Caramelized Onions, at Breakfast

Now that you have a pan of deeply caramelized onions, what do you do with them?
Well, one of my favorite ways to eat them is for breakfast. But before I tell you about that, I must talk about Twitter.

Yes, people, I have succumbed to Twitter. And once I started, it became addictive.

[For those of you who don’t know what Twitter is, I’ll let Elise explain it to you. She does a better job than I do. For those of you who are already on Twitter, you know what I’m talking about.]

Now I spend moments of each day happily chattering away on Twitter, which is even more addictive than Facebook (another worthy procrastination technique to which I've succumbed) and possibly to blame for the fact that I haven’t been spending much time around here. I'd say that Twitter might be the reason that many food bloggers have slowed down on posting—we're all chatting away like magpies elsewhere.

These days if I need a break I just amble over to Twitter where I can chat about what folks are cooking, craving, and going crazy for (Humphry Slocombe ice cream, apparently). My Twitter is a food-friendly village of fun people, I like hanging out with them. It is the water cooler for this work-at-home freelancer.

You might even know some of the people in my Twitter village. There are plenty of fabulous food bloggers, but also folks I’ve never met: Amanda Hesser, Ruth Reichl, and Mark Bittman.

Bittman is the reason I’m telling you about my caramelized onion breakfast. You see, the other day he was talking about savory breakfasts.

Yep, savory breakfasts. Such an un-American thing.



Before anyone accuses me of being unpatriotic, let me clarify. I mean no disrespect, but breakfasts in America—with a few sausage and bacon-like exceptions—generally fall into one of three categories: starchy, eggy, or sweet.

(With the inevitable cold pizza, on occasion.)

Not so in other countries.

In Britain there are kippers, in Austria there are cold cuts and cheese on rolls, but it is Asia where savory breakfasts really come into their own. There’s rice, of course, but also pickles, soup, fish. It’s a far cry from muffins, toast and jam, or sweetened breakfast cereal.

Do you know about congee? This traditional rice porridge is served throughout Asia (called different names in different countries: okayu, chok, juk, bubur). It’s a bowl of soupy rice seasoned with a small amount of savory additions—meat, egg, fish, green onions, fried garlic, kimchi.

I’d say more of the world eats a savory breakfast than sweet.



Five years living in Asia shook me out of any breakfast rut I might have been in. By the end my favorite breakfast was chunky miso soup poured over a bowl of rice. So you’ll understand that, for me, it wasn’t all that strange to decide that I could do something more interesting with my oatmeal than put milk and sugar on it.

I decided to take it savory.

These days one of my very favorite breakfasts—the one I have to ration because I find it totally addictive—is curried oatmeal with caramelized onions.

I realize it might sound strange to those who are used to brown sugar and butter, raisins or fruit, but curried oatmeal with caramelized onions is a bit of breakfast bliss. It's deeply flavorful, not too spicy (if you're worried about that). with moments of rich, savory-umami goodness. I'm having a hard time writing about it without wanting to jump up and dash to the kitchen to make some more—it's that good.

For this dish I use rolled oats, rather than steel cut oatmeal. The texture works better with the onions—and the bonus is, if you have your onions cooked ahead of time, this can be ready in five minutes and has a flavor payoff you wouldn’t expect. In my world, it’s one of the best ways to start the day.



Curried Oatmeal with Caramelized Onions

I usually cook this as a single serving, though the recipe can be easily multiplied (cooking time will go up). I like a large, shallow pot, which also helps to cook things quickly. When I first started making this dish I put in butter or a splash of olive oil, but one day I was out and found that it’s fine without.

Per person:
1 cup water
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 tsp madras curry powder
1/4 tsp salt (or to taste)
2-3 tbs caramelized onions (it’s good with 2 tbs, better with 3).
Slight splash of olive oil or pat of butter, if desired (optional).

In a wide saucepan, bring water to a boil. Add rolled oats, stir, and reduce heat slightly. Mixture should still be bubbling briskly. Add curry powder and salt, stir to mix. After two minutes of cooking, add 2 tbs onions, stir again. After another two minutes oats should be done. Add butter or olive oil, if using, and top with even more onions as desired. Serve hot