1. Apple, Pecan and Cinnamon Porridge


2. Steel-cut Oat Porridge


3. Pineapple-Coconut Porridge

Oat porridge is one of my go to breakfasts and another popular Irish dish. I chose to make it three different ways to highlight its versatility. In honor of the chefs and their work, I will not reprint recipes here; however, I do provide tips and comments for each. All of the books I use are readily available at your local bookstore or online. And finally, I included my own recipe for porridge (with coconut cooked directly in), which I hope you try!

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1. Apple, Pecan, and Cinnamon Porridge from Clodagh McKenna, Clodagh’s Irish Kitchen, page 48. Do please seek out her book if possible, I am loving it!

She uses rolled oats, steamed, rolled, then toasted rather than steel-cut that are just roughly chopped. Both are close in nutritional value to each other although the glycemic index – which helps with blood sugar levels – is lower on steel cut (www.prevention.com).

This dish is also cooked with milk rather than water, giving it a creamier texture and filling me up a bit more than the water-based porridge. One tip is to bring the milk and oats just to a boil; watch it like a hawk. Since I am an easily distracted amateur cook, I did overcook it a bit and the milk scalded.

As for the taste? Rich, creamy, delicious. The grated apple was a beautiful touch (great way to sweeten it- I did not even need honey), and something that I had never done in all my years of making oats. The mixture of cinnamon, pecan, and apple was just right.

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2. Steel-cut Oat Porridge from Darina Allen, Irish Traditional Cooking, page 268. Her books are thorough and gorgeous resources for cooking all Irish foods. She gives the history and variations so I feel like I am in school – in a good way! It is a class I wish they had offered at my college.

She uses steel-cut oats, which always bring me back to Ireland. I remember my bedroom in one house where I stayed was so cold in the winter that I saw my breath every morning. We only had one coal fireplace to heat a three-bedroom house. I was such a cliché, wearing my fingerless gloves, clutching my porridge, surrounded by blankets. I was in heaven.

So Darina Allen’s recipe was perfect for warming me up both in body and spirit. She soaks the oats overnight, which brought out even more of the nutty flavor that characterizes steel-cut. I use McCann’s since it is readily available in the states.

Before reheating it in the morning, I swirled my bowl with some unsweetened vanilla almond milk, and after, I loaded on the brown sugar. It was scrumptious. And you can really put anything on it, which brings me to my own recipe for porridge.

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3. Coconut and Pineapple Steel-cut Oats. I cook the coconut with the oats and the aroma swirls through the house. If you like coconut, please try it. The smell alone is worth it – rich and tropical, which is great on a bleak winter’s day. And it tastes amazing!

• Half cup of McCann’s Steel Cut Oats
• 2 cups of water
• ¼ cup of organic, finely shredded, unsweetened coconut – very important that it be finely shredded
• 2 heaping teaspoons of sugar
• Fresh pineapple chopped to bite size pieces
• Extra shredded coconut for topping

Boil the water. After it comes to a rolling boil, add the oats. Keep it at a boil, stirring until the oats start to thicken a little (5 minutes or so).

Stir in the coconut. Bring it to a boil again then reduce the heat to medium low and cover.

Simmer covered for about 30 minutes, stirring frequently (make sure it does not boil over- lower the heat if necessary). Add two heaping teaspoons of sugar after about 10 minutes. The oatmeal should be fairly thick when done; but if not thick enough, let it stand for five minutes off of the burner –in the pan– and it will thicken up. Or if you prefer thinner, eat it right away!

Serve it in a bowl topped with plenty of pineapple and a bit of shredded coconut. And a bit of extra sugar – if desired.