Porridge with Honey and Bee Pollen
Most porridge is made with water, stirred twice and eaten out of obligation. This one is worth getting up for, and it takes the same ten minutes.
Two things make the difference. Salt in the pot, and everything good going on afterwards rather than during.
Ingredients
Serves 2
For the porridge
1 cup rolled oats, not quick oats
2 cups milk, or a mix of milk and water
A good pinch of salt
½ tsp ground cinnamon
To finish
1 ripe banana, sliced
2 tsp South West Honey Bee Pollen
Jarrah or Redgum honey, for drizzling
A dusting of cinnamon
Optional: a spoon of yoghurt, chopped walnuts, a splash of cream
Method
Put the oats, milk and salt in a saucepan over medium heat. Don't skip the salt. Porridge made without it tastes flat no matter how much honey goes on top, and a pinch is the single biggest improvement you can make to it.
Bring it to a gentle simmer, stirring often. Keep the heat moderate. Rushed porridge catches on the base and turns gluey.
Cook for five to seven minutes until it has thickened but still moves in the pot. It will keep thickening off the heat, so stop slightly before it looks ready.
Stir the cinnamon through and take it off the heat.
Spoon into bowls and lay the banana slices over the top.
Now add the pollen and the honey. Scatter the bee pollen over, then drizzle the honey across. Dust with a little more cinnamon.
Why everything goes on at the end
Bee pollen is granules collected by the bees and gathered at the hive entrance. It's soft, slightly chewy, and tastes faintly floral and grassy. Stir it into a hot pot and it dissolves into the background. Scatter it over at the end and you get the texture and the look, which are most of the reason to use it.
The honey is the same principle. Our Jarrah is deep and toffee-like and our Redgum is smoother with a hint of smoke, and both are worth tasting rather than dissolving. Neither has been heated at any point in production, so it seems a shame to heat them in a saucepan.
Cook with the everyday honey if a recipe needs it. Finish with the good one. It holds true here as much as anywhere.
Making it the night before
Use the same quantities, skip the cooking, and put the oats, milk, salt and cinnamon in a jar in the fridge overnight. In the morning add the banana, the pollen and the honey exactly as above.
A note on bee pollen
Start with a small amount, half a teaspoon or so, and build up from there. It's worth knowing that pollen can cause reactions in some people, particularly anyone with pollen allergies or a bee sting allergy. If that's you, check with your doctor before trying it.
Keep the jar sealed in a cool cupboard, or in the fridge through summer.