Kravi Anni - Porridge: oats + seeds + grains + rice

Publishing Director: Sarah Lavelle

Creative Director: Helen Lewis

Junior Commissioning Editor: Romilly Morgan

Senior Designer: Nicola Ellis

Photographer: Andrew Taylor

Food and Prop Stylist: Anni Kravi

Food Coordinator: Richard McCormick

Production: Vincent Smith and Tom Moore

First published in 2017 by
Quadrille Publishing
Pentagon House
5254 Southwark Street
London SE1 1UN
www.quadrille.co.uk
www.quadrille.com

Quadrille is an imprint of Hardie Grant
www.hardiegrant.com.au

Text Anni Kravi 2017
Photography Andrew Taylor 2017
Design and layout Quadrille Publishing 2017

The rights of the author have been asserted. All rights reserved. No part of the book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission in writing of the publisher.

Cataloguing in Publication Data: a catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

eISBN: 978 1 78713 021 0

CONTENTS

DONT THINK OF PORRIDGE AS JUST YOUR REGULAR MORNING BOWL OF OATS, AS IT IS SO MUCH MORE...

...Instead think of cooked porridge, baked porridge, raw porridge, savoury porridge, porridge snack bars, porridge with rye, porridge with spelt, rice porridge, buckwheat and amaranth porridge. In this book, there are recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks and dessert. This humble bowl of grains and milk can be turned into a complete meal with the right toppings berries, nuts, seeds, coconut and even edible flowers arranged beautifully on top.

In PRRIDGE, Ive created recipes for both sweet and savoury porridges, cooked and uncooked versions, made with not only oats but also many other whole grains, such as spelt, quinoa and buckwheat. Additionally, Ive included smoothie bowls, snacks and, of course, toppings, as no porridge base would be complete without its toppings and there are also recipes for making your own cooking and soaking liquids, such as plant milks and yogurts.

I have always been a lover of porridge [as most Finnish people are]: oatmeal porridge, rye porridge, Christmas porridge, semolina porridge and whipped berry porridge vispipuuro to name just a few, traditional Finnish favourites of mine. However, although I have cooked porridge all my life, it was only when I visited a porridge-only restaurant while travelling, that I started thinking about porridge as something savoury as well as sweet. This is when I began experimenting with various grains and milks and started to include different spices and all kinds of ingredients into my humble bowls.

BASES

It all starts with a good base. I prefer using milk to water and plant milk to dairy milk when cooking my porridge bowls. As an alternative, I buy organic unsweetened oat, soy or coconut milk and try to have a batch of homemade nut or seed milk in my fridge. Homemade nut milk is not only delicious and quite easy to make, but its also cheaper than most good-quality shop-bought nut milks. Moreover, you can play around with different flavour options and adjust the sweetness to your taste. The same applies to plant yogurt alternatives.

SWEET COOKED PORRIDGE

Imagine a Finnish winter. Its freezing cold and dark from 2p.m. until 10a.m. Would you not crave something super-comforting for breakfast, like a hearty bowl of cooked porridge? I am a seasonal eater and these sweet, cooked porridges are my go-to breakfast for any chilly day. I love adding banana to my porridge bases, as it gives them a creamy and thick texture as well as a healthy quantity of natural sweetness. Most of my cooked recipes use bananas as they contain a good amount of energy and are packed with fibre, potassium and vitamins which help the brain produce serotonin, the neurotransmitter that makes you feel happy [even when its cold and dark outside]. However, if you dont like bananas, there are also banana-free versions, using other fruit and vegetables like apples and carrots.

SWEET RAW PORRIDGE

As the weather warms up, my porridge bowls cool down. These raw, soaked or blended porridges are quick to make and you can prepare most of them the night before. My all-time favourite soaked porridge recipe combines chopped apple, cinnamon and other spices, resembling the ]-->.

Whenever I have some leftover homemade nut milk pulp to hand, I add it to these raw porridges as it makes the texture unbelievably creamy and seriously delicious.

SAVOURY PORRIDGE

These porridges are akin to risottos. Easy and quick to cook, all these bowls make a nourishing meal, and can be packed into a container and taken to work. The base can be anything from basic oats to buckwheat, amaranth, quinoa or rice. By adjusting the amount of liquid used in the cooking, almost anything can be turned into a porridge. I love adding some starchy vegetables like sweet potato or beetroot for a hint of sweetness and a hot pink colour to the porridge. Add some ]-->, beans or tofu for protein, then throw in a rainbow of veggies and you suddenly have a delicious and completely balanced meal.

MY FOOD PHILOSOPHY

After dealing with lots of stress-related stomach issues, food intolerances and sleeping problems I started my website blueberryboost.com and Instagram @anniskk to document my journey towards better health, happiness and well-being. This project has helped me to find a balanced healthy, wholesome diet. I believe that when you stick to home cooking with real ingredients most of the time, you can eat out at weekends without losing track of those healthy habits that make the most of your overall well-being. What works best for me is a whole food, plant-based diet consisting of a huge variety of vegetables, whole grains, pulses, nuts, seeds and added boosts from certain superfoods. This is my understanding of balance.

ABOUT ANNI

I graduated from Aalto University School of Business in 2015 with a Masters in economics and business administration. After working part time as a freelance foodie and digital content creator, recipe writer and food stylist I made nutritious food my main focus and co-founded DATE + KALE, a healthy, plant-based food concept in Helsinki.

You will notice that the recipes in this book are plant-based, refined sugar- and dairy-free and most of the recipes are also gluten-free. However, I dont follow a specific food philosophy or label myself as vegan, raw foodist or gluten-free. Instead, I just eat simple, wholesome food from fresh ingredients, always seasonal and organic when possible and food that makes me feel good.

*If you are vegan, some recipes in this book contain bee pollen or honey, so do substitute with a suitable vegan sweetener such as coconut nectar or maple syrup.