Savoury porridge may not sound exactly glam, but it’s certainly warming and delicious. Chunky pinhead oatmeal cooks to a lovely texture not unlike risotto rice and carries the punchy flavours of nettles and bacon well. I like the way bacon rind makes this a really parsimonious dish, but you can use whole rashers or snippets of crisply fried bacon.
Serves 2
Rind from 6–7 rashers of bacon, or 4 rashers of streaky bacon
75g pinhead oatmeal
50g young nettle tops (the top 4–6 leaves only)
450ml chicken, vegetable or ham stock
35g butter
3 shallots or 1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Preheat the grill. Lay the bacon rind or rashers on a small baking tray and cook under the grill for 4–5 minutes until crisp, turning as necessary to ensure even colour and crackling. Keep warm.
Put the pinhead oatmeal in a sieve and give it a good shake to get rid of the smaller grains. Give the oatmeal in the sieve a quick rinse under the cold tap and set aside.
Wearing rubber gloves, wash the nettle tops thoroughly in a sink full of cold water, removing any unwanted plant matter or insect life. Pick the leaves from their stalks and place in a large bowl.
Bring the stock to the boil in a pan, then pour it over the nettle leaves to cover them. Leave to stand for 1 minute, then drain the nettles in a sieve over the pan to save the nettle stock. When cool enough, squeeze out any stock from the nettles into the pan.
Heat half the butter in a small saucepan over a gentle heat. When it is foaming, add the shallots or onion and garlic and cook for 2–3 minutes. Add the oatmeal and cook for a minute, then pour in the stock and bring to a simmer. Cook gently, stirring occasionally, for 15–20 minutes, or until the oatmeal is tender and the stock absorbed. If it is too dry, add a splash more stock. You want a loose consistency like that of traditional porridge. Finely chop half the nettles and add to the porridge. Season well with salt and pepper.
Melt the remaining butter in another small pan and add the rest of the blanched nettle tops. Cook them gently for a minute or two and season well with salt and pepper.
To serve, spoon the porridge into warm bowls, top with the buttered nettles and finish with the crispy bacon rind or rashers.
SWAP Nettles are an early spring wild green. If you want to make this dish at another time of the year, try spinach instead.