Czech Republic Comfort Food Recipe: Salty Oatmeal Porridge With Cocoa

A hearty main dish for supper in the Czech Republic is salty oatmeal porridge. Easy to make, wonderfully filling, and simply delicious, supper porridge is a steaming, salty delight.

• Traditionally, this sprightly porridge is laced with the saltiness of lard and seasoned with additional dashes of salt, according to taste.
• My family's version substitutes butter or sunflower oil for lard.

This quintessential comfort food is individualized with additions such as cocoa powder or fried onions.

My family enjoys the bittersweet flavors that emerge from the blend of cocoa, salt, and onions. We also like to add a few dashes of cinnamon.

Ingredients for 6 servings

My family substitutes butter, or sunflower oil, for lard, which is the traditional ingredient for this recipe.

2 cups oatmeal

4 cups water

• Or:  4 cups milk
• Or:  2 cups milk + 2 cups water
• Or:  2 cups milk + 2 cups brine (from gherkins or canned vegetables)

salt

5 Tablespoons butter

• 2 Tablespoons for simmering oatmeal
• 3 Tablespoons for frying onion

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 medium onion, chopped

cocoa powder to taste

1. Bring oatmeal and liquid (water or other options) to a boil over medium-to-high heat; stir constantly.

2. Then reduce heat to medium, add 2 Tablespoons of lard, and simmer, while stirring regularly, for about 10 minutes.

3. Add salt and cinnamon and continue simmering for about 15 more minutes, stirring regularly.

4. Coincident with this simmering of the porridge:

• In a small saucepan, melt 3 Tablespoons of lard and fry onion choppings.
• Adjust heat as onions soften and turn translucent.

5. The porridge and the onions should finish at about the same time.

6. Transfer oatmeal to a large serving bowl and onions to small serving bowl.

• Or transfer to individual plates.

7. Sprinkle with cocoa powder, according to taste (usually 1 or more Tablespoons).

Makes 6 servings.

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Ovesná kaše s kakaem = oatmeal with cocoa: Dezidor, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons @ http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ovesná_kaše_s_kakaem.jpg

a bowl of cocoa powder: blair, CC BY SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cocoa_powder.jpg