I’ve nicknamed this dish Scottish risotto because it looks like the beloved creamy Italian rice dish, yet it’s made with oats, a common ingredient in Scotland.
Between the protein from the egg and the oats (and even the spinach to some degree — hello, Popeye), this savoury oatmeal breakfast gives me so much energy, I feel like a warrior — charged up and ready to attack the day. It is truly delicious and could even make for a simple and satisfying breakfast-for-dinner option.
If you are short on time, you can use 1 cup (100 g) regular rolled oats in place of the steel-cut oats and cut the initial cook time in half. And if you’re really in a time crunch, you can use quick-cooking or instant oats (but keep in mind that what you save in time you give up in fibre: quick-cooking oats are steamed longer than regular oats, at the cost of some of the fibre content). In place of fresh spinach, you can use 1 lb (450 g) chopped frozen spinach, thawed and excess water squeezed out.
Ingredients
8 cups (2 L) water, divided
1 cup (160 g) regular steel-cut oats (gluten-free, if needed)
1 lb (450 g) fresh baby spinach leaves
¼ cup (60 mL) Basil Pesto (p. 29) or store-bought
½ cup (50 g) finely grated Parmesan cheese
2 Tbsp (30 mL) white or cider vinegar
1 cup (150 g) cherry tomatoes, cut in half
Instructions
1. In a medium saucepan, bring 4 cups (1 L) water to a boil, then stir in the oats. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid has been absorbed and the oats are tender, about 20 minutes.
2. Gently stir in the spinach leaves, lifting the oats overtop the spinach leaves to wilt them. Stir in the pesto and Parmesan and season to taste. Hold the oats over low heat, loosely covered, while you poach the eggs.
3. For the poached eggs, in a medium saucepot over medium-high heat, bring the remaining 4 cups (1 L) water to a gentle boil. Add the vinegar and reduce to a simmer so that bubbles barely break the surface of the water. Stir with a spoon to create a cyclone effect in the water. Crack an egg into a small dish, then gently tip the dish into the water. Repeat with the remaining eggs, dropping them in one at a time and cooking them until the white is firm but the yolk is still runny, about 3 minutes. Gently lift each egg from the water using a slotted spoon and place on a paper towel to drain.
4. To serve, ladle the oats into pasta bowls, top with the cherry tomatoes and place a poached egg on top of each bowl. Serve immediately.
Excerpted from Anna Cooks by Anna Olson. Copyright © 2025 Anna Olson. Photographs by Janis Nicolay. Published by Appetite by Random House®, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved.
