Savory Oat Congee #SoupSwappers

Here we are at the August Soup Saturday Swappers event. Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm started this event years ago and, every month, I get a new array of soup recipes to put in my to-try pile.

This month, Sneha of Sneha's Recipes is hosting as we explore oat soups. Here's the line-up of oat soup recipes from the #SoupSwappers...

• Rebekah, Making Miracles posts Vegetable Oats Soup.
• Juli, Pandemonium Noshery simmers  Brotchan Roy - Irish Leek and Oat Soup.
• Camilla, Culinary Adventures with Camilla offers Savory Oat Congee.
• Karen, Karen's Kitchen Stories makes Sweet Potato, Bacon, and Savoy Cabbage Soup.
• Sneha, Sneha's Recipes shares Vegetarian Oats Soup.

Savory Oat Congee

Congee is a thick savory porridge, typically made with rice, I think. But I love making it with rolled oats. I was so excited to find yellow canary mushrooms and bluefoot mushrooms when I decided to make this; I used those exotics in addition to shiitakes.

The first time I made it, my littlest Kitchen Elf's response was "I like this much better than your sweet oatmeals, Mommy." So, I put it in our usual rotation, making it frequently for dinner. It's so easy and so filling.

Ingredients makes 5 small servings

For the Congee

• 2 organic carrots, diced (I used one orange and one purple carrot)
• 2 green onions, cleaned and thinly sliced
• 1 Tablespoon grated ginger 
• 1/2 teaspoon red chile pepper flakes 
• 1 Tablespoon butter
• splash of olive oil
• 5-1/2 cups broth (I used veggie broth, but use whatever you have on-hand)
• 1 cup rolled oats (I like using extra thick)
• 1-1/2 cups sliced mushrooms (I used a mixture of canary oyster mushrooms, oyster mushrooms, bluefoot mushrooms, and shiitakes)
• 1 Tablespoon soy sauce

For Garnish

• soy sauce
• green onions, trimmed and thinly sliced
• micro kale or other micro greens
• black sesame seeds
• hot sauce, optional

Procedure

Place the carrots, green onions, ginger, peppers, butter, and olive oil in a medium saucepan that's large enough to hold at least 7 cups of liquid. Cook till the carrots are fork tender.

Pour in the broth and soy sauce. Stir in the oats and mushrooms. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to a simmer. Cook for 20 to 25 minutes. The oats will be cooked through and the stew beginning to thicken.

To serve, drizzle with soy sauce and provide green onions, micro kale, and black sesame seeds for garnish.