Porridge
I know - porridge sounds like a real bummer. Anytime I heard the word growing up, I immediately thought of Heidi and other petticoat-wearing orphans living in the Swiss Alps. But when making rock cakes a few weeks ago, I wanted something hot and hearty to eat alongside. Enter porridge. Here’s the thing about this oat-y dish: it’s extremely simple and when served properly, it’s the embodiment of a long hug.
Porridge with Treacle and Cream
Oats have grown as the staple diet of farmers in Scotland since medieval times. The only way to preserve the oats, at the time, was to make a paste with water and salt, then cool it and store in a wooden “porridge draw”. From there it was eaten over many days, and became so thick and solid that it was served in thick slices for lunch or fried for breakfast.
Porridge was the only breakfast choice in British prisons for years. Scottish archives specifically show that, during the 1800s, male prisoners received a strictly rationed breakfast of five ounces of oats with milk each day. In the 1950s, the phrase “doing porridge” became slang for spending time in prison.
This breakfast staple, however, has become banned in prisons throughout England and Wales in the last few decades for a fascinating reason. According to one inmate in the prisoners’ magazine Inside Time, management objected to further consumption of porridge because “it could be used to block up door locks”. I don’t know about you, but a food that’s nutritious, delicious, AND multi-functional is hard to come by! And that right there is reason enough for me to crack open my Lyle’s Golden Syrup and get to oatin’!
Occasions: Winter storm breakfasts, meals for the malnourished, and to use as home security.
Pairings: Atholl Brose cocktail or Cold Brew
Components:
4 c water
1 c steel-cut oats
Milk or cream, for serving
Treacle/golden syrup, for serving
Bring water to a boil in a medium pot. Slowly pour in oats while stirring constantly. Simmer on low, while stirring occasionally, until all water is absorbed (~30 min).
Serve with milk/cream and golden syrup. Don’t be stingy on the syrup and try not to mix it in either!
* 4 servings
Let the syrup and cream envelope the oats.