Gizzi’s Healthy Appetite
In her book, Gizzi’s Healthy Appetite (Mitchell Beazley, £15), which was re-released last month, chef Gizzi Erskine is keen to start a new food revolution; one where people have a better understanding of nutrition, but don’t forget that eating should be enjoyable. And we think there’s no better place to start your food revolution than with a spot of breakfast. Gizzi says: “This baked porridge has the same emotional connection for me as a baked rice pudding. It is more of a brunch dish than a breakfast one. I say it’s a brunch dish because it’s slow-cooked in the oven, ideal for when you don’t want to sit and watch and stir porridge. It takes almost an hour to cook from start to finish, but it’s worth it. In Scotland we would have eaten this pretty plain, made with milk and a spot of salt, then scooped out of the dish and topped with brown sugar and more milk, but here I’ve made a healthier version that omits the sugar and will put lots of goodness into your body. I make this looser than most baked porridges as I hate stodgy porridge.”
Time: 50mins + 10mins prep | Serves: 6
Ingredients
– coconut oil, for greasing
– 200g porridge oats
– 3 tbsp oat bran
– 2 tbsp coconut sugar or maple syrup
– ½ tsp salt
– 2 bananas, mashed
– 1 litre milk or almond milk
– 1 tsp vanilla extract
– 100g blueberries
– 100g raspberries toasted flaked almonds, to garnish
Method
1. Preheat your oven to 200°C/Gas Mark 6 and liberally grease a baking dish with coconut oil.
2. Pop the oats and oat bran in a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl or large jug, add the mashed bananas, milk, vanilla extract, sugar or syrup and salt, and stir. Pour this mixture over the oats and oat bran and leave to stand for 5 minutes, or until the oats start to absorb the liquid.
3. Arrange the blueberries and raspberries into the prepared baking dish, pour the porridge mixture over the top and bake for 25 minutes. Sprinkle the flaked almonds over the top, then return to the oven and continue to bake for another 25 minutes, or until golden brown on top. Allow to cool for 5 minutes, then serve with more almond milk if required.