How to Make Porridge

It’s not what I had planned, but after a slightly rough week I thought I’d teach you how to make one of my favourite comfort foods – porridge!

Porridge can actually be made from a lot of different grains, but for me it has to be oatmeal. Oats are quite high-protein, and release the energy they contain nice and slowly. Plus they’re really good for your gut!

My favourite way to make porridge is in the microwave. (In fact, it’s one of the few microwave dishes I can make!)

You will need:

• a microwave-safe bowl

• a microwave

and the ingredients:

• porridge oats (sometimes called rolled oats)

• water or milk

First, you need a bowl. It needs to be microwave-safe, and it needs to be bigger than you think! While everything expands when you heat it, porridge is especially prone to boiling over and making a sticky mess! I recommend a bowl that can hold at least twice as much porridge as you want to eat.

Add your porridge oats to the bowl. Porridge is very filling, so I usually only use a couple of spoonfuls.

Now porridge can be made with water or milk, or even a bit of both. Porridge made with milk is a little creamier in texture, but it tastes just as good with water. Either way, add roughly as much liquid as oats, and give it a quick stir.

Set your microwave to high power, and set a timer for 5 minutes. Unlike most microwave dishes, however, you need to keep an eye on porridge as it cooks. When porridge boils, it bubbles up and does its best to try and escape the bowl. When this happens, simply stop the microwave and let the porridge settle back down.

Once porridge has boiled, it’s cooked and ready to eat. If you’d prefer softer porridge you can of course put it back in the microwave. Just be aware that it will boil up very quickly the second time.

Plain porridge isn’t the most exciting flavour, but you can add a whole range of things to it. Two of my favourites are golden syrup, and raisins. In fact both dried and fresh fruits go well with porridge. Or if you want something more savoury, why not try a little ham or bacon?