Cornmeal Porridge with Milk – Easy Sweet Breakfast Recipe
When I was a kid, cornmeal porridge rarely showed up on our table. Most likely that was down to the lack of decent grits and certain “historical” quirks of the society we lived in. Still, it's a really tasty dish when cooked well. Like any well-simmered grain, corn is just the base of the dish – the flavor comes from what you add to it: meat, vegetables, something sweet and so on.
Corn grits come in three kinds: polished, coarse and fine. For a nice, smooth porridge, fine or polished grits work best – their grain size is close to regular semolina. They should be even, free of any debris and bright yellow.
You can cook the porridge with water or milk. A mix of equal parts milk and water gives a great result – in the finished dish you can't tell it apart from pure milk. Depending on the ratio of grits to liquid, the porridge can be runny, thick or stiff. At the very end of cooking, the thickness is easy to adjust with hot milk or water. It makes a great breakfast – easy to cook, filling and not too heavy on calories.
Ingredients
2 servings
- Corn grits (fine) 1 cup
- Butter 1 tbsp
- Milk (2.5%) 2 cups
- Salt, sugar to taste
- Butter, nuts, condensed milk, honey, vanilla for serving
Step-by-step recipe
- Homemade cornmeal porridge can be cooked in lots of ways. Basically, it's grits simmered to the doneness you like. The liquid can be anything – water, milk or a mix of the two. It's very handy to cook it in equal parts water and milk, with a little salt and sugar. If you use only water, add a bit of butter right at the start.
- Bring the milk to a boil in a small saucepan. First, this lets you make sure the milk won't curdle. Second, it will already be hot by the time you add the grits – no time wasted. While the milk is heating, pour 2 cups of water into a larger pot, add a pinch of salt and a scant tablespoon of sugar – if you're making savory porridge, skip the sugar. Also add a small knob of butter.
- When the water in the pot comes to a boil, pour in the boiling milk and stir. This is the milk and water mix the cornmeal porridge will cook in. The liquid should be at a gentle simmer. Make sure the salt and sugar have fully dissolved and the butter has melted.
- It's easier to stir cornmeal porridge with a wooden spatula rather than a spoon – it sits flat against the bottom of the pot and keeps the grits from sticking and burning. Stirring constantly, slowly pour the grits into the simmering liquid. Keep stirring the whole time so the porridge doesn't stick or scorch.
- Keep stirring and cook the grits over low heat at a gentle simmer. At first the porridge will seem too runny, but it thickens a lot as it cooks. By the way, be careful – thick porridge tends to spatter as it bubbles. If needed, add some hot water to get the consistency you like.
- The cooking time for cornmeal porridge depends a lot on how fine the grits are and can be 10-20 mins. The grits swell well and soak up the liquid, and with longer cooking they turn smooth and soft. We like the grits almost done, with a slight bite. We usually cook them for 12-15 mins – that's enough. If you like, turn off the heat at the very end and let the porridge rest under a lid for 5 mins.
- Spoon the porridge into bowls. From here, it's up to you. Usually a knob of butter goes in. You can add 1 tbsp of honey or condensed milk, or sprinkle with grated cheese or nuts. If the porridge is savory, it's perfectly fine to top it with fried onion and pork cracklings. A little vanilla is nice in the sweet version. Serve while hot.
Yield: 2 servings Calories: 100 Prep: 10 mins Cook: 20 mins Ready in: 30 mins Category: Main Dishes Cuisine: European Rating: