I love oats. Their flavor conveys a mild earthy sweetness with a chewy, satisfying texture, versatile enough to star in both sweet and savory dishes. Oats are naturally gluten free, yet more often than not they’re cross-contaminated during processing or storage. I kind of thought this was bunk; I mean how cross-contaminated could they possibly be? But as it turns out, I always react poorly when I eat regular oats, showing the exact same symptoms I have when I ingest gluten. Since I’m so sensitive, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to tolerate certified gluten-free oats either–many people can’t–but decided to give them a try. I’ve tried three different brands: Bob’s Red Mill, Montana Gluten-Free Naked Oats, and GF Harvest Gluten-Free Oats and I’m pleased to report enormous success in terms of both taste and my body’s ability to process them. How do you tolerate gluten-free oats? To gauge your own sensitivity, you’ll have to trust your gut, literally and figuratively.

After picking up a giant bag of gluten-free rolled oats last week for my taste test, I wanted to make something other than just a breakfast oatmeal. Specifically, I wanted a savory dish, one that could be served as a meat-free dinner. I remembered a dish called Oat Cakes and Spinach with Horseradish Sauce* (see note in recipe) from back when I was a recipe developer for the cookbook division of Food & Wine, and decided to revisit it. (It was from a book called Quick From Scratch Vegetable Main Dishes, one of a series of 8 books filled with reasonably quick, straightforward recipes. It’s a great series, though not gluten free.) I found the recipe and whipped it up to see if it was as good as I remembered.

It was. The concept is simple: Soak gluten-free rolled oats in milk (you could use a dairy-free alternative) to rehydrate them and then combine with sautéed onions & carrots, cashews, egg, and parsley. The mixture is somewhat loose, so I form it into cakes right in the pan using a 1/4-cup measure. (Plop it in the pan and then flatten into a pancake with a spatula.) You can eat them as-is, hot from the pan, with a simple horseradish dipping sauce. The combination absolutely begs for a side dish of sautéed greens–today I did a quick stir-fry of shredded collard greens with a little garlic and olive oil, but you could easily use spinach, chard, kale, or a combination. The Oat Cakes would also make a great veggie burger along with some sliced avocado on a gluten-free bun for a unique lunch or dinner.  Oats do make a fantastic breakfast, but I hope you’ll explore some of their savory applications as well. Enjoy! ~LbR