I finally gave up and gave my Costco-sized stash of coconut flour away. In the many months that I had it, I made some breakfast porridge and added a few spoonfuls into toppings for fruit crisp.
Since I hadn’t made a dent in it and wasn’t sure about its self-life, I gave it to my next-door neighbour, who loves it and puts it in his shakes and smoothies regularly for its high fibre content.
I offered the coconut flour to my neighbour in gratitude of sorts; he moved into my building last year from France and has had to deal with a barrage of questions from me about his home country – Having lived in Paris for years, he’s not as enamoured with it as I am, but he indulges me.
Last year his suggestion led me to Parc de la Villette, a vast urban park unlike any I’ve been to, he said it was his favorite park. It’s a multi-use park with a myriad cultural and entertainment complexes, striking architectural vistas and sculptures, themed gardens, interconnecting trails that lead to nowhere really, and follies (they totally fascinate me now!) – there is something chaotic and exploratory about the park that speaks to me; it almost feels as if the designers could not agree on a concept, but I guess that is the point.
It’s a little off the (tourist) beaten path and I probably wouldn’t have found it were it not for his recommendation, so I am thankful to him for that and for putting up with my incessant queries.
Obviously, I kept a few cups of the flour for myself because we do love our toasty and delicious coconut flour porridge around here. We discovered that tangy roasted apricots are delightful in this porridge, so it’s a classic pair now. Roasting the apricots makes them sweeter and succulent, and adds a fruity essence, which is great for summer.
Along with roasted apricots, we love dressing our breakfast up with a host of other things; a sprinkle of toasted coconut flakes, handful of berries, spoonful of cherry compote, splash of maple syrup and whatever other delightful thing we have on hand.
I normally end up with a huge pot of porridge, because coconut flour sops up a lot of liquid, but I don’t mind, it’s warm, filling, tasty and better shared.
When I’m feeling particularly generous, I take a bowl my coconut flour porridge with roasted apricots up to my French neighbour in hopes that he’ll share more of his favourite places in Paris with me.
- 8 – 10 small fresh apricots, pitted and halved
- 2 tablespoons turbinado sugar, or less
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Pinch of salt
- 1 teaspoon brandy, optional
- 1/2 cup coconut flour
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup almond or coconut milk (or more or less based on desired porridge consistency), plus more for serving
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Coconut sugar and/or maple syrup (or agave) to taste
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil or parchment paper
- Arrange apricots in the prepared baking sheet arranged with the cut sides up, in a single layer
- Sprinkle with sugar, cinnamon and salt, splash apricots brandy
- Bake for 15 – 20 minutes, until apricots are caramelized and tender but still retain their shape
- In medium saucepan, mix coconut flour and sea salt with of water and mix until mixture is smooth and free of lumps
- Let it stand for 2 – 3 minutes for the coconut flour to sop up the water
- Add almond milk, stir and cook over medium heat stirring frequently until porridge thickens
- Lower heat, keep stirring and check the consistency of the porridge, add more milk if desired
- Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract
- Ladle porridge into bowls; add more coconut milk (if desired), top with apricots and drizzle with coconut sugar and maple syrup, and any other desired toppings
- Enjoy
22 Comments
i’ve never worked with coconut flour, and i also don’t think i’ve ever had porridge! regardless, what you’ve made looks delicious and wholly satisfying. i also think you’re a doll for sharing your flour with your neighbor!
24 August, 2015 at 7:28 amThis was my first dalliance with coconut flour too, I think it has a lot of potential, I just couldn’t come up with anything other than porridge to use it in:)
25 August, 2015 at 4:39 pmThis is such a creative use of coconut flour! Can’t wait to try it.
24 August, 2015 at 8:39 amThank you Lauren! Let me know what you think of it if you try it! 🙂
25 August, 2015 at 4:39 pmIt seems so yummy! And what fabulous pictures too! Shared on Twitter.
24 August, 2015 at 8:45 amThank you so much Corinne! I’m following you on twitter, you’re so inspirational, I’m glad I found you! 🙂
25 August, 2015 at 4:42 pmYou’ll find me stopping by quite often here, Elsa. 🙂
26 August, 2015 at 4:34 amOh my goodness this looks yummy! I’m not usually a porridge person but I think I’m going to have to try this one!
24 August, 2015 at 8:56 amYes, this would make you a porridge person! It’s quite different (and yummy) from traditional porridge.
25 August, 2015 at 4:43 pmyum. Love the crisp white lighting and the orange pop or the apricots. Great photos. I’ve never even heard of coconut flour but I’ll have to try it
24 August, 2015 at 9:38 amThank you Natalie! I think coconut flour is new, you should definitely give it a try but start small:)
25 August, 2015 at 4:45 pmWow- what a great idea for a porridge! I actually have the same problem (a lot of coconut flour at home and no idea what to do with it) so this should help immensely! Thanks!
24 August, 2015 at 9:40 amI’m glad you’ve found one more thing to do with your stash of coconut flour:) Hope you’ll share some of your recipes, it’s such a wonderful tasting flour except it’s finicky.
25 August, 2015 at 4:48 pmWow this looks fantastic! And stunning photos as usual!
24 August, 2015 at 10:06 amThank you Tedi! 🙂
25 August, 2015 at 4:49 pmYou are so cute! I love your little jovial relationship with the French neighbor. I’ve never even heard of coconut flour porridge! You are the porridge queen and I thus, I must try it. I confess to hoarding a rather small tub of the stuff for like 2 years (yikes!) after a trial being gluten-free for Todd’s arthritis. It’s didn’t help, so now I have all these gluten-free flours that I don’t know what to do with! 🙂
24 August, 2015 at 3:47 pmHa! I think there’re quite a few of us coconut flour hoarders. We probably should find out if it expires:) You should give this one a try, it’s pretty easy and yummy!
25 August, 2015 at 4:51 pmYes, please bribe him with your delicious-looking food and share his secret with all of us. 🙂
25 August, 2015 at 7:17 am<3 it, Elsa
Hahaha… great advice Pang! 🙂
25 August, 2015 at 4:52 pmI LOVE porridge, especially when it starts getting colder! Also your photos are beautiful x
25 August, 2015 at 9:44 amYou’ll love this porridge then, hope you give it a try in the fall:-)
25 August, 2015 at 4:53 pm