Pinhead Oat Dahl

To vivify cold evenings, to store in the fridge all week, or to freeze for another night

My darling cooks, fellow geeks and thirsty readers …

This dahl is rather special and insanely easy to make. ‘Tis a dreamy confluence of flavours and textures, and of Irish superfoods and South Asian brilliance.

Okay, so it’s a ragingly inauthentic dahl recipe. But using local seaweed and pinhead oats brings me one delicious step closer to the majesty of Indian cooking all the way from Irish shores.

Irish dillisk flakes, tumbled through this week’s dahl is insanely delicious

My local health food store, The Hopsack (also delivers nationwide)

Now that the evenings are shorter (the suddenness manages to shock me every year), Autumn is officially pelting through my veins. I start to crave nourishing bowls of root vegetables and wholegrains. This recipe helps to defibrillate my stove and deep winter pots, with its bubbling cauldrons of goodness.

Dahl freezes really well, but also feeds a party with rice and naan on the side. It’s a gorgeous way of welcoming in the darker evenings, ensconced in good company and steaming bowls of goodness.

It’s also cheap and simple to make. (There’s a handy printable PDF below, and step by step photos).

We are using whole pinhead oats, also known as steel cut oats. They give a fabulous chew amidst the slurping, lip smacking deliciousness of a soupy stew. Expect the red lentils and pumpkin to melt into submission, imparting both flavour and colour. I seem to always have a little pumpkin left over from chopping and roasting earlier in the week. Pumpkin divas will understand. This works as the perfect way to use up the ends of pumpkin or butternut squash, and high five your inner zero-waste warrior.

Pinhead oats, aka steelcut oats. So cheap. So tasty. So fabulous. So Irish.

Of course, regular readers will already know the divine brilliance of lentils. Yup. Not only do they look after our busy little community of gut bacteria by feeding them, but lentils also deliver those essential B vitamins for energy (think B for battery, B for Bolt). Couple this with wondrous Irish oats, and you have yourself a lovebomb for your microbiota. All that resistant starch is enough to make a gastroenterologist wildly applaud.

Resistant starch is a type of carb that’s also a fibre. It literally resists digestion. Our gut enjoys fermenting resistant starch (toot toot!) and turning it into short chain fatty acids. SCFAs strengthen our gut wall and are among the most exciting and healing molecules science has discovered in gut health, according to gastroenterologist Dr Will Bulsiewicz.

If you’re looking for more oaty goodness, perhaps for cholesterol reasons, or for budgetary consideration, or ssimply for taste reasons, check out this pinhead risotto or my gorgeous crumble recipe with step by step photos. There’s also matcha oat balls or black sesame & chai energy grenades plus lots more in the recipe index. And one of my most downloaded recipes? Flapjacks, 2 ways. If you want to get ahead of your gift giving this Christmas, a box of flapjacks is a total winner.

Love, light, and oaty goodness,

Susan Jane

x

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