Name: Oat Gnocchi – A Modern Take on Lumpy Tums
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 3 servings
Cuisine: Italian, British

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 dish that was as dependable as it was economical.

But simple did not mean careless. Porridge had standards. It was expected to be smooth, carefully stirred, and free from lumps. Across regions, there are references to the care taken – by women at the hearth – to get it just right, and to the quiet pride in doing so.

Lumps, in this context, were failure.

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

In northern England, 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.

When I first came across these brief references, I set out to see what this dish might have been like in practice. Once I began making it, it became clear that what I had was not just an historical curiosity, but 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 they could be used in my kitchen, and how easily they might find a place in modern cooking.

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 in the manner of porridge, but 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 northern 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.

You can get three traditional oat recipes in my free download The Heritage Oat Collection. Enter your details below and I’ll send it to you inbox!

Oat Gnocchi (A Modern Take on ‘Lumpy Tums’)

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

Finely dice the onion and gently fry it in a little fat, stirring occasionally.
Slice the mushrooms thinly, add them to the onions. Dice the bacon and add it to the pan.
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.
Meanwhile, place the oatmeal in a bowl, mix in the salt and add the 90g (1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp) water.
Mix well to form a dough. (If using ground rolled oats, you may need a little extra water.)
Break off small pieces and form into small lumps, mostly under 1 cm. Irregular shapes are fine.
Bring 650g (2 3/4 cups) water to the boil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan.
Add the oat lumps in batches, stirring as you go.
Return to the boil, then reduce to a low simmer. Stir every few minutes during the 25-minute cooking time to prevent sticking.
Meanwhile, cook the greens by steaming or boiling.
Grate the cheese and set aside.
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.
Stir in the bacon and mushroom mixture, the greens (well drained), and the cheese.
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.