Pumpkin N'oatmeal

After all the excesses of Christmas, it's now time to get back to a slightly less decadent way of eating.  I'm not sure I could face another mince pie or slice of stollen, even if you paid me... (Might be fibbing there.  I can still hear their siren call.)

When I'm being "good" I favour the Primal way of eating popularised by Mark Sisson, and turn my nose up at all grains, rice, potatoes and (sadly) sugar.  This makes breakfast a little...tough...after years of breakfast always being cereal of some sort, usually porridge.  It's hard for me to come to terms with frying up bacon and eggs for breakfast or even eating leftovers from dinner.  More often than not, I'll run around all morning on a cup of coffee with a slug of cream in it.  (One of the joys of a low-carb diet.)

So, I went looking for a grain-free alternative to porridge that ticked all the boxes, and found this paleo n'oatmeal.  (N'oatmeal is just a catchy way of saying "no oatmeal".  Terribly clever, isn't it?)  It's essentially a pumpkin custard, cooked to a satisfyingly thick texture which mimics porridge, bursting with the flavours of pumpkin pie, all while sneaking in a veggie portion at the beginning of the day.

I may have gone slightly overboard with the maple syrup drizzle and definitely overboard with the amount of mixed spice I threw in--there's a reason that they make measuring spoons--but this unlikely-sounding concoction tasted absolutely delicious!

If you're looking for a filling start to the morning, or have been wondering what this whole paleo malarky is all about, then shove your cereal bowl to one side and give this a go!

Pumpkin N'oatmeal

You can buy Libby's solid-pack pumpkin puree at Waitrose all-year.  I've also seen it at ASDA around Halloween.  Coconut flour can be bought at Holland & Barrett and no, you can't substitute regular flour or ground almonds for it.  It behaves very differently to other flours!

125g pumpkin puree
2 tablespoons coconut flour
125ml coconut milk
1 egg
1 teaspoon mixed spice (or pumpkin pie spice, if you want authenticity)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon maple syrup, plus more for drizzling on the top
pecan nuts and flaked coconut to garnish

Put the pumpkin puree into a small saucepan over medium heat and add the coconut flour.  Stir it in carefully--it will thicken up alarmingly--and slowly stir in the coconut milk.  Cook for about a minute, stirring constantly.

Add the egg, vanilla, spice, and maple syrup and mix in really well.  Cook, stirring constantly, for about four minutes until the mixture is thick like oatmeal/porridge.  Don't have the heat too high as you'll risk scrambling the egg!  Dish up and garnish with pecan nuts and flaked coconut.  Drizzle on a little extra maple syrup if you like!

NB You can toast the pecan nuts and coconut flakes in the saucepan before you start making the oatmeal.  I kept things au naturel as I was hungry!

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