Dad's Perfect Groovy Porridge [Vegan!]

sneak peak: a classic scot-approved recipe for delicious, easy and traditional Scottish porridge

Please welcome: a selection of photos of some very yummy porridges I have enjoyed (a combination of bought and homemade):

As a Scot, and in particular as the daughter of the most expert of porridge experts (a title awarded by none other than yours truly), I firmly believe that I am at a distinct advantage in the porridge-making stakes. Unless you are also Scottish. And especially if you are my sister (and if so, thanks for finally reading my blog lol), in which case the playing field is level. But most especially if you are my dad, the expert himself (hi Dad), in which case I am at a slight disadvantage. Particularly since I gave you a personalised wooden porridge spurtle for Christmas a few years ago, just to really elevate your porridge game.

I will, however, exploit my Scottishness for the sake of a blog post, particularly since Mum has been doing our ancestry pretty intensively lately and has found that we are directly descended from 118 (lol) royals ("so far", she adds), 20 of whom were kings of Scotland. I am, therefore, genetically predestined in favour of porridge.

When I was planning what to get engraved on Dad's personalised porridge spurtle, I went undercover to interview him about how he does his world-class porridge, and here are a few highlights:

(words: Old Father Tom/Top-Set Tommy, as told to Immy)
Is the key just to use coarse oatmeal and salt? "Personally, I go for stone ground, or as you say pinhead or coarse ground. Add a generous bit of salt and best to soak overnight in cold water. Bring to a boil in the water it has been soaking in, stirring constantly until good and gloopy. As Grandad would say, add milk but I say add a smidge of dark brown sugar. Yum."

What about the ratio of oats:water? "Ah well, that's the tricky bit. I guess about one oats to two water. Grooves are compulsory but it has to cool a bit first after cooking, say five mins or so, just like Goldilocks. Milk must be full fat or single cream - not much and only a SMIDGE of sugar, 1/2 tsp. If you don't have enough salt it can taste a bit bland too."

Would you ever use rolled oats? "Yes, I would but I just prefer the almost nuttier taste and the grittier texture of oatmeal. Rolled oats are better when made with 50/50 milk and water I think, or they are just too much like wallpaper paste."

Dad's Perfect Groovy Porridge
serves two; takes 10 minutes, plus soaking time
vegan, and gluten-free if you use GF oats and GF non-dairy milk/cream

Ingredients
one cup (16 tbsp, 80g) coarse stoneground oatmeal (also called pinhead or steel cut oats)
pinch of salt (about 1/4 tsp; Dad's words: "a generous bit of salt; if you don't have enough it can taste a bit bland")
240ml cold water
non-dairy milk (ironically, oat milk is best)
non-dairy cream (again, Oatly do a nice one)
1 tsp brown sugar
extra spices
toppings

Directions
1. Add oats, salt and water into a bowl and soak overnight.
2. The next morning, bring to the boil (in the same water it has been soaking in) along with any extra spices you might want (cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cardamom etc.), stirring constantly until it's "good and gloopy" (Dad) - about five minutes or so.
3. Serve into two bowls, then let sit for a few minutes to cool. Once it's cool, use a spoon to make a few grooves in the porridge as channels for the milk to run down - think a noughts and crosses board, or a hash symbol (#).
4. Pour the milk gently (geeentlyyyyyyyy, otherwise it will make a hole for itself rather than running through the grooves) then sprinkle with a smidge of brown sugar (1/2 tsp per bowl).
5. Top with anything else you fancy (poached pears, stewed plums, mushed up berries, nuts and seeds etc.), or eat as it is!

You may find that you don't need to add the brown sugar since oat milk has a certain sweetness of its own, but sometimes you just need it for a bit of crunch...

Try this recipe out and let me know what you think of it! It's Sunday evening now at the time of posting, which is the perfect time to get your oats soaking ready for a super-quick and super-convenient breakfast on Monday morning. This is the perfect way to get your week off to a good start!

*All photos in this post are mine. If you wish to use any, please ask my permission and credit me!*

- post #18 of 21 in the 21-day challenge -