Friday 26 July 2019

Hazelnut Porridge

I must confess, my friends: I have a foodie fangirl crush on Ruby Tandoh.  Those eyes, that hair, her forthright manner and her heartfelt writing...  I really loved watching her on the Great British Bake Off years ago, girlishly fluttering her lashes at Paul Hollywood.  Then she came out!  And Paul cast his eyes elsewhere, as he is now seeing a 24-year-old female person.  It makes you wonder what a 53-year-old bloke has in common with such a youngster.  Anyways, we are not here to talk about middle-aged men having a crisis:-)

I've bought a couple of Ruby's books lately, including Flavour: Eat What You Love.  It contains 170+ recipes, written in Ruby's inimitable style, feisty and conversational.  In fact, her writing reminds me a little of Nigella's - friendly and factual and comforting.  Mr P. and I were not feeling well on the weekend, so I decided to make one of her simplest recipes - porridge.  Perfect for a cold Brisbane morning.  Yep, it actually has been rather chilly these last few mornings.      



Ah Ruby...
   

Fortunately, I had roasted the nuts the day before when I was feeling less sick and exhausted, so they were all ready to be blitzed.  It was just a matter of throwing everything into the saucepan, and stirring for a few minutes.  Easy peasy, and so deliciously comforting.


Serves 4:


ingredients:

200g. (7 oz) rolled oats - I used rolled wholegrain oats  

100g. (3.5 oz) hazelnuts, roasted and ground  -  see Notes

850 mLs (28 fluid oz/3.5 cups) full-fat milk

400 mLs (1.6 cups) water

big pinch of salt : say 1/8 tsp?

big dash of ground cinnamon : 1/8-1/4 tsp (optional)

thick cream and brown sugar to serve - optional, but you'd be crazy not to:-)


Method:

Put the oats, nuts, milk, water, salt and cinnamon in a large saucepan over a medium heat

Bring to a simmer, stirring all the while

Once simmering, turn it down low and keep stirring for several minutes till it is thick

Serve with the cream and sugar


Notes:

Roast the nuts in a single layer on a baking tray @ 180C for about 12-15 minutes (watch them carefully as they burn easily when almost done); rub them between your fingers in a tea towel or piece of kitchen paper to get rid of most of the skin, then blitz in a food processor till you have a crumbly meal

You could use a store-bought nut meal (try almond meal), but it won't have the same flavour as a freshly roasted and ground one

I used my Scottish spurtle to stir the porridge; this is a traditional implement dating from the fifteenth century (well, not mine personally - tee hee).  And you must stir with your right hand in a clockwise direction, otherwise you will invoke the Devil.  Phew!  Crisis averted:-)




ingredients gathered


roasted and ready for blitzing


and blitzed to a nice crumbly meal


ready to start cooking - see my lovely spurtle?


Just about done - see the bubbles?


ready to serve


 so creamy, so nutty, so warming 


Flavour is divided into five chapters: Vegetables and Herbs/Fruit/Eggs and Dairy/Meat and Fish and Storecupboard.  She further divides the chapters into various ingredients.  This is a useful tack when you are trying to think of a recipe that uses up a particular old veg. lurking in the back of your fridge.  Her recipes appear to be readily made, and with common ingredients.  I'm looking forward to trying more of them!



   artwork © Sherry's Pickings

34 comments:

  1. This is what I call soul food :-)) I want some too!

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    1. hi angie
      it was very warming and comforting. great for a cold day. cheers S

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  2. Yum! Porridge is perfect for cold days.

    I hope you both are feeling well now.

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  3. Replies
    1. yep it makes me think of home and cold wintry mornings in the hills.

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  4. Well this was rather delicious and a great way to start the day. The inclusion of ground roasted hazelnuts was a masterstroke.

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    1. thanks Mr P. you'll have to thank ruby for that idea:)

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  5. Haha that opening paragraph made me laugh. This looks delightful and such a clever idea. So many topics of conversation in one! I've been using my spurtle a lot with all of this porridge making lately. Is winter over yet?

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    1. we've got a bit of winter to go i think, tho september starts to get hot again here. isn't it fun to make porridge with a spurtle? so easy...

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  6. Good to know about this book! My favorite nuts are hazelnuts, so I know I'd love this porridge. I'd have to add cream, and butter as well.

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  7. I didn’t know Ruby until your introduction! Thanks, Sherry.

    The porridge sounds so comforting- and I have some really nice hazelnuts on hand! Even though it’s been over 40°C here every day, I could easily eat a bowl of that now!

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    1. it's really warming and tasty david. worth a go but you may need to wait till your winter!

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  8. Love Ruby. Thought she was fantastic and humble and totally unaware of her skills on Bake Off. No so convinced on the porridge ; )

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  9. That's a great way to add nuts to your porridge, I usually just drop a handful of walnuts on top of mine. Where did you get your spurtle?

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    1. hi nanette
      i've had that spurtle a very long time. not sure where i got it, but i think a friend brought it back from scotland in fact! cheers S

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  10. At first I was puzzled -- until I remembered that you there at the antipodes need nice warming winter comfort food, while we are thinking about watermelon and chilled soups or the like. I hope you feel better soon.

    best... mae at maefood.blogspot.com

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    Replies
    1. hi Mae
      yes we do need nice warming food but i have to say i think we had our one week of winter here in brisbane already:) it's blue skies and sunshine all the way but still a bit chilly for us. it's going to be 23C today I think. cheers S

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  11. This looks so yummy and delicious! You Queenslanders and your "cold" weather! All my Brisbane friends told me how cold it was and that I should bring all my woolies and when I got there it was like (English) summer! I will grant you that it was a bit nippy in the mornings though so this porridge would be just the ticket!

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    1. hi sammie
      i think porridge is good any time really! yep we've had some nipply weather lately (as my hubby's sisters used to say)...

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  12. I love oats porridge and make it all the time but the one you shared sounds really good with hazelnuts.

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    1. hi balvinder
      thanks for dropping by my post. this is a really good one - the porridge I mean:) if you like porridge and you like hazelnuts ...

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  13. I'm never really sure what I think of Ruby, but I love the idea of roasted hazelnuts in porridge. It sounds absolutely scrumptious and a perfect way to set you in good stead for the day. Hope you're feeling better now.

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    Replies
    1. thanks choclette. yes we are feeling better now. and yes the porridge does set you up for the day... and it's delicious! thanks for dropping by.

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  14. This looks delicious! Thanks for sharing the recipe. I adore hazelnuts.

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    1. me too! i love them, and i was very surprised to read recently that some people don't like them! heathens!

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  15. Sherry, I've never seen porridge look so delicious! That thick cream and brown sugar you put on top looks wonderful! It must be fantastic with the hazelnuts!

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    1. thank you kelly. it was truly delicious and very comforting..

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  16. I feel like hazelnuts are undervalued in the nut world. They are amazing, but you just don't see them all that often. I love a good porridge on a chilly morning, so I know I would love this recipe! I hope you feel better soon. (And for what it's worth, it's summer here, and I'm also battling an annoying cold. Ugh!)

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    1. i love nuts, and hazelnuts have always been a fave of mine. thhis porridge really was delicious, i must say. yes thanks, feeling much better now. cheers S

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  17. I used to have a spurtle that I bought in Maleny, near your neck of the woods. I wonder what happened to it.I love porridge on cold mornings, such comfort food.This recipe looks particularly delicious.Hope you are feeling much better now Sherry.

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    Replies
    1. yes thanks pauline. much better now. i think a spurtle is essential for porridge making. so much fun. this is a really delicious version...

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