Porridge with Caramelized Pears
Ingredients
2 servings
For the porridge
- Rolled oats 2 cups (180 g)
- Water 4 cups (800 ml)
- Salt a pinch
- Sugar 1 tbsp (14 g)
- Butter 1 tbsp
- Milk 50 ml (¼ cup)
For the caramelized pears
- Pear 1 large, firm pear
- Sugar 2 tbsp (27 g)
- Water 2–3 tbsp
- Lemon ¼ (juice and zest)
- Cinnamon, nutmeg a pinch of each
- Star anise 1 star
For serving
- Walnuts, seedless raisins to taste
- Honey optional
Step-by-step recipe
Oatmeal
Choose coarse oats, with flattened grains that are not too thin or too crushed. A small saucepan with a handle is handy for cooking. You need twice as much water as oats by volume (1:2). That is enough for a thick porridge, since the finished porridge will be thinned with milk.
Cover the oats with water. There is no need to rinse them, because they are steamed during production, even if only briefly.
Pour 4 cups of water (800 ml) into the saucepan and add a pinch of salt. Add the dry oats to the water, and they will soon soak through. Put it on the heat and stir well.
Cook the oats under a lid for about 15 mins. Bring the water to a boil, reduce the heat so it barely simmers, and cover the saucepan. Stir fairly often so the porridge doesn’t stick to the bottom and burn. The oats are ready when the grains are soft and the water has been absorbed. If the porridge seems too thick, add a little boiling water from the kettle. Most likely you won’t need to.
Add the sugar, butter and milk and cook for 5 mins. Add 1 tbsp of sugar (14 g) and 1 tbsp of butter to the porridge and stir thoroughly until the butter and sugar dissolve completely. Pour in 50 ml (¼ cup) of milk, bring to a boil and simmer under a lid on low heat for 5 mins.
By the way, if you have cream with 20–30% fat, you can use it instead of the milk and butter. The porridge turns out medium-thick. If you like it runnier, add more milk.
Caramelized pears
While the oats are cooking, prepare the caramelized pears. For two servings of porridge, one large, firm pear is enough. Take a firm variety such as Bera.
Slice the pear. There is no need to peel it. Just cut it into 8 wedges and carefully remove the core.
Make the syrup and add the pear. Put 2 tbsp of sugar (27 g) in a frying pan, add a pinch of cinnamon and nutmeg, and drop in the star anise. Squeeze in the juice of a quarter of a lemon. You can drop the zest into the pan too. Add 2–3 tbsp of water. Heat the mixture over medium heat until the sugar dissolves, then lay in the pear slices.
Stew the pear in the syrup for 5–8 mins. Cook the pieces over medium heat, turning them often. In that time all the liquid usually turns sticky and looks like a very thick syrup. Once the syrup has thickened, lower the heat so the sugar doesn’t start to burn. Gradually the pear softens and soaks up the hot syrup. Don’t let the slices darken. They should stay light and very fragrant.
Serving
Spoon the porridge into bowls and put the pears on top. For each bowl, use four slices of caramelized pear, a few walnut kernels and some seedless raisins. If you like, drizzle with natural honey, but be careful, since the porridge is already sweet. Serve for breakfast while the oatmeal is still hot.
If you make oatmeal from flakes, cook them very briefly, or just pour boiling water over them and leave for 3–4 mins. If you don’t want a sweet breakfast, add fresh fruit such as apple pieces, strawberries or berries. Or simply sprinkle the oatmeal with grated cheese, which is delicious. And don’t forget 1–2 tbsp of cherry jam , a treat from childhood that never goes out of style!
Calories and macros
795 kcal
Serving ≈ 630 g
- Protein22 g12% of kcal
- Fat17 g21% of kcal
- Carbs124 g67% of kcal
100 g128 kcalProtein 3.6 gFat 2.7 gCarbs 19.8 g
Calculated from the recipe ingredients, excluding salt and spices. Data: USDA and Matvaretabellen.