Semolina with blackcurrant and ginger

Plain white semolina, so simple but oh, so good! It takes about ten minutes to make and you can have it for breakfast, lunch, evening snack or even dessert. Here i made it with some blackcurrant that i stuck in the fridge after i picked them in the summer for instant summer taste in cakes, müesli or porridge. And it worked.

You can find different kind of semolina in the store. I usually use the darker kind which is rich in fibers, but this time i didn't feel like choosing the healthiest alternative and went for the white one instead. I have also seen chocolate semolina in the store which i might have to try someday. That is of course made from the chocolate wheat plant.

Semolina porridge serves 4

1 L milk of choice
1 1/2 dl semolina grains
salt

Bring the milk to the boil. Whisk in the semolina. Cook on medium heat for about 5 minutes stirring occasionally. Season with salt.

Blackcurrant with ginger

1-2 dl frozen blackcurrant berries
1 tsp ground ginger
2 tbsp sugar

Mix all ingredients in a food processor. Put a spoonful of the mix on your  hot porridge.

Whipped lingonberry porridge

Whipped porridge is typically something you would make in the fall when there are lots of fresh berries around. But you can just as well use frozen berries so it can absolutely be made all year round. Whipped porridge can be made using different kind of grains or flour. The recipe presented here is an easy version using regular wheat semolina.

Whipped lingonberry porridge (serves 4-6)

1 L water
1 1/2 dl regular wheat semolina
4 dl lingonberries
1 1/2 dl sugar
a pinch of salt

Bring the water to a boil. Add the rest of the ingredients. Cook for 5-10 minutes, while stirring. Let the porridge cool completely.

Whip the porridge with an electric whisk or in a food processor, until it gets a clearly lighter color.

The lighter whipped porridge to the left.

Serve with milk or cream (or a mix of both) and sugar on top.
This is a sweet porridge so it maybe isn't best suited as breakfast but can be a really good snack or dessert.

Alternatives

• You can boil the berries in the water first and pour it through a sieve so you don't get the actual berries in the porridge, just the taste. This makes for a fluffier texture.
• You can use other berries, blueberries, raspberries, black currants or whatever you want. Just remember that lingonberries are really tart, so if you use sweeter berries, put in less sugar. 

Our great grandmother was from Karelia in Eastern Finland. She used to make whipped porridge using rye flour. I remember this from my early childhood. She made a huge batch and we ate it for days or even weeks. As she got older the porridge got lumpier, but we still ate it because she worked so hard to make it. When she died there was no-one left to make her traditional rye-flour porridge. So of course now it is on my list to make and share with you!  Look out for that recipe coming soon ;)