Spinach, Cheddar & Sweet Potato Waffles

 

Ladies and gentleman, I am in love.

I first spotted the object of my affection at the beginning of December, although in the back of my mind I had been aware of their presence for a couple of months prior to that fateful day. Then, on Christmas Day, they became mine.

It took me a couple of days to acknowledge that they were actually in my life, but since then . . . well, I already know that I couldn’t live without them.

It’s serious.

And the object of such a public display of affection?

A waffle maker.

Honestly.

Don’t laugh.

I said, don’t laugh.

In some ways, Ashley over at Edible Perspective has to take some most of the responsibility. See, she kept posting gluten-free waffle recipes and they looked so good. But I couldn’t make them. Because I didn’t have the appropriate equipment (nudge, nudge, wink, wink). But now I do.

Since my waffle maker came into my life I have made these Doughnut Waffles, these Cornbread Waffles and this Everyday Waffle is a near constant staple at breakfast time (I usually change the recipe a bit by either having two-thirds buckwheat flour and one-third cocoa powder plus a splash of vanilla instead of cinnamon; topped with Nutella, or two-thirds buckwheat flour and one-third oat flour; spread with peanut butter. In both cases I reduce the almond milk content to two tablespoons).

I actually made these savoury waffles for the first time for dinner (with a fried egg on top) and ate the left over one for lunch (with a fried egg on top). The next time round I had a fried egg on top (or you could poach an egg. And how about some crispy bacon sprinkles?) and I adorned the next one with fried mushrooms and cherry tomatoes. The world is your oyster. There is no bad time to make these. They are perfect for breakfast, lunch and/or dinner.

There is a danger that this blog could become all about waffles. The waffley blog. Some of you may think it is that already!

Now, I am not a fan of Valentine’s day. As with New Year’s Eve, I don’t understand the need to make people feel as if you have to do something amazing on either of these days. Personally, an unexpected bunch of flowers on any other day of the year is preferable to ones received on Valentine’s day. What’s  wrong with expressing your love for someone on 25th March, or 10th September, or 8th November?

Also, Valentine’s Day set menus? Nightmare for a coeliac.

However, if you are not as much of an Ebenezer Scrooge as me and you are going to make an effort on Friday, why not make these for your beloved one? They will love you forever.

I would love you forever if you made them for me.

And look, they are even heart-shaped. Although that is a complete coincidence because that is the shape my waffle maker . . . makes.

NOTES: –

• You can substitute cow’s milk for the almond milk. However your waffles won’t be as fluffy. I don’t understand it either. Almond milk makes them puff up more. Go figure. Also, cow’s milk will make them brown quicker and the colour will be deeper and may look, err, burnt. The choice is yours.
• The original draft of this post was a ranty rant about how I detest Valentine’s day, however Fromage Hommage made me see the light with her February Cheese, Please! Challenge and I turned my hate into love. Plus, I could win cheese! Cheese, Gromit! Heart shaped cheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeese!
• These waffles were inspired by – surprise, surprise – these ones here.
• The mixture makes 2 and a half waffles, in my waffle maker. Try not to over-fill it otherwise you will have a squidgy-goo-oozing-out-the-sides situation going on. Although that does mean that you get crispy bits of cheesy goodness.
• My waffle maker has only one heat setting – high. Waffles take about 5 minutes to cook. Your waffle maker may be different.
• If you don’t want to steam a sweet potato and puree it, then you can use unsweetened apple sauce instead.
• If you don’t have a waffle maker then you could cook them in a frying pan, like pancakes. I haven’t done this myself, so I can’t guarantee the results, but essentially this is a batter, so . . . ?

Spinach, Cheddar and Sweet Potato Waffles

Print recipe here

Makes 2

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup buckwheat flour
• 1/4 cup sweet rice flour (aka glutinous rice flour)
• 3 tbsp ground almonds
• 1 tsp dried parsley (or fresh if you prefer)
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt and pepper
• 1 tsp onion granules (or 1 tbsp fresh chopped chives)
• 1/3 cup grated cheddar cheese
• 3/4 cup spinach, finely chopped
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup + 1 tbsp unsweetened almond milk (or cow’s milk if preferred)
• 1/4 cup sweet potato puree (or unsweetened apple sauce)
• 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil

Method:

1. Put your waffle maker on to heat up.
2. In a large bowl mix together the buckwheat flour, sweet rice flour, ground almonds, dried parsley, baking powder, salt, pepper, onion granules, cheese and spinach.
3. In a separate bowl mix together the egg, almond milk, sweet potato puree and olive oil.
4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir until incorporated. Try not to over mix, however be aware that pouches of flour can hide in amongst the chopped spinach.
5. Let the mixture sit for 2-3 minutes.
6. Pour half the mixture into the waffle maker and cook until lovely and golden brown.
7. Remove from the waffle maker and either place on a wire rack or on a tray in a low temperature oven to keep warm while you make the other waffle and fry your egg.