
Mr. Woodhouse’s gruel is delicious, simple and nourishing, but it uses more decadent ingredients than the basic gruel Oliver Twist ate in the workhouse.
As a notorious hypochondriac, I think Mr. Woodhouse might have preferred Oliver’s very bland version, but with this recipe I wanted to show you an alternative that would have been much more common among the wealthy middle classes back in the day. It has basically all the flavors a rich dude (or dudette, of course) would want in a dish.
These days, however, it’s absolutely perfect for breakfast or a pre-workout snack.
RICH MAN’S GRUEL
Ingredients
For the gruel
- 90 g oats
- 160 g white wine
- 200 g water
- 20 g dried currants
- Currant jam for garnish optional
For currant jam
- 100 g white verjus
- 100 g water
- 50 g sugar
- 300 g currants
Instructions
For currant jam
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Bring verjus and water to boil
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Incorporate sugar
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Simmer 3 hours
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Blend until smooth and has a beautiful sheen, appx 30 mins.
For the gruel
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Combine oats water and wine and simmer for 1 min.
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Add currants, simmer an additional 5 mins.
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Season with salt.
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Garnish with the currant jam, if you like, and serve hot.