In many British homes in the past, porridge was not a quaint breakfast but a daily necessity. It sustained households day after day, made from oats that could grow where other grains struggled, and cooked into a simple dish that kept people going.

But simple did not mean careless. Porridge had standards. The best porridge was carefully-stirred, smooth free from lumps. Across regions, there are references to the care taken – by women at the hearth – to get it just right.

Lumps, in this context, were a failure.

And yet, within this culture of careful, lump-free porridge, there are occasional glimpses of something quite different.

In the English regions of Derbyshire and Yorkshire, a dish known as ‘lumpy tums’ appears in the record: oatmeal squeezed by hand into small pieces and dropped into boiling water, forming a pot of oat lumps. In some dialect sources, it is also called ‘lumpy dicks’, where ‘dick’ was an old regional term used for a type of boiled pudding.

Upon reading about this dish, I was curious to try and replicate it myself. A few attempts later, it became clear that what I had made was not just an historical curiosity, but a delicious and practical meal: small oat dumplings with a soft, pasta-like texture held within a creamy liquid. As soon as my family ate them, they called them gnocchi – and in that moment, I began to see how easily they might find a place in a modern kitchen.

From there, the shift was almost inevitable. If these were, in essence, oat dumplings, then I could use them in many ways – not only eaten like porridge, but also served as we might serve gnocchi, with sauces that bring out their texture and flavour.

What follows, then, is not a strict reconstruction of the English dish lumpy tums, but a modern working of the idea: oat gnocchi, rooted in tradition, but adapted for the way we cook and eat today.

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Oat Gnocchi (A Modern Take on ‘Lumpy Tums’) with a Bacon, Mushroom & Cheese Sauce

Makes: 3 portions
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

For the oat gnocchi (lumpy tums):

• 180g (1 1/2 cups) fine oatmeal (can be substituted for the same weight of rolled oats ground into a flour)
• 1.8g (1/3 tsp) fine sea salt
• About 90g (1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp) water, for wetting
• 650g (2 3/4 cups) water, for boiling

For the bacon, mushroom and cheese sauce:

• A small amount of fat, for frying
• 1/2 medium onion
• 180g (6.5oz or about 8 medium) mushrooms
• 180g (6.5oz) bacon
• 1/2 tsp dried sage
• Greens for three people (e.g. finely chopped Brussels sprouts or kale)
• 100g (3.5oz) medium cheese, Cheddar-style

Method

1. Finely dice the onion and gently fry it in a little fat, stirring occasionally.
2. Slice the mushrooms thinly, add them to the onions. Dice the bacon and add it to the pan.
3. Add the sage and cook until the onions and mushrooms are soft and the bacon is cooked (15–20 minutes), stirring occasionally. Turn off the heat.
4. Meanwhile, place the oatmeal in a bowl, mix in the salt and add the 90g (1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp) water.
5. Mix well to form a dough. (If using ground rolled oats, you may need a little extra water.)
6. Break off small pieces and form into small lumps, mostly under 1 cm. Irregular shapes are fine.
7. Bring 650g (2 3/4 cups) water to the boil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan.
8. Add the oat lumps in batches, stirring as you go.
9. Return to the boil, then reduce to a low simmer. Stir every few minutes during the 25-minute cooking time to prevent sticking.
10. Meanwhile, cook the greens by steaming or boiling.
11. Grate the cheese and set aside.
12. As the oats cook, the mixture will thicken. Stir well towards the end to prevent burning. Taste a piece at around 25 minutes—it should be fully cooked with a soft pasta-like texture.
13. Stir in the bacon and mushroom mixture, the greens (well drained), and the cheese.
14. Mix thoroughly, adjust seasoning, and serve hot.

Variations:

This is a truly versatile dish. It’s easy to add dried herbs, like rosemary, sage, or thyme, to the oat dough. You can also serve the dumplings with many other sauces: a tomato bolognese, butter and sage or ratatouille. The creaminess of the oaty sauce lends luxuriousness to any topping.

You might also like:

Traditional Scottish Oatcakes

Millet Gnocchi (Egg & Gluten-Free)

Different Types of Oats (& How to Use Each the Traditional Way)

The History of Porridge (Oats and More Plus Recipes!)

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