Oat Porridge with Coconut Milk, Raspberries and Pistachios

Breakfast is one of the most important meals of the day and sadly many of us opt for a large mug of coffee or tea, or nothing at all when rushing to work. I have noted my children (who work) do this on many occasions 😦  They are getting better and my nagging seems to be working… sometimes! Porridge is an easy breakfast dish to prepare and depending on which type of oats you use, this wholesome and nutritional dish can be made in minutes.

Large, medium and quick cooking oats are my preferred oats for making porridge and I keep steel-cut oats for my brown bread recipes.  According to Harold McGee, his paragraph (Food and Cooking page 471) on the processing of oats, he writes; “The whole groats are then processed into various shapes, all of which  have the same nutritional value”. Good to know.

Although I don’t eat porridge every morning, I do cook it every morning. My other half is training for a half ironman challenge which he hopes to complete next week in Phuket… and then for a full ironman in Melbourne next year…  until then, that’s a lot of oats to get through. Of course it can get a little boring making the same porridge each morning so I find myself adding different ingredients to vary the flavour and sometimes use large oat flakes to give the porridge more bite and texture… of course you can use whatever oats you like.

Porridge made with large rolled oats cooked in coconut milk, sweetened and topped with raspberries and pistachios almost qualifies as a dessert… a delicious healthy one. As I have some frozen raspberries in the freezer I simply crushed them with a fork, the broken bits of raspberry soon soften when mixed with the hot porridge. You could also try this porridge recipe from Eat Like a Girl, she used steel-cut oats, rose extract and topped the porridge with rhubarb and pistachios. 

So whether you are training for an iron man race, keeping fit or simply wanting to add some healthy eating to your day, take a few minutes in the morning and stir up a pot of porridge. Looking forward to our trip to Thailand (and having a break from making porridge) and cheering on the other participants, especially my hubby.

Oat Porridge with Coconut Milk, Raspberries and Pistachios

(serves 4)

Ingredients

•  200g large rolled oats
• 350ml water
• 350ml canned coconut milk or homemade coconut milk
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt

to sweeten, coconut sugar or light brown sugar

for topping

• 1 punnet fresh or frozen raspberries (crushed)
• 2 tablespoons, chopped pistachios,

How to make: Place the oats, water and  coconut milk into a saucepan pan and place over a medium heat. Bring the mixture to a steady simmer for about 8 minutes or until the oats are tender, stirring often to give a smooth creamy porridge. Stir in the sea salt and sweeten with sugar to desired taste. 

Place hot porridge into serving bowls and place some raspberries and pistachios on top, serve immediately.

Note: If you like your porridge more on the runnier side, stir in a few extra tablespoons of coconut  milk or water until you have reached the desired consistency. If you find the porridge on the runnier side, simmer for a few more minutes. Porridge can be made the night before and re-heated in a microwave.