In my opinion, the most underrated flavor in the baking world is lemon, especially during the Spring/Summer seasons.
This tart citrus fruit may evoke thoughts of sour, puckered up faces on its’ own, but when combined with the sweetness of dates, cashew butter, vanilla and poppy seeds, it seems to take on an entirely new form.
Replacing the role of brown sugar or maple syrup in this recipe is the decadently rich, all-natural date paste, made from a blend of pitted Medjool dates and a small amount of water. Date paste works well in a variety of recipes as a replacement for brown sugar or maple syrup, and goes particularly well in dishes like oatmeal.
This recipe requires a zester or cheese grater, a high speed blender or food processor and a medium saucepan to cook your oats in.
- ***Date Paste:***
- 10 pitted Medjool Dates
- 1-2 tsp. water
- ***Oats:***
- 4 cups water
- 1 cup steel cut oats
- 1/3 cup lemon zest
- 1/3 cup date paste (see recipe above)
- 2 Tbsp. raw cashew butter
- 1 Tbsp. pure vanilla extract
- 1 Tbsp. poppy seeds
- 2 Tbsp. unsweetened vanilla almond milk
- ***Syrup:***
- 1 Tbsp. raw cashew butter
- 1 Tbsp. date paste or 100% pure maple syrup
- 2 Tbsp. unsweetened vanilla almond milk
- In a medium-sized saucepan, bring 4 cups of water to a boil on high heat.
- While waiting, combine pitted dates and 1 tsp. of water in a food processor or high speed blender, and mix until dates begin to form a paste. If mixture is too thick, add in a little more water. Stop and scrape down sides as needed while processing.
- When water reaches a rolling boil, stir in steel cut oats and return to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to medium/low and set timer for 20 minutes.
- In a small dish, zest 1/3 cup of lemon and add it into your cooking oats, stirring to thoroughly mix.
- Add in 1 Tbsp. of pure vanilla extract and stir.
- In a separate small dish, combine the ingredients for your syrup by whisking together cashew butter, almond milk and date paste or maple syrup. When ready, syrup will have a creamy, yet runny texture. Set aside until ready to use.
- Add 1/3 cup of date paste into your cooking oatmeal, stirring with a whisk until date paste is seemingly dissolved.
- When oats are finished, add in your poppy seeds, almond milk and cashew butter, mixing thoroughly.
- Pour finished oatmeal in serving bowls and top generously with your prepared syrup.
- You can add in additional toppings if you would like such as nuts, blueberries, etc.