The Virtuous (and Delicious) Porridge You Didn't Know You Needed

Beatriz da Costa
Yield
4 servings
By Claire Stern

In an ideal world, we'd all start our mornings with a greasy breakfast sandwich in hand, but New Year's resolutions are looming like a judgy friend. When it comes to healthy first-meal-of-the-day options, the possibilities are sparse, and even the most innovative oatmeal variations can get boring after a while.

If you need something to hold you over before it's time to pick at your sad desk salad, try this porridge recipe topped with bananas and poppy seeds, featured in James Beard Award-winning journalist and cookbook author Carolynn Carreno's new book Bowls of Plenty ($18; amazon.com). Not only is it dairy-free, gluten-free, and sugar-free—it takes minutes to make, tastes delicious, and will give you Instagram fodder before your work day even starts. You're welcome.

Coconut Millet Porridge with Bananas and Poppy Seeds

Ingredients

  • 1 (15-ounce) can coconut milk, shaken
  • 1 teaspoon ground cardamom (optional)
  • ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 cup millet, rinsed
  • 2 ripe bananas
  • 1 teaspoon poppy seeds, flaxseeds, or hemp seeds, or all of the above
  • 1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
  • Cold coconut milk

How to Make It

1. Pour the coconut milk into a saucepan. Fill the empty coconut milk can with water and add the water to the saucepan and bring the liquid to a boil over high heat. Stir in the cardamom (if you’re using it), salt, and millet, reduce the heat to maintain a simmer, and cook, stirring often, until the millet is tender but not mushy and the liquid has been absorbed, about 30 minutes.
2. Adjust the oven racks so one is in the middle position and preheat the oven to 325˚F. Scatter the coconut on a baking sheet and toast in the oven for about 8 minutes, until it is light brown and fragrant, shaking the pan once or twice so the coconut doesn’t burn.
3. Spoon the porridge into four bowls. Peel the bananas and slice them over the bowls so the slices fall onto the bowls. Sprinkle the poppy seeds and toasted coconut on top and serve with coconut milk around the edges.

Cookbook Source

Excerpted from the book BOWLS OF PLENTY by Carolynn Carreño. Copyright © 2017 by Carolynn Carreño. Reprinted with permission of Grand Central Life & Style. All rights reserved. 

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