Coconut Berry Breakfast Porridge by Emily Fiffer

Emily Fiffer’s back with a brand new recipe! And it’s a good one. 

Quick little note…my camera lens broke shooting this recipe. I didn’t get a chance to capture the almond topping. But it tasted pretty darn good without them. Almonds, no almonds…this recipe is just nuts (pun intended and I’m keeping it)!

Here’s Emily:

Some people have bedroom moves; I have kitchen moves. Roasting berries is one of them. I consume a scary amount of berries during summer. When a farmer tells me something so special and fleeting will go bad in A DAY if I don’t eat it, I listen. I also have a tendency to buy berries for a family of 8, when in fact I’m just one person with eyes larger than her stomach. Times like these — when my counter is teeming with bowls of summer fruit — call for roasting.

Roasting berries is one of the easiest, most delicious ways to preserve the berries themselves, to play around with enhancing flavors using spices and aromatics. And there’s so much freedom: choose your berry, raid your spice drawer/crisper, toss in a glug of leftover wine, zest and squeeze the orange that’s been on your counter for a month. Unlike bedroom moves, you can’t screw up roasting berries. I promise.

You’ll want to spoon mouthfuls straight from the oven. Don’t. Those bad boys are hot, and they need time to sit and soak in their juices. After that, the possibilities are endless: Fold the fruity goodness into coconut whip, drizzle it over toast and nut butter, or – my personal favorite – make overnight porridge. The recipe below is one that I play with and tweak based on what’s in my fridge and what’s in season. I salvaged some leftover coconut milk, which turned out to be a baller kitchen move, if I do say so myself. Not the coconut milk from the grocery store fridge with a thousand preservatives and coagulants – real deal, full fat Thai coconut milk, from the can. This porridge is my new addiction. The recipe comes together in less than 5 minutes (just remember to start the night before – it needs to soak). By morning, you’ll have a breakfast fit for (plant-based) royalty.

{ Coconut Berry Breakfast Porridge }
recipe by Emily Fiffer

Porridge
¼ c. gluten-free rolled oats
1 tbsp. chia seeds
1 tbsp. hemp seeds
Full fat coconut milk to cover
Toasted almonds, to serve
Roasted berries and their juices, to serve (recipe below)

Roasted Berries
1-2 pints berries (raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, or a mix)
Sweetener (honey, maple syrup, coconut sugar), to taste (you can always add more after if it’s not sweet enough)
Juice and zest from 1 lemon or orange
1 vanilla bean, split, seeds and pod reserved (o split vanilla bean, cut it gently down its center with a sharp knife. Open the pod and scrape the seeds out with the back of the knife)
4 cardamom pods
1 cinnamon stick
Optional: white wine, or a sweet sherry such as Pedro Ximenez

Make the berries: Preheat your oven to 325. Mix everything in a roasting pan (any deep pan will do). Roast until fragrant and berries are broken down to release their juices, about 20-25 minutes. Let cool, then remove vanilla bean, cardamom pods, and cinnamon stick.

 Make the porridge: Mix oats, and chia and hemp seeds in a jar with a lid. Open your coconut milk. If the solids and liquids have separated, stir until it’s homogenous. Pour the milk over the porridge to cover (usually between ½ and ¾ c.). Stir until everything is well combined. Cover and put in your fridge. In about 20 minutes, check the jar and stir again – at this point you can usually tell whether you’ll need to add more milk (if it seems tacky or you can’t stir it, for example). In the morning, stir again. If it’s too thick for your taste, add more milk. Top with roasted berries and a few spoonfuls of their juices, another splash of coconut milk, and toasted almonds.