| As breakfast is the most important meal of the day
and in honour of those of us who ate oatmeal before we went off
to school, I found a recipe for real oatmeal-porridge. We make this
in big batches and heat it up in the microwave for a hearty breakfast.
There is a lot of mystique (and nonsense spoken) about making porridge
and lots of traditions associated with cooking and eating it. The
most important thing, is to obtain good quality medium-steel cut
oats (rather than rolled oats) and to keep stirring it to avoid
solid lumps.
Ingredients (sufficient for two people):
- One pint (half litre) water; some people use half water and
half milk
- 2.5 ounces (2.5 rounded tablespoons) medium-cut oats
Pinch of salt
Method
Bring the water (or water and milk) to a good boil, preferably in
a non-stick pan. Slowly pour the oatmeal into the boiling liquid,
stirring vigorously with a wooden spoon ALL the time. Keep stirring
until it has returned to the boil again, reduce the heat, cover
the pan and simmer very gently for 15 minutes, stirring frequently.
Add the salt at this point and simmer and stir for a further 5/10
minutes (time depends on the quality of the oats). It should be
a thick but pourable consistency. Serve hot in wooden bowls if you
have them.
This is traditionally a breakfast dish which will certainly set
you up for the day with something warm inside you. There is no reason
however that you can't eat it at other times.
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