I had the amazing opportunity to be involved in this years Irish Porridge Making Championships – yes there is such a thing and there is even a World Championships held every year in Scotland!! Glenisk kindly nominated me so for my speciality dish it was very easy to create an innovative oat dish that combined my favourite Irish yoghurt. My dish came up short on the day with the judges but won over lots of people’s hearts with everyone tucking into the leftovers.
I have used pinhead oats which take much longer to cook and are closer to rice than rolled oats. Therefore the consistency is much closer to a traditional rice based risotto versus porridge. Rolled oats will work perfectly too and I would recommend using jumbo oats. When using rolled oats, you will need less liquid so start with a little and gradually add until you get a desired consistency.
As you know, I love colourful food so I blended roast carrots with yoghurt and a little water to create a vibrant and smooth puree. Any root vegetable can be used to replace carrots here. Peas could also be blended to add to the mix too. The inspiration for this dish came from my first Oat Risotto which combines similar ingredients.
For all my vegetarian friends just leave out the bacon!
Glenisk are also giving you the chance to win a signed copy of my DELALICIOUS cookbook and you’ll also get a free pot of Irish yoghurt just for entering!! Enter now!
Serves 2
- 1 tbsp rapeseed oil
- 1 tsp honey
- 2 carrots, peeled and cut into lengths
- 20g butter
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 small white onion, diced
- 75g pinhead oats/jumbo rolled oats
- 450ml vegetable stock
- 4 tbsp Glenisk natural yoghurt
- 2 streaky bacon rashers, diced
- handful kale/chard/spinach
- 1 tbsp pesto
- Preheat an oven to 200°C/180°C fan/400°F. Combine the oil and honey together in a roasting tin.
- Bring a pan of salted water to the boil, add the carrots, cover, turn the heat off and set aside for 5 minutes. Strain, add to the roasting tin and stir through the oil and honey mixture. Roast in the oven for 15-20 minutes until cooked through.
- Melt the butter in a saucepan over a medium heat. Add the garlic and onion and cook until the onions are translucent.
- Add the pinhead oats and toast for 2 minutes. Stir in 400ml of the vegetable stock and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce to a simmer. Continue to cook for 15-20 minutes or until the oats have absorbed all the stock – add more if you feel the oats are beginning to dry out. Remember to stir frequently, this will help the oats to cook and prevent them sticking to your saucepan.
- Blend the roasted carrots with 2 tbsp yoghurt and 4 tbsp water until smooth. Stir this through the cooked oats to create a vibrant orange colour.
- Fry the bacon off over a high heat in a frying pan, once they begin to crisp up, add the kale/chard/spinach, turn the heat off and lightly cook until it wilts a little.
- To serve: divide the oat risotto amongst two dishes, add 1 tbsp of yoghurt in the centre, spread the kale around the yoghurt, sprinkle the crispy bacon, pesto and finish with another drizzle of yoghurt on top.
