It just so happened that the British are considered the biggest fans of oatmeal. In their daily menu, it is found in a variety of variations. It is not surprising that they have achieved unprecedented skill in cooking dishes from this cereal. In our country, supporters of a healthy diet share a love for oatmeal, especially when it comes to breakfast. So we decided to study English culinary traditions and find them a worthy use for the morning diet. We understand the subtleties and select the right recipes together with the brand “Russian Breakfast”, in the line of which all types of different-grain flakes are presented.
Oatmeal porridge from the first hand
The Scots proudly call themselves the real creators of the traditional oatmeal porridge. In the old days, they cooked porridge on water from whole or crushed oat grains. At the same time, they quietly managed without salt, sugar, milk and butter. The oatmeal was made extremely thick, with a reserve for a whole week. As necessary, a slice of the desired size was cut off from the dense frozen layer, heated and seasoned with salt. To soften the dry porridge, it was washed down with warm thick cream. A little later, nuts, fresh fruits and berry jams were added to it.
Today, all these tricks are useless. And for the stomach of a modern person, oatmeal in this version is too heavy. Only one ingredient will help to make porridge extremely tasty and useful — “Small flakes of 5 cereals” from the “Russian Breakfast” series. This is a unique combination of oat, wheat, barley, rice and millet flakes. This combination is rich in dietary fiber and contains an optimal balance of valuable nutrients. Among other things, the cooking time of porridge is only 3 minutes. So now you can easily make healthy breakfasts, even if there is always not enough time for it in the morning.
Pour 500 ml of water into a small saucepan, put a pinch of salt and bring to a boil over high heat. Pour out 200 g of assorted flakes, reduce the flame to a minimum and cook, stirring frequently, for 3 minutes. We put the oatmeal in a plate, pour 1-2 tablespoons of thick cream, sprinkle with brown sugar to taste. Instead of sugar, you can add jam and sliced bananas to the porridge — many Englishmen prefer to do this.
Pudding for health
The love of the English for oatmeal is reflected in other dishes. Being a fairly nutritious and universally available cereal, oats took a strong place in the diet of the British in the XVI century. It was made into a cross between a very thick soup and porridge. To make it more satisfying, cereals were cooked in meat broth with crumbs from yesterday’s bread. On holidays, dried pieces of fruit, nuts and honey were sent to the pan. Later, one of the chefs discovered that if you add a little flour and spicy Indian spices to it, you will get not a soup, but quite an exquisite pie. That’s how the famous English pudding was born quite by chance.
Of course, this is too high-calorie dish, which can hardly be called useful. However, it will not take much effort to turn it into a healthy breakfast. All thanks to the classic oatmeal “Hercules” from the “Russian Breakfast” series. This is a natural whole grain, processed using a special gentle technology. As a result, it preserves the supply of fiber and the vitamin and mineral complex in full.
Combine 100 g of hercules, 100 ml of milk, 3 egg yolks, 2 bananas, finely chopped apple in a blender bowl. Beat everything until a homogeneous consistency is obtained. Separately, whisk the 3 remaining proteins into a lush, persistent foam, after which we also introduce them into the oatmeal mass. For a richer taste, you can pour out a handful of crushed nuts. And for a subtle aroma, put a pinch of vanilla and cardamom, add a little cinnamon. We spread the oatmeal mass on ceramic molds or cups and put it in the oven at 180 °C for 20 minutes. This pudding is excellent both hot and cold. Before serving, sprinkle the pudding with powdered sugar and decorate with mint leaves.
Crumble in the old new way
The British own another famous culinary creation-crumble. This is a simple quick shortbread pie with a sweet filling. Legend has it that it was invented in America by the first emigrants from the British Isles. They bitterly missed their favorite pudding and began to look for a worthy replacement for it. Instead of the classic dough, they began to use a crumb of flour, sugar and butter. Actually, this is where the name crumble came from, which translates as “crumble”. Under the layer of this very crumb, the filling was hidden, consisting of pieces of meat and seasonal vegetables. Thus, originally crumble was not a dessert at all, but a kind of salad.
This idea can be skillfully adapted for a healthy breakfast. Only instead of flour, we will take “Oat flakes with oat bran” from the “Russian Breakfast” series. Bran successfully emphasizes the taste of flakes, allowing you to achieve a softer and more harmonious taste combination. Being the richest source of dietary fiber and essential nutrients, bran also enhances the already solid list of useful properties of oatmeal.
We offer this option of unsweetened crumble for breakfast. Cut the zucchini into cubes and fry until golden brown in olive oil with the addition of a clove of garlic, a pinch of salt and any dried herbs. Cut into slices 2 tomatoes, 80 g of ham and 150 g of mozzarella. We rub with our hands 100 g of flakes with bran, 30 g of butter and 30 g of grated hard cheese into a crumb. At the bottom of the mold, we spread the fried zucchini, mozzarella, ham and tomatoes. We cover everything with an even layer of loose crumbs and put it in the oven at 180 °C for 20-25 minutes. Serve the crumble warm while the cheese is still stringy and soft.
Oatmeal for breakfast is the best gift to the body that we can make in the first hours after waking up. And this is not only a classic porridge with all sorts of delicious additives. In the new corporate line of the Russian Breakfast brand, your favorite oat flakes are presented both in a traditional form and in very unexpected modern variations. Each product is perfectly balanced in terms of taste and useful elements. Everything is in order for a lot of new useful and interesting dishes to appear in your morning menu.