Irish oat porridge with banana, mango and coconut milk recipe

Yotam Ottolenghi offers up this tropical porridge dish for pure, lazy-morning comfort – part of his series of quick and healthy breakfasts.

It's hard to beat the rough texture of steel-cut oats, with their slight resistance against the teeth. The rest of the components here offer pure, lazy-morning comfort, although you can wake yourself up properly by adding a little zing of lime. If you are well organised and think ahead, boil the oats with the water for a minute, chill and place in the fridge overnight. This will save you 10-15 minutes of cooking time the next morning.

Photograph: Franck Allais and Ed Johns for the Guardian

Serves 4

800ml water 3-1/3 cups)
170g/2 cups steel-cut oats (Irish oats)
A pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla essence
1½ tbsp maple syrup
1 banana, peeled and sliced
1 small mango, peeled and diced
3 tbsp coconut milk
1 lime, halved (optional)

1. Bring the water to the boil in a medium saucepan. Add the oats and cook for 25-30 minutes (or 10-15 minutes if you've prepared the oats the night before), stirring occasionally and adding a little water if needed, until tender but still with a clear bite.
2. Off the heat, stir in the salt, vanilla and maple syrup.
3. Transfer to serving bowls and top with the banana, mango and coconut milk. Squeeze some fresh lime juice on top if you like.