Dinner Recipe: Mushroom and Bacon Oat-sotto

This dinner recipe is flavorful and filling, making it ideal for long days and late in a trip, when appetites are big. At home it would be best with the creamy and porridge-like consistency of risotto, but we use rolled oats because they cook much faster and provide a similar texture.

I want to thank Adam E for this recipe, who submitted it as part of a recipe contest.

Meal stats

• Recommended serving weight: 5.7 oz
• Total calories: 693
• Caloric density: 121 cal/oz

Those wanting more calories or a higher caloric density should increase the quantity of its most calorically dense ingredients, notably the olive oil, Parmesan, and cashews.

Ingredients

---

Several of the ingredients, like oats, cashews, and Parmesan are found in most grocery stores, while others like dehydrated mushrooms, peas, and lemon powder are most easily found online. They add vital flavor however, so don’t skip them. To get the full experience of this meal, all ingredients are critical.

At-home preparation

When solo, I bag all of the  ingredients together save for the olive oil and Parmesan.

In a group, each member is given their own bag of oats, peas, bouillon, lemon, and thyme. The remaining ingredients are communally carried, and distributed in the field.

To carry the olive oil, I recommend a Nalgene bottle (4 to 32 oz), which has a reliably tight screw-lid.

Cooking instructions

For perfect consistency:

1. Put in your pot: olive oil, bacon, mushrooms, and 8 oz of water.
2. Bring to a boil.
3. Add oats, peas, bullion, and lemon, and return to a simmer for 30 or 60 seconds.
4. Remove from the heat and let sit for 5 to 10 minutes to allow peas to fully rehydrate.
5. Add the cashews and Parmesan, and enjoy.

Have questions or an experience with this meal? Leave a comment.