Ingredients
- 1 cup rolled oats
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 large shallots, thinly sliced
- 2 leeks, white and tender green parts, thinly sliced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 8 cups chicken or vegetable stock, plus more if needed
- 8 sprigs thyme
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 pound turnips or rutabagas, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
- 1/2 pound parsnips, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
- 1/2 pound carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
- 1-1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more to taste
- 1-2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- Flat-leaf parsley, for garnish
Directions
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high. Add oats. Stirring often, toast oats until fragrant, about 5 minutes. Remove oats from heat and set aside.
- Heat oil in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Add shallots and leeks. Sauté until tender, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and sauté 1 additional minute.
- Add stock, 2 cups water, thyme, and bay leaves, and bring to a boil. Add turnips, parsnips, carrots, 1-1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Simmer over medium-low heat until vegetables are tender, about 40 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high and bring to a gentle boil, then add toasted oats. Stir to combine, lower heat to medium, and cover. Simmer until soup is thick, 8 to 10 minutes.
- Stir in nutmeg and allow soup to simmer, uncovered, 1 minute. If soup becomes too thick, add a splash of stock or water. Adjust salt and pepper, and garnish with fresh parsley. Serve in large soup bowls.
Oatmeal isn’t just for breakfast; you can also get your whole grains in with oat soup! Try this hearty and filling winter root vegetable soup recipe with oats.
Oats aren’t just for baking or breakfast. They’re a great addition to brothy soups. This recipe is my take on the root vegetable soups I’ve enjoyed in Denmark and Iceland. Both countries have a long culinary history of using winter roots to create robust meals. The oats are a nod to my mother’s barley vegetable soup — nothing fancy, just simple and delicious.
A Healthy Dose of Oats
Try more sweet and savory oat recipes from The Art of Pantry Cooking: Meals for Family and Friends.
This excerpt is from The Art of Pantry Cooking: Meals for Family and Friends by Ronda Carman (Rizzoli New York).
Originally published as part of “A Healthy Dose of Oats” in the March/April 2023 issue of Grit and regularly vetted for accuracy.
