How to up your porridge game using pantry staples

Think cardamom oats, blueberry and thyme compote or sumac macerated strawberries, miso sugar and other spiced sugars, olive oil fried dates etc.

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Leftover Shortgrain Brown Rice Porridge with Apple and Rhubarb Compote

I LOVE porridge. As a university student in London porridge was cheap and filling, studying Spanish in Buenos Aires porridge warmed me up on those cold winter mornings in our little student flat without central heating (and provided a nice antidote to the Dulce de Leche filled Medialunas I would otherwise grab from the corner bakery before heading to class in the Recoleta neighbourhood), and as a young lawyer a steaming bowl of porridge felt like a (much needed) hug from the inside after yet another night spent chained to my desk. 

Mixed Seed Porridge with Cinnamon Stewed Apples, Roasted Almond Butter and Ground Flax Seeds

Growing up in Germany porridge was of course referred to as Haferschleim (literally oat slime … yes, I know, not a particularly appetising name). Despite its name, me and my siblings loved it. As toppings went we typically just sprinkled the Haferschleim with some cinnamon sugar, but that was it. It was only once I moved to the UK as a student that I discovered porridge could also come with lots of delicious different toppings - from honey and sliced bananas to fruit compotes, cream and maple syrup (and even whiskey), a pat of butter and brown sugar etc. And I loved all of it. In fact, I still remember various bowls of really good porridge I have had over the years. For example, the bowls of porridge when my friends and I used to go for brunch at the Zetter Townhouse in Farringdon and that came topped with a lick of cream and a glug of maple syrup, or the bowl of blueberry topped porridge I enjoyed when I was heavily pregnant with my older son and met my boss for breakfast at The Wolseley in London a couple of years ago when kippers weren’t exactly calling out to me (and my boss told me his son had voted the Wolseley’s porridge one of the best in London). 

Rice Porridge made from Leftover Shortgrain Brown Rice with Advieh and a Raspberry and Rose Water Compote

Oat Porridge with Sumac Macerated Strawberries

And as much as I love starting my day with a decadent pastry or leftovers from one of my many recipe tests, I keep on coming back to porridge. Especially on those cold Winter and early Spring mornings when eating a bowl of porridge can provide some much needed comfort.  I also noticed that whenever I share photos of my morning porridge bowl on Instagram, I will inevitably get some envious comments or DMs from friends and strangers lamenting the fact that their porridge is always so plain and boring by comparison. So I thought it was about time I shared how I prepare my morning bowls of porridge, my formula for creating a delicious bowl of porridge together with some ideas for delicious flavour combinations for your porridge - all thanks to the many flavour bombs no doubt already hiding in your pantries. 

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Next Pantry Dilemma Chat: Wednesday, 5 March 2025, 9am CET - Topic: Spices

But before we dive in, here is a little reminder to mark your calendars - on Wednesday, 5 March 2025 I will once again be opening the chat here on Substack for the next instalment of the new monthly Pantry Dilemma chats. Last time we discussed what to do with a glut of gherkins that may or may not have been past their use by date and tried to come up with as many uses as possible for 2kg worth of black sesame seeds.

For the March session of the monthly Pantry Dilemma chats I thought we would focus on spices! So have a rummage around your spice rack / drawer / cupboard and let me know which of your spices could do with some more TLC and I’ll try my best to come up with some delicious new ideas for how to make the most of all those unopened or half-used jars! The chat starts at 9am CET and I will keep the chat open for 24h!

Let me know in the comments below if there are any particular ingredients you would like me to cover in the next or future editions of the Pantry Dilemma chats!

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Oat Porridge with Blueberry Thyme Compote, Peanut Butter and Chia Seeds

My Favourite Way To Prepare Porridge 

First things first. A bowl of porridge, regardless of its toppings, is only as good as the porridge itself. Over the years I have experimented with many different ways of preparing porridge and, full disclosure, I do on occasion still use the microwave since it’s so quick and hands-off (essential right now as I’m rarely without my newborn in one arm and time to cook and eat is a precious commodity). However, my preferred way of preparing porridge is one derived from a method / recipe by Megan Gordon that Molly Wizenberg shared on her blog Orangette over 10 years ago. Here are the two key elements which I have adapted for my own porridge bowls:

• You start by toasting your oats in a small knob of butter until they start smelling nutty and toasted. Use steel cut oats ideally but rolled oats will work as well;

• Cook your oats low and slow in a mix of milk and water (I typically use a ratio of 4:1 water to milk) - yes, this can take around 25 mins but it is very doable even on a weekday if you start your porridge before you jump in the shower (and cooking it on as low a heat as you can will also allow you to leave it unattended for a few minutes). The porridge should then be done once you are showered and dressed. Also, you could always make a bigger batch of porridge while cooking dinner one night, store any leftovers in the fridge for 4-5 days and then simply heat up a portion at a time with some extra water or milk to loosen things up a bit. 

But let’s focus on what I really want to talk about: how to up your porridge game using pantry staples. 

