Oats are not an ingredient that tend to fill the home cook with excitement. They hold an association with utility and blandness that mean the ageing bag of porridge oats often stays firmly put in the back of the cupboard.

In fact, oats (in their various forms as rolled oats, pinhead oats or oatmeal) are a fabulous staple that we should all embrace with more glee, so take inspiration from this recipe collection. Yes, there is porridge, but Marcello Tully’s spiced pinhead oatmeal recipe is a million miles away from the grey sludge that marred the childhoods of many. Marcus Wareing celebrates the instant bonus of texture that oats offer in his leek crumble recipe, while Agnar Sverrisson’s beetroot with goat’s cheese snow demonstrates how oats deserve a place in Michelin-starred dishes.