Creamy Cappuchino oats & Coffee glazed Peccans

Wiehieheee I am so excited about this recipe!!!! This is my second Italian porridge recipe I created for you inspired by my time in Milan. It is sweet and energizing and if you are a coffeejunk lover like I am you are going to love love love this porridge recipe. 

It took some time before I was happy about this recipe, my first intention and attempt was to make it into a warm porridge, but I think that the coffee flavour is done more justice in overnight oats. It makes it less heavy as well so that you could easily have this breakky during the summer times that are coming closer.

The cacao nibs give a nice bite, something to chew on along the way and dates go really well with coffee as they have such a sweet and caramel-like flavour to pair with the slightly bitter coffee aroma. While at the same time dates have amazing health benefits: they are packed with fibre, vitamins and minerals. Beat that Starbucks caramel frappuchino.

To be completely honest with you, the milk foam on top is more for fun and decoration, you won't miss it if you decide not to make it flavourwise, but I think it just looks super nice. I'm using coconut-rice milk because I wanted a nice sweet milk to sweeten my porridge and to go on top, but I don't like using the sugar sweetened almond and soy milk they sell in the supermarkets and I did not have time to make my own natural sweetned plantbased milk. Coconut-rice milk has a natural sweet flavour of its own and it gives OK foam, but of course you can use any milk you like. I would have loved to use regular cow's milk as this would have given an amaaazing foam to go on top but this plantbased milk is a healthier option.

Buon appetito!!

Ingredients:

Overnight porridge:

• 30 gr oats
• 1/4 zucchini (optional, but makes porridge creamy and is a good source of vitamins)
• 1 espresso (30 ml strong coffee)
• 100 ml rice-coconut milk
• 1 date
• 1 tblsp mixed hempseeds / linseeds / chiaseeds (optional)
• 1 tablespoon cacao nibs

Toppings:

• 120 gr strawberries / blueberries / raspberries
• 30 gr peccans 
• 1 teaspoon coconut oil
• pinch of seasalt
• 1/2 teaspoon instant coffee powder / powdered coffee
• 1 teaspoon pure maple syrup
• 100 ml rice-coconut milk (optional, you only use a couple of tablespoons of milk froth for your porridge, see method)
• additional sprinkle of cinnamon

-> This breakfast has 11/2 of your daily two pieces of fruit. You could cut the 1/2 leftover banana in slices and have it with your porridge alingside the strawberries or you could have for example a kiwi, 2 apricots or prumes later on the day.

Method:

1. (Prep at night). Grate the zucchini using a box grater.
2. In a bowl, mix together oats, linseeds, hempseeds, cinnamon, grated zucchini, milk, espresso and add the date so that it can soak in the moisture and turn soft. Cover the bowl and put it in the fridge to soak overnight or for at least 4 hours (the oats need to soak up the moisture and turn soft).
3. In the morning: turn on the oven to a 175 degrees C.
4. Melt the coconut oil and combine it with the maple syrup, instant espresso powder and a pinch of seasalt. Stir the peccans through this mixture and make sure they are all covered evenly with the coffee glaze.
5. Pop the nuts in the oven for about 6-8 minutes, make sure they don't burn!
6. Scoop out the date and a few tablespoons of soaked oats and blend this until smooth together with the banana half, pop the mixture back in the bowl and stir until combined evenely. (You could blend the complete mixture turning it into a sort of cream, which isalso nice but you lose the porridge texture this way, and a lot of fibre!)
7. Stir the cacao nibs through the oat mixture, and pop your overnight oats in a nice serving bowl or deep plate.
8. Froth the milk until you have a nice foam and gently scoop a few spoons of foam on top of your oats. Use the rest of the warm coconut-rice milk to make yourself a nice cappuchino to go with your breakfast!
9. Top the porridge with the glazed peccans and fresh strawberries and an additional sprinkle of cinnamon.