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Brown butter garlic porridge

A winter warmer
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Servings: 4 people
Ingredients
Porridge
  • 180 g porridge
  • 1 lt water chicken, or vegetable stock (more if necessary)
  • 75 g Boursin more if you wish
  • Salt and pepper
Toppings
  • 4 eggs I used Burford browns
  • 1-2 large leeks
  • 5-6 rashers of streaky bacon roughly chopped
Shallot and garlic crips
  • Shallot & Garlic Crisp
  • 5 large garlic cloves finely chopped
  • 2 large shallots diced (reserve a ¼ of one for the salsa verde, if you're including)
  • Neutral oil enough to fry the shallots and garlic
Brown butter
  • 50-60 g butter cubed
Salsa verde
  • Salsa Verde
  • A bunch of parsley finely chopped
  • A handful of caperberries roughly chopped
  • The reserved ¼ shallot
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • A little caper brine
  • Salt and pepper
Instructions
Shallot and onion crisp
  • In a deep heavy-bottomed pan (you will also use this pan to make your porridge, so no washing up just yet) on medium heat, crisp the shallots in about 1 inch of neutral oil, enough to just about cover the shallots. Fry for 7-8 minutes until light brown and then add the garlic and fry for a further 2-4 minutes until both are golden brown. The whole process should take approx. 10-12 minutes. Drain and set aside on a plate covered with a paper towel. Cover with a little flaky salt.
  • (Note – to test the readiness of the oil add a strand of sliced shallot. If the oil sizzles, it is ready.)
Bacon
  • In a medium-large shallow pan, fry the streaky bacon until crispy, drain on a paper towel and roughly chop into small pieces and set aside. Don’t wash up just yet - keep reading!
Leeks
  • Place the shallow pan on medium heat and char the leeks in the leftover bacon fat. About 3-5 minutes should be sufficient. I char the leeks in 2-3 batches to avoid overcrowding the pan which creates steam. When ready, place the leeks on a paper towel. And again, don’t clean the pan, it’s needed for the brown butter!
Brown butter
  • Place the same pan over low-medium heat and brown a little butter. This should take 4-6 mins. Empty into a heat proof container and set aside in a warm area until ready to use.
Sala Verde
  • Chop parsley, caper berries and the reserved ¼ shallot, add extra virgin olive oil, a little caper brine, salt and pepper and set aside.
Eggs
  • Meanwhile, boil the eggs for 5-6 minutes.
Porridge
  • Now we return to using the heavy bottomed pan that contains the residual shallot and garlic oil. Add 1 liter of water (or any stock) followed by oats, Boursin and seasonings to the pan, then simmer for about 4 minutes until you reach your preferred consistency. At the end of cooking add a teaspoon or two of white wine vinegar as this will enhance the flavors.

Notes

A perfect portion for four for a light meal.