Porridge

Yes, That's right. This really is a post about porridge. Not just any porridge, this one is special....it's not what you've been making for years. (Which will change after you read this, I promise.)
I've always used McKann's steel cut oats for oatmeal. Boil water, add oats, some salt and simmer for about 1/2 an hour. Then top with fruit or whatever everyone wants. Simple, right?
Well so I thought until I read Luisa's post on The Wednesday Chef. She made April Bloomfield's Porridge...you know, April from A Girl and Her Pig. How could I resist? April was one of our 50 Women Game Changers (I made her Banoffee Pie for the series) and I've been to her restaurant in NYC, The Spotted Pig. Very funky decor with all manner of pigs scattered everywhere. But the food, my dears, the food! Have you eaten there? The menu is so creative and interesting and everything we ordered was delicious.

So I set out to discover why Luisa was raving about April's porridge. Here's the trick: she uses both steel cut oats and regular oats. Brilliant idea as the regular oats melt into the body of the porridge and the steel cut oats retain texture. Quite the perfect combination. I've never used a milk/water combo for oatmeal either. (Can't imagine why as I always did when making Cream of Wheat for the kids.)
Yes, Luisa was right....this porridge is amazing and what better way to start out your day?

April Bloomfield's Porridge
From A Girl and Her Pig via Luisa from The Wednesday Chef

Serves 2

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 teaspoons Maldon or other flaky sea salt; if using fine salt, use less – start at 3/4 teaspoon and adjust as needed Note: I used even less.
1/2 cup steel-cut oats
1/2 cup rolled (not quick-cooking) oats
Toppings (additional milk, brown sugar, maple syrup, flax seed or fresh fruit)

Method:
Bring milk, water and salt to a simmer in a medium pot over high heat, don't let it boil over. When the mixture starts to simmer, add both oats, stir to combine and reduce the heat to medium. Cook the oats at a steady simmer, adjusting the heat as necessary and stirring occasionally. At 20 minutes, the steel-cut oats will be just cooked and the rolled oats will have melted into the porridge.


Taste for salt, add more if needed, then divide into two bowls and add the toppings to taste.