General tips cover French way to make porridge (5)
I believe the answer is:
gruel
'porridge' is the definition.
(I know that gruel is a type of porridge)
'general tips cover french way' is the wordplay.
'tips' means to remove the middle letters (just the outer letters of the world).
'cover' is an insertion indicator.
'french way' becomes 'rue' ('road' or 'street' in French).
'general' with its centre taken out is 'gl'.
'gl' going around 'rue' is 'GRUEL'.
'to make' is the link.
(Other definitions for gruel that I've seen before include "Luger (anag)" , "cheap fare" , "disappointing fare" , "Unappetising food" , "Thin food of boiled oatmeal" .)