Oat Porridge with Tonka Bean Roasted Apricots

A Winning Formula For A Delicious Bowl Of Porridge 

First things first, in a previous edition of this newsletter, I already talked about what makes for a delicious dessert and I think you can apply a similar framework to your morning bowl of porridge. Here, the focal point is of course the bowl of porridge itself. And you are then looking for the following elements:

• Contrast: e.g. hot and cold, sweet and sour, crunchy and creamy or soft etc. 

• Something unusual: this could be an ingredient not traditionally used in porridge or for its toppings, e.g. cardamom or a spice mix like Persian Advieh

• Fun garnishes: think toasted nuts and seeds or cacao nibs, leftover roasted or poached fruit, a spoon of granola, a dollop of lemon curd or chestnut jam, a pinch of sea salt flakes, a dusting of matcha powder, some honey or maple syrup, poached kumquats etc. 

When you apply this to your morning bowl of porridge this could look like the following combination for example:

Porridge + a blueberry and thyme compote + a moat of cold milk or cream + a spoon of nut butter + some chopped toasted nuts

You get a nice temperature contrast between the hot porridge and the cold cream or milk, and a texture contrast between the creamy nut butter and crunchy toasted nuts and the blueberry thyme compote is just a tiny bit unusual (although highly recommended if you want to transform bland supermarket blueberries into something that tastes like you picked your blueberries in the Swedish wilderness that very same morning!). 

Mahleb Spiced Oat Porridge with Apricots Cooked in Butter and Chopped Roasted Almonds

And if you want to spice up your morning bowl of porridge it’s worth looking at all the different elements and seeing what you could swap in courtesy of your pantry / your fridge to make things a little bit more exciting or simply to add variety:

• And yes, let’s start with the grains themselves: as delicious as porridge made from steel cut oats or rolled oats is, do play around with other grains. E.g. most bio shops will now stock spelt or rye flakes as well as different kinds of glutenfree flakes (e.g. quinoa) and grains you can make porridge from (e.g. buckwheat, millet or amaranth). When my older son started solids, I also discovered that Indian Poha* makes a wonderful (and quick) rice porridge (and is much much quicker to prepare than making porridge from rice itself). Another option of course is to use leftover cooked plain grains - be it rice (especially nutty brown shortgrain rice), quinoa, millet etc. And if you have been to Denmark you will know you can even turn stale rye bread into porridge if you are feeling particularly adventurous! 

Poha* is made from rice grains that are first parboiled or soaked in hot water before being dried, roasted and flattened with rollers (not unlike how rolled oats are prepared!). 

• While this may not win me a golden spurtle in the next Porridge World Championships, I also like adding some spices when making the porridge itself. From simple cinnamon or cardamom to Chinese Five Spice Powder, Moroccan Ras El Hanout or Persian Advieh, digging into your spice cupboard is an excellent way to add flavour to your morning bowl of porridge. Other options include turmeric, coriander, saffron, anise seed, fennel and even Kaffir lime leaves etc.

• And then of course you can also play around with the fat used to toast your oats and/or the liquids used to cook your oats. For example, ghee will lend your porridge an even more buttery flavour than butter, coconut oil or coconut milk will lend a tropical flavour (and would be particularly nice for a rice based porridge). 

Porridge with Plums and Miso Sugar

For me, a bowl of porridge is not complete without some fun toppings, and usually I opt for at least two, often three in fact: (i) some fruit - fresh bananas or berries, some grated apple, a quick stove top apple, rhubarb or berry compote, some leftover oven-roasted apricots or plums, some macerated strawberries, a little jam or even a spoon of Mincemeat leftover from Christmas baking etc., (ii) a bit of nut butter for healthy fats and (iii) some chopped nuts or seeds or cacao nibs for texture, and maybe even some ground flax seeds, granola, leftover cookie crumbs or crumble. 

Oat Porridge with Sake Poached Pears

Some Winning Flavour Combinations Courtesy Of Your Pantry 

In addition to the pairings shown in the photos throughout this post, below are some more suggested pairings for your next bowl of porridge:

Rye Flake Porridge + Cardamom + Cooked in Oatmilk + Blueberry Thyme Compote + Roasted Almond Butter

Steelcut Oats + Cooked in Almond Milk + Olive Oil Fried Dates + Sea Salt 

Leftover Shortgrain Rice Porridge + Kaffir Lime Leaves + Cooked in Coconut Milk + Fresh Mango or Passion Fruit + Chopped Salted Peanuts 

Buckwheat Groat Porridge + Cooked in Cow’s Milk + Cinnamon Stewed Apples + Roasted Cashew Butter 

Brown Rice Porridge + Cooked in Rice Milk + Persian Advieh + Raspberry Rose Compote + Crushed Salted Pistachios

Cardamom Spiced Oat Porridge with Raspberry Rose Compote and Pumpkin Seeds

Mixed Seed Porridge with Apricot Miso Jam, Roasted Almond Butter and Nigella Seed and Cardamom Crumble