Moroccan Porridge
I hope you’re taking part in my challenge! As part of it, I share my tried and tested, delicious and healthy recipes! Today it’s time for a family breakfast, something that will appeal to both kids and adults, namely the Moroccan-style oatmeal. I know that there are porridge fans among you, and I don’t even have to convince them to try this dish, but I believe that this version will also appeal to those who avoid oats in their menu on a daily basis! What’s more, this recipe is extremely healthy because it is enriched with anti-inflammatory spices – ginger and turmeric. This is the exact meal we prepared during the live cooking session together.
Don’t forget that you can also find all the recipes from the challenge in the Diet & Training by Ann app. Enjoy!
Preparation
I soaked the oat flakes in water overnight. In the morning, I poured the coconut drink into the pot, added the soaked flakes and dates which I have cut in half. I brought everything to a boil, then reduced the heat and cooked until soft, adding spices. I mixed it all up and put it in a bowl. I added blueberries and chopped almonds on top. I sprinkled it all with honey at the end. Yummy!
Why the flakes soak overnight
Two things happen while you sleep. The flakes take up water, so in the morning they need only a few minutes on the heat instead of fifteen, and they cook to a creamy consistency rather than a gluey one. Soaking also makes the porridge easier on the stomach, which is the usual reason people say they cannot eat oats.
Cold water is enough and the bowl can stand on the counter or in the fridge. Drain off the soaking water in the morning before the coconut drink goes in, because that water carries the starch that would otherwise make the porridge slimy.
Dates, spices and the order of things
Halving the dates is not decoration: whole ones stay whole and sweeten only the mouthful that finds them, while halves dissolve at the edges and sweeten the pot. That is also why the honey comes at the very end, over the finished bowl, rather than into the pan.
Add the turmeric and ginger with the last couple of minutes of cooking. Both are ground spices and both turn dusty and slightly bitter if they boil for long, so the point is to warm them through in the porridge rather than to cook them. A pinch of each is the right amount for one bowl; turmeric in particular takes over a dish quickly, and it stains everything it touches, the wooden spoon included.
Toppings and what to change
The blueberries and the almonds go on top of the finished porridge, not into it, so they keep their texture: warm blueberries collapse into purple streaks within a minute. Outside the blueberry season any berry works, and in winter a grated apple with cinnamon does the same job.
If you are cooking for children, the coconut drink can be any milk or plant drink you have, and the dates already make the bowl sweet enough that the honey is optional. Toast the almonds dry in the pan for a minute before chopping them, and they taste like a different ingredient altogether.
Moroccan-style oat porridge
Ingredients
Method
- Soak the oat flakes in water overnight, then drain them in the morning.
- Pour the coconut drink into a pot, add the soaked flakes and the dates cut in half.
- Bring everything to a boil, then reduce the heat and cook until soft.
- Add the ground turmeric and ginger in the last couple of minutes and stir them through.
- Transfer to a bowl and top with the blueberries and chopped almonds.
- Sprinkle with honey at the end.
Notes
Frequently asked questions
Because soaked flakes take only a few minutes on the heat instead of fifteen, and they cook creamy rather than gluey. Cold water is enough, on the counter or in the fridge, and the soaking water is drained off in the morning before the coconut drink goes in.
Whole dates sweeten only the mouthful that finds them; halves dissolve at the edges and sweeten the whole pot. For the same reason the honey goes over the finished bowl rather than into the pan.
In the last couple of minutes of cooking. Both are ground spices and both turn dusty and slightly bitter if they boil for long, so they are warmed through in the porridge rather than cooked. A pinch of each suits one bowl.
No, they go on top of the finished bowl. Warm blueberries collapse into purple streaks within a minute. Out of season any berry works, and in winter a grated apple with cinnamon does the same job.
Any milk or plant drink. The dates already make the porridge sweet enough that the honey is optional, which is worth knowing if you are cooking for children. All the recipes from the challenge are in the Diet & Training by Ann app.
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