Orange + almond millet porridge

In my Pilates class the other day, my teacher Karen, was telling us how she got together with some of her friends who she had climbed Kilimanjaro with 12 months earlier, to have a one year reunion. She cooked them a mouth-watering banquet, but prior to that they sat around – on the floor – and ate all the food that they had on the trek – lollies, instant coffee and millet porridge. And then got on to the good stuff! Im an avid porridge fan – a fact which consistently continues to bewilder my friends who for some reason do not share my love of porridge – and was interested in hearing more about this millet porridge. Unfortunately for me, Karen isnt a huge porridge fan either (“Ugh, I hate the stuff!”) and the description I got was along the lines of “bland, boring… I didnt eat my serving”.

Millet is often referred to as a “supergrain”, because of the cute little masks and capes each little millet grain wears. Kidding. Millet packs a nutritional punch – it is not only gluten free, and therefore great for anyone who is gluten intolerant, but packed full of B vitamins, calcium, iron, potassium, zinc and protein.I decided to have a bit of a play around and make some millet porridge that even porridge-haters might enjoy. This porridge uses almond meal and coconut milk along with the millet to create an extra creamy texture, and is flavoured with orange zest and juice and sweetened with dates. I used what I had on hand, but I imagine if you had some vanilla it would work well here, as would some cardamom spice. Enjoy! x

Orange + almond millet porridge

1/2 Cup of millet
1 1/2 Cups of coconut milk
2 dates, chopped
1/2 Tbsp orange zest
2 Tbsp almond meal
Juice of one orange
Chopped almonds and coconut, to serve
Combine the coconut milk and dates in a saucepan over a medium heat and bring to a slow boil. Add rinsed millet, almond meal and the orange zest and juice. Reduce the heat down to low, and leave to cook for around 40 minutes, stirring occasionally and adding additional coconut milk or water if needed.
Once the porridge is cooked (it should be creamy and not crunchy or gritty), serve topped with chopped almonds and shredded coconut.

Serves 2