Buckwheat porridge with cherries and coconut yoghurt

Breakfast has always been my favourite meal of the day. I went through a period of eating only muesli in all variations. When I joined a new gym late last year I also wanted to have a close look at my diet to maximise results from the training. That's when my trainer brought to my attention that in order to get the best results, I should really seek more variety in my breakfast (and eat a whole lot more veggies, but that's for another blog post ;)).

Ever since then I am looking for new and interesting recipes to start the day well. A few weeks ago I discovered buckwheat groats as breakfast food. Quinoa has been on my list of favourite breakfast bowl foods for quite some time, but I find quinoa porridge to be quite bitter. I tend to mix it with oats to get a lighter texture ... which basically brings me back to standard muesli. Buckwheat on the other hand has this lovely more earthy nutty flavour and is really filling and has in addition a lot of health benefits. You can soak the buckwheat groats in water overnight to make them even more digestible.

I've had to try out this recipe several times until I got it right. The first and second time I tried the recipe I added the milk and the buckwheat groats to the pan and turned up the heat. I ended up burning the milk on the bottom of the pan. This is why I started to bring the groats to a boil with half a cup of water first and then slowly add the milk while constantly stirring. No burnt milk and a few calories saved.

Buckwheat porridge with cherries and coconut yoghurt

serves 2

1 cup buckwheat groats (soaked overnight)

1/2 cup water

1 1/2 cup milk*

1 dash of sea salt

2 tbsp honey** 

1/2 tsp cinnamon powder

1 dash of nutmeg

1 cup frozen or fresh cherries

1 handful of coarsely chopped roasted almonds

2 heaped tbsp coconut yoghurt to serve

Cook the cherries in a small saucepan over a low heat with half a tablespoon of honey until they have released the juice and are nice and soft (about 5-7 minutes).

Meanwhile add the buckwheat groats and half a cup of water to a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and slowly add the milk, constantly stirring. Add a dash of sea salt and cook for about 5 minutes. 

After 5 minutes add the spices and honey and stir well. Cook for further 10 minutes or until the buckwheat groats are tender. 

Divide the porridge between two bowls and pour the cherries including juices on top. Top each bowl with a tablespoon of coconut yoghurt and almonds and serve.

Notes

* I used NZ light milk which has a fat content of 1.5%. I also prepared the porridge successfully with trim milk. I imagine the porridge is even more creamy with full fat milk. I will try preparing it with almond milk some time soon.
** I imagine it would work well with any other type of liquid sweetener or 2-3 dried dates soaked in hot water and chopped finely.