The Perfect Porridge
Introduction
I discovered my love for Scotland, especially the Highlands, in 2009 when I first visited. Where I come from it's painfully obvious to even the most casual observer that there's humans all around. In many places in the Scottish Highlands I felt like the land might have looked just like it does now 1000 years ago. Plus, I'm a sucker for castles so what's not to love?
On a vacation some years back I stayed at several bed and breakfasts and also discovered that I love British breakfast. The cuisine of that country is not exactly renowned or highly regarded in Europe but I still love it. In 2019 I got my hands on a recipe for pancakes which I was served for breakfast and to this day I love making them every so often.
After a while though, the bacon, the beans, the fried eggs, the sausages became a bit much for me and I craved something simple, yet nourishing. That's when I learned that I love porridge. If you're American, you might be more familiar with the name oatmeal.
Porridge is dead simple to make (if you know how), is dirt cheap, is very quick to prepare and can be adapted to all kinds of tastes by adding various toppings. So consequently, to go with this ode to porridge I wanted to share the recipe(s) for this dish that I love so much.
Before I start, I would be remiss, if I didn't mention the inspiration other people gave me in searching for the perfect recipe, most notably these good folk.
Now without further ado, let's get to it.
Ingredients
- Rolled oats
- Milk
- Water
- Salt
- (Optional) Toppings
In my country there are several flavors of rolled oats, if the same is true for yours, I recommend using tender rolled oats (or whatever they might be called where you live). These are best suited.
Preparation
Add equal parts oats, milk, water and a pinch of salt to a saucepan. When I say equal parts, I mean the volume, not the weight, this is important. For one serving, I like to use 100 mL each but your needs may vary. You could, of course, use just milk or water or a different mixture of both but I found that this yields a great combination of taste and consistency control. The former is worse with just water (in my humble opinion), the latter is harder with just milk.
Turn on the stove to medium heat and wait until the mixture starts to simmer. Once it does, keep stirring and testing the consistency until you are happy with it. I like it creamy but still somewhat liquid. After the start of the simmering this takes about 2-3 minutes for me. Remove the saucepan from the stove, add toppings to taste and serve right away.
If you're like me, you can add a teaspoon (or how much you prefer) of honey before cooking. You can add all kinds of things to this basic recipe. Seeds, nuts berries, use your imagination and do what suits you best.
Overnight Oats
If you'd like to try something different, like to prepare your breakfast the evening before or don't have the time or inclination to make a warm breakfast, you might want to try the overnight oats variant. It's similar to porridge in spirit, but mostly the consistency is different because there is no heat involved.
Just use the ingredients from above, put them into a sealable vessel and keep it in the fridge overnight. It'll soak the oats and soften them which is something I also quite like. Since there is no cooking and hence no evaporation of liquid involved you may want to reduce the amount of liquid you add. Also I usually use just milk and no water here because, again, no cooking.
Enjoy!