A strawberry memory

for big-batch overnight oats

Strawberries were one of three things growing up. Most often, it would be at my Nan’s house, where she’d pile them on top of M&S meringue nests with a silky waterfall of cream. Sometimes it was a bowl of them sprinkled with sugar. Other times, they’d be scattered onto of a bowl of Special K with warm milk (I really liked Special K, oK!).

Now, whenever I buy a punnet, they come with a soundtrack in my head of my Nan saying “Ohh gorrrrrgeous” - heavy emphasis on the gorrrrrg. She’d scrunch up her eyes as she said it, then make this little ‘tuck tuck’ sound by flicking the roof of her mouth with her tongue, like she was properly savouring the sweetness.

How I eat strawberries now, 20 years later, looks a little different. But the memories and the sweetness are still there.

I was met with rows of deep red punnets of strawberries the moment I walked into the supermarket - all lined up so shiny, so perfect. The kind that deserve a full ‘tuck tuck’, scrunch-your-face-up, gorrrrgeous reaction, impossible to leave behind.

A fruit that’s in season needs nothing doing to it. Like a juicy peach eaten over the sink, cherries popped straight from the stem, or strawberries picked at from the punnet as an after-dinner sweet craving. Sometimes I’ll toss them into a salad with tangy goat’s cheese, rocket and a touch of balsamic. But mostly, they find their way onto my overnight oats - a big upgrade from the Special K.

On a recent trip to Copenhagen, the breakfast buffet had this huge bowl of overnight oats that you could just ladle from. I remember thinking, this is so much easier - why am I not just doing this at home?

So I’ve now swapped the 10pm “oh no I still need to make overnight oats” moment for making a big batch on a Sunday, and a feeling slightly smug each morning knowing it’s already done. The zhuzh is the fun part - sometimes with an extra dollop of thick Greek yogurt, a pool of nut butter and scatterings of seeds. Or shredded coconut, honey, walnuts and the fruit I’m most into at the time - right now, yes, strawberries!

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Big-batch, super-seed overnight oats

and a few nice ways to top

A big batch of overnight oats makes the rest of the week just that little bit easier, and a little more exciting too. The base is creamy, with chia and sunflower seeds adding texture and substance, making for the kind of breakfast that keeps you going. Ready to be zhuzhed up each morning with whatever fruit, nut butter and extra crunch you’re in the mood for.

It’s especially good during the warmer months, when a cold breakfast feels more like something you actually want to eat and the best fruit seems to change by the week. Right now, that’s strawberries for me. In another month or two it’ll probably be cherries, peaches or whatever else has rolled into season and is looking particularly shiny on the supermarket shelves.

Makes 3 breakfasts
Takes 10 minutes & overnight chilling

Ingredients

135g Scottish porridge oats

2 tbsp chia seeds

1 tbsp sunflower seeds

1 tbsp flax seeds (optional)

400-450ml milk of choice (start with 400ml and add more if needed)

2 heaped tbsp Greek yogurt

1 tsp honey or maple syrup (optional)

Pinch of sea salt

Method

1. Add the oats, chia seeds, sunflower seeds and flax seeds to a large jar or container. Cover with milk, then add the yogurt, pinch of salt and honey or maple syrup (if using, if you like it sweet). Stir well until everything is fully combined.

2. Cover and refrigerate overnight (or for at least 4 hours).

3. In the morning, give everything a good stir.

4. Spoon into bowls. Loosen with a splash of milk if it feels too thick, then go ahead with your toppings.

Toppings

~ strawberries simply sliced, or sometimes I’ll leave them in a bowl for a few minutes with a squeeze of lime or lemon and honey/maple syrup - so they soften, release their juices and go a little jammy - a lazy kind of macerating. Then scatter them over the oats with an extra dollop of Greek yogurt, crunchy almond or peanut butter, hemp seeds or walnuts.

Outside of strawbs…

~microwave frozen cherries and spoon them over the oats with almond butter and pumpkin seeds.

~ fresh blueberries, with extra yogurt and a drizzle of peanut butter.

~ fresh figs (September is peak season), drizzle of tahini, honey and flaky sea salt.

Final tip - breakfast bowls are best eaten with a teaspoon :)