a dish eaten by the  Bucket Family for breakfast, lunch and dinner it’s actually a pleasant gluten free alternative to a hearty barley soup.

A quick  Google search assures me me that Oat Soup and Oatmeal based soups are popular across the globe and I may begin to explore this area of cuisine a little more by way of Arabic Chicken and Oat soup or a traditional Swiss cheese soup made with oatmeal.  If you looking for a gluten free, yet satisfying alternative to barley soup, I strongly recommend breaking free of the “oats are for breakfast” sterotype and trying this dish!

As the oats cook, they give this dish a wonderfully creamy texture reminiscent of the “real thing” and I assure you that this is a gluten free dish that you won’t be afraid to serve to your gluten eating guests!

This dish will serve 8 – 1o a generous portion.  I would even go so far as to say it will serve 12, and it’s filling enough to be a meal in itself.

You need the following ingredients:

• 1 onion
• 1 leek
• 3 carrots
• 1 red potato
• 1 cup chopped butternut squash
• 1 zucchini washed and sliced
• 1 cup chopped parsley
• 3 cloves garlic
• ¼ inch ginger
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• ½ teaspoon dried coriander
• 10oz oyster mushrooms
• 2 cups vegetable stock
• 1 cup quick cook oats
• Salt and pepper
• Olive oil
• 1 cup soy, oat or almond milk

Heat some olive oil in the bottom of a soup pot an saute the garlic, onion and leeks. Stir and add the ginger, grated. Add bay leaves followed by the rest of the vegetables with the exception of the mushrooms. Allow the vegetables to sweat for a few minutes.

Add the cumin and corriander to the vegetables, then add the mushrooms. Cover the vegetables with your stock (and although this is not in the original recipe, I am sure stiring in a teaspoon of marmite will do no harm).

Bring to the boil.

Add the oats, followed by the parsley. Add a little more water so the soup doesn’t thicken too much as the oats cook. Turn the heat down and simmer for 25 – 30 minutes, then stir in the soy milk. Taste, and add more salt if needed. Continue to cook on a low light for ten minutes.

Flavors will continue to develop over the next 24 hours so don’t be concerned about re-heating the next day. It will be delicious.  Photo Credit – stijn.