Baked Porridge a la Gordon Ramsay

We finally have a new TV. And when I say finally, I mean FINALLY! This is the first television that we have ever bought. We survived on what was affectionately known as "the postage stamp" for our first 4 years living together in Melbourne (it was deeper than it was wide!). 

And then we inherited a hand-me-down TV from a neighbour in Oxford that didn't actually receive signal. 

And then we moved to London and realised our flat was actually too small to even put a TV in, so didn't bother with one. 

And then, we moved our room around, and were sitting on the couch soon after and realised, we now have space for a TV! I had to give up a shelf in my book/pots&pans-case, but we could finally have a TV. 

I wasn't really fussed without one, we had plenty of devices to keep me up to date with The Mindy Project, but having had one for a few weeks, I absolutely love it and wish we'd done it sooner! 

I am so enjoying watching cooking and travel shows again, I had forgotten how much I love them. We've also been watching A LOT of Gordon Ramsay shows, in particular, his Ultimate Home Cooking series on 4oD. I just love it. At least one meal from each show goes on my "must try" list. And yesterday, I tried two out, well I guess it was three really, but the other posts will have to come later in the week. 

I had my brother visiting over the weekend and if you know him, you know he loves to eat. Being an ex-rugby player it used to take a thrice-daily-smorgasbord to fuel him each day, but now it is only a twice-daily requirement. I was watching Gordon's Baked Porridge recipe and thought it would be a great one to try out on Ash, fill that immense hunger!!! 

I wanted to make the porridge more "me" so used my favourite nuts and fruits in the place of a few suggested in this porridge. Instead of the recommended almonds and raisins, I used macadamias and dried apricots. But I will keep Gordon's recipe as is, because I can't be claiming this one as my own!!!

Ingredients (recipe here)

150g (5oz) jumbo rolled oats

seeds from 1 vanilla pod

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1⁄2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg, plus a little extra to sprinkle

50g (2oz) whole blanched almonds

50g (2oz) blanched hazelnuts

75g (3oz) raisins

1 ripe pear, peeled, cored and chopped into small chunks

500ml (18fl oz) milk, plus extra for serving

200ml (7fl oz) double cream

2 tbsp demerara sugar

Method

1. Cut the vanilla pod in half and scrape the seeds out carefully. I have never ever used real vanilla beans before, so was pretty excited with how incredible they are. If only they didn't cost £3 each, I'd use them everyday!!

2. Rub the vanilla seeds through the oats to infuse the flavour throughout the porridge. 

3. Chop the nuts and fruit of your choosing and place them in the bowl with the oats. Add the spices and mix well. 

4. Add the milk and cream and pour in an oven-proof dish. 

5. Bake in a 180C/350F oven for about 30 minutes, or until the liquid has all been soaked up by the oats and they are nice and tender. 

6. To create a crunchy breakfast creme brûlée effect, pour the demerara sugar on top of the porridge and leave under the grill for 3 minutes. I did this and half started to burn and the other half wasn't melting, so I got out my blow torch to finish it off. 

And serve warm and ENJOY!!

The spices and fruit and nut combo elevate the humble oats to another stratosphere!!! I loved the crunch of the nuts, the soft sweetness of the pear, and the sugar brittle on top is just sensational. It probably shouldn't be a regular weekday breakfast, but for a Sunday morning brunch it was divine!

We all added a little splash of extra milk to ours just to give it a little more moisture and next time I would probably take it out of the oven five minutes earlier too. Far more filling than a regular bowl of oats, we all didn't eat again until dinner time. But, when you see what dinner was, you'll understand our patience!!!

What a delightful way to enjoy porridge! I love this adaptation of a classic breakfast. I even think oats would be happy to finally be used in a luxurious and indulgent way.