Jamaican Peanut Porridge
Peanut porridge is a Jamaican breakfast, a warm bowl of ground peanuts and grain spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg, usually built on sweetened condensed milk and a good measure of sugar. Neither is needed. Unsweetened peanut butter gives the peanut base, rolled oats thicken it into a proper porridge, and blended dates bring the sweetness with their fiber intact. Soy milk stands in for the tinned milk and adds the protein that makes this a substantial start rather than a sweet snack. The spicing is the traditional pair, cinnamon and freshly grated nutmeg, which do the aromatic work salt and sugar are usually asked to. It reheats well, so it is an easy make-ahead for busy mornings.
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup unsweetened peanut butter
- 1/2 cup Rolled oats
- 2 cups Unsweetened soy milk
- 5 wholes Deglet noor dates, pitted
- 1/2 tsp cassia cinnamon, ground
- 1/4 tsp Nutmeg, freshly grated
Method
- Blend the pitted dates with a half cup (120 ml) of water into a smooth paste. This carries the sweetness that condensed milk and sugar bring to a traditional pot, and it keeps the fiber attached rather than stripping it out.
- Put the oats and 2 cups (470 ml) water in a saucepan and bring to a simmer, whisking, for about 5 minutes, until the oats soften and the water turns creamy. Cooking the oats in plain water first lets them thicken the porridge before the richer ingredients go in.
- Whisk in the peanut butter until it melts smoothly into the pot with no streaks. This is the base flavor, so unsweetened peanut butter, nothing but ground peanuts, is what you want; the sweetened kind would undo the point.
- Stir in the soy milk, date paste, cinnamon, and grated nutmeg. Simmer gently 3 to 4 minutes more, stirring, until thick and glossy. Soy milk is the one plant milk with real protein, which suits a peanut porridge meant to hold you through a morning.
- Loosen with a splash more soy milk if it sets firmer than you like as it cools. Serve warm. Leftovers thicken in the fridge and come back to life with a little milk and gentle heat.
Nutrition
Estimated per serving: 250 calories, 11 g protein, 5 g fiber, 65 mg sodium. Computed from USDA FoodData Central reference values for the main ingredients. This is an approximation, not a laboratory measurement. How these are computed.
Cost per serving is estimated from US national-average retail prices for cheap staple forms, using BLS dried-bean prices and USDA produce prices. Prices vary by store and season, so treat it as a guide, not a receipt. How this is computed.
