Chocolate Porridge
Dessert, Pie, Cake, Ice Cream
Ingredients
7 ounces blanched almonds
7 ounces Medjool dates
4 cups rolled oats
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 heaping tablespoons quality cocoa powder
1 orange
FOR EACH PORTION
3/4 cup + 5 teaspoons coconut water
1 heaping tablespoon Greek yogurt
3 ounces fresh fruit such as raspberries, blackberries, sliced banana, grated apple and pear, segments of orange
optional: 1 pinch of ground cinnamon or quality cocoa powder
Description
Make up a batch of this dry porridge mixture and it’ll keep happily for up to 2 weeks, making your brekkie routine super-easy.
Directions
Toast the almonds in a dry pan on a medium heat until golden, tossing often, then tip into a food processor.
Tear the pits out of the dates and add the flesh to the processor with half the oats, the vanilla extract, and cocoa powder.
Finely grate in the orange zest and pulse until fine, then stir the mixture back through the rest of the oats.
Pour into an airtight jar, ready to use. When you want a portion, simply put 2 oz of the mixture into a sauce pan with the coconut water and heat gently over a medium-low heat for 3 minutes, or until it’s the consistency that you like, stirring regularly and adding splashes of water to loosen, if needed.
Serve each portion with a spoonful of Greek yogurt and 3 oz of fresh fruit. It’s also nice finished with a pinch of cinnamon or a dusting of cocoa, if you like.
Notes
A much simpler method is to whisk some unsweetened cocoa into your boiling water before adding the oats, then to sweeten the mixture to taste at the end. I like the ratio of one tablespoon cocoa powder to a half-cup steel-cut oats, but you can vary that, making it more or less intensely chocolaty. Dutch-processed cocoa, which has been alkalized to reduce its acidity, will give you a darker chocolate flavor, while natural cocoa powder is a bit brighter and more fruity, so use whatever you have.
Without any added sweetener, chocolate oatmeal is almost shockingly bitter. But a drizzle of honey or maple syrup or a sprinkling of sugar tames it without turning it into dessert. Likewise, substituting milk — be it whole milk, coconut milk or nut milk — for up to half of the cooking water softens the bite.
This recipe is also nice cold, soaked overnight in the coconut water before adding the yogurt.
Nutrition
Calories 356 18%
Fat 15.9g 23%
Saturates 2.9g 15%
Protein 11.3g 23%
Carbs 45.2g 17%
Sugars 21.2g 24%
Salt 0.2g 3%
Fibre 6.3g