This week is national porridge week, so why not switch up your daily porridge recipe with something new?

An easy way to celebrate national porridge week is to experiment with some new flavours and toppings to add to your porridge.

A bowl of porridge is one of the best ways to start the day and with healthy toppings it makes for a breakfast full of nutrition.

Check out these recipes below from Flahavan’s to try something different with your porridge.

Vegan pumpkin spice porridge

Makes two large bowls of porridge plus enough spice mix and pumpkin puree for the week. This is a perfect seasonal breakfast packed with vitamins and fibre.

Ingredients

80g Flahavan’s Progress Oatlets

100ml water

250ml Flahavan’s Organic Oat Drink

Pinch of sea salt

Approx 1kg pumpkin

4 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1 tbsp honey

2 tbsp dried mango

2 tbsp pumpkin seeds

30g vegan white chocolate

Method

Pre-heat oven to 200C. Half the pumpkin; lay it cut side down on greaseproof paper and bake for 40mins until cooked through. Scoop out the seeds, then scoop out the flesh and blitz in a blender until silky smooth. Place spices in a jar, screw on the lid and shake to mix. You can also use tinned pumpkin puree and a spice blend, just for speed.

Whisk together 4 tbsp of pumpkin puree with 1 tsp of spice mix and 1 tbsp honey.

Pour oats into a small cast iron saucepan. Add 200ml water, salt, stir and leave to stand for two to five minutes. Place on the hob and bring to the boil, then immediately reduce to a simmer. Add the pinch of salt and the Oat Drink, then continue to simmer for three minutes until creamy and thickened.

Divide between two bowls, swirl through the sweetened pumpkin puree and top with pumpkin seeds, dried mango and chopped white chocolate.

Caramelised banana pie porridge

Caramelised banana pie porridge.

Serves two with extra treat meringues. Make these easy meringues in advance, they will keep for a week in a glass jar.

Ingredients

60g Flahavan’s Progress Oatlets

400ml low fat milk

Pinch of sea salt

1 banana

40g walnuts

2 tbsp brown sugar

Handful of dark chocolate chips

50g desiccated coconut

100g caster sugar

2 free-range egg whites

Method

For the meringues, preheat the oven to 110C. Line two large baking trays with parchment paper and set aside.

Using a hand whisk or a freestanding mixer makes the whole thing far more enjoyable. Put the sugar and one of the egg whites into a clean bowl and whisk for about 30 seconds on a high speed.

Add another egg white and whisk for about six minutes more, whisk until the mixture is really, really stiff, white and shiny. Finally, gently fold in the coconut until well combined.

Using two teaspoons, spoon 20 little blobs of coconut meringue on to the parchment paper. Bake for around 1 hour 30 minutes, or until the meringues are crisp on the outside but still a little soft on the inside. Swap the trays around on the shelves half way through the cooking time to ensure even cooking.

Bought or leftover meringue also works very well.

Peel and cut the banana in half lengthways, sprinkle 1 tbsp of brown sugar over both halves and pop under a hot grill for two minutes until the sugar melts. Remove to a parchment sheet to cool.

Place a pan over a medium heat, add the walnuts and 1 tbsp brown sugar to the dry pan and stir for three minutes until the sugar is melted and nuts covered, then pour on to the parchment with the banana.

Add the oats to the pan (same one that had the caramelised nuts, it adds a delicious caramelised flavour) and stir in milk, add a pinch of salt. Bring to the boil, then turn down immediately and simmer for five minutes. Divide between two bowls and top with the banana, carmelised nuts, chocolate chips and a few meringues.

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