Porridge with Coffee Honey
I like to call this, "productive porridge".
Coffee-infused porridge has been on my mind for a while. You see, I'm a coffee girl. I love the stuff. Though love doesn't quite feel like a strong enough word right now, as I find my pregnant, sleepy self romanticising the wonder that is a strong cup of coffee.
I miss sipping a full, unrestricted cup every morning. Grinding the beans and prepping the brew, the pour, the aroma, the taste... the way it makes me feel delicately buzzed. Buzzed and so sincerely happy. I miss that feeling and the ritual. And though I have been drinking a weak latte around twice a week since halfway through my second trimester (when coffee became appealing again), it's not the same. I miss those rich, black, morning mugs.
Instead, I've been looking to other things to help me feel spritely, to give a bit of energy for the day ahead. Things like nuts and seeds and honey, on top of my beloved bowls of oats. And instead of an everyday comfort, coffee has become a treat, whether those weak lattes, coffee-flavoured ice-cream, or date bars with coffee grounds. This rationing has made me appreciate it more, that's for sure. So when Di Bella Coffee sent me some coffee beans and requested I make a recipe for them, I took it as a sign to combine my two morning loves, coffee and porridge, for one supremely energetic, productive and happy morning meal.
I'm super keen to share this simple yet buzzing recipe with you today. I've added coffee to my oats before, with my date coffee porridge with coconut whipped cream recipe. And I like that version, sure, but I wanted to try something a little different with Di Bella's beans... to make a recipe that was a bit more versatile and lasting. Because these days (and no doubt from here onwards, as I balance a baby on my hip), I really appreciate a fridge full of leftovers to tuck into. We're talking food that gives you maximum spread for minimum effort. And this coffee-infused honey, which I gleefully spooned over my hot oats and panfried bananas, is just that.
You can make a batch and enjoy it for days, starting with a spoonful over porridge, like me, before moving on and mixing it with softened butter, which you might spread on fruit toast or pancakes. Then you might turn to snacking thoughts, and add some coffee honey to a blender with nuts and dates, rolling the sweet, powerful mixture into spiked energy balls. Heck, you could even sweeten your coffee with the stuff! Coffee on coffee. Too far? Maybe...
I just really like coffee.
Porridge with Coffee Honey
Serves 2
Ingredients for the Porridge
1 cup Rolled Oats
2 cups Full Cream Milk
1 large, ripe Banana
1.5 tablespoons Pepitas
Butter for the pan
Optional: sea salt
Ingredients for the Coffee-Infused Honey*
1/4 cup runny Honey
1.5 teaspoons ground Coffee Beans (I used Di Bella Coffee organic coffee beans, which were perfect - bright and smooth but not too strong. And grown and processed without chemicals, so yay!)
* This will make more coffee-infused honey than required for the recipe, unless you're a honey fiend! Simply pour leftovers into a clean glass jar and use in a few days (note: it will last longer in a sterilised jar). Suggestions for use: mix coffee-infused honey with softened butter and spread on toast or pancakes, or add it into energy ball or muesli bars.
Method
1. Place your oats in a small, heavy-based saucepan and soak in 1 & 1/2 cups milk for 30 minutes. This is necessary to achieve super creamy oats. Soak them overnight to speed up the morning process.
2. Prep your coffee-infused honey by grinding some beans and placing 1.5 teaspoons in a small saucepan along with the honey.
3. Prep your banana by slicing it into 3cm diagonal chunks. Set aside.
4. After soaking, heat the oats and milk over low-medium heat until bubbling, then turn the heat down to low and allow to cook for 5-7 minutes, stirring every now and then to ensure they don’t stick to the bottom too much. Add the remaining milk as required towards the end of cooking. Your oats are ready when they’re plump and soft and lovely and you cannot wait any longer.
5. While the oats are cooking, heat the honey and coffee gently, over low heat, until the honey is melted and the coffee incorporated.
6. Also while the oats are cooking, toast the pepitas in a skillet, then pour into a bowl before cooking the bananas in the same skillet. Heat a dab of butter in a skillet over medium heat and when hot, add the bananas and cook on each side for a couple of minutes until golden and caramelised. Turn off the heat and set aside.
7. Pour the oats into a bowl, top with the bananas, pepitas, a dash more of milk and then lastly drizzle the coffee-infused honey over the top. Add a little sea salt if you're into that kind of thing.
Heidi xo