Lockdown Larder: Five London chefs tell us how they cook with porridge oats

For many of us, lockdown has signalled the return of our student habits – forgetting to shower for a day or two, consuming far too much daytime TV and having cereal for dinner. The latter isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as long as you do it right.

We’re all trying to go to the shops less frequently during the lockdown, which means making the most of what’s been hanging around at the back of the larder since last week, last month, or for an indiscriminate amount of time that's probably best not to think about too much.

It’s easy to get stuck in our ways with certain food stuffs, so every week, we’re asking five London chefs how they use a common cooking ingredient in a way that most of us might not have thought about – you can see the full spread of recipes from previous weeks here.

This week, we’re exploring the endless possibilities of a bowl of oats. Porridge may be the ultimate tool in setting you up for a long day of, err, sitting on the sofa, but oats can also lend themselves to sweet treats, naughty snacks and simple suppers.

From Levantine-style breakfasts to deep-fried cheese, this is what London chefs suggest you do with your porridge oats.

Neil Rankin, Temper and more

“The best thing to do with oats is to fry stuff in them. Fish or chicken is great, but I like frying cheese. I especially like frying soft runny cheese, like Baron Bigod, but camembert will do just fine. Whole or chopped, drench the cheese in flour, then in an egg and milk mix, then cover in oats and either shallow fry or deep fry. Serve covered in honey and thyme – and maybe some poached peach – to make a dessert. Alternatively, bang a whole one in a sandwich (or even better a hot cross bun, if you have any left) with some great jam and thank me later.”

“While the lure of a bourbon or hobnob is high, they won’t be as satisfying as something with a bit more bite. Flapjacks are a great little snack – not a healthy one but delicious with a cup of tea for your elevenses. Combine 250g porridge oats, 125g butter, 125g light brown sugar, 2 tbsp golden syrup in a mixer – be careful not to over mix as you can lose the texture of the oats. Place onto an oven tray with greaseproof paper and bake for 15 minutes. Cut into squares and enjoy. Mix it up a bit too by adding fun toppings and fillings like raisins, leftover Easter chocolate or nuts.”

“Give your granola a Levantine twist with lots of mixed nuts. Mix together a kilo of oats, 480g honey, 50ml of vanilla essence, 800g of light brown sugar, 440g melted butter, along with a mix of 200g hazelnuts, 600g walnuts, 400g flaked almonds and 300g pistachios. Roast it all together at 150 degrees for approximately 10 minutes until golden brown. Add 150g each of dried apricots and mulberries and toast for a further five minutes, then top onto thick yoghurt on weekends or even better, with pancakes. The addition of mulberries is classically Middle Eastern – we love a note of sourness in our dishes for balance.”

“Mackerel and oats is a bit of a classic and super simple to do. Mix the oats with some dry herbs of your choice, thyme is great, maybe some dried wild garlic leaves. Then dust mackerel fillets with flour, dip in beaten egg and then into the oat mix. Make sure it’s all covered and shallow fry in a pan with a little olive oil until golden. Great with pickled beetroot, or with a peppery salad with a sharp vinaigrette.”

"I like to add toasted oats to an apple crumble mix, as I find it gives great texture and flavour. Just sprinkle ground cinnamon and caster sugar on the oats and bake for 10 minutes, then add these oats to your favourite crumble recipe.”