Asparagus-Parmesan-Quinoa Waffle

It was the Sweet Potato Gruyère waffle that first caught my eye, and it was love at first bite. It was the first time I'd heard of a savory waffle and I haven't looked back since: Parsnip, Pumpkin, and now Aspragus and Quinoa. Why is the Birchwood Cafe the only place that seems to know that savory waffles are the answer to all your problems? Well, all your waffle-related problems at least...

Hopefully the deliciousness of the savory waffle will spread, but until then, you'll just have to try it at home. A few weeks ago I had breakfast at the Birchwood Cafe: An Asparagus, Paremsan, & Quinoa Waffle served with Lavender-Rhubarb Butter and Kiwi-Kumquat Salsa, topped with bacon lardons and an egg with a perfectly runny yolk. While I was eating it on their patio on a beautiful May morning, I decided that I needed to recreate it down to every last detail and, if I may say so myself, I did a darn good job. The photo above is my savory waffle and the one below is what I had at Birchwood:



Yes, there are a lot of steps, but the two garnishes take about 5 minutes to make each, can definitely be made ahead of time, and are well worth the effort.



Lavender-Rhubarb Butter

1 stick of butter
1 tbsp edible lavender flowers
1 tbsp rhubarb stalk, finely chopped

Put all ingredients in a food processor and mix until well combined. Wrap in parchment paper and store in the fridge for up to 10 days. Other than on the waffle, it's great on your favorite slice of bread and smells absolutely amazing.



Kiwi-Kumquat Salsa

1 kiwi, chopped
5-6 kumquats, chopped (including the peels)
1/4 of a red onion, chopped

Simply combine all the ingredients in one bowl. Enough to garnish about 3 waffles. Feel free to adjust the quantities to your liking.



Asparagus-Parmesan-Quinoa Waffle

1 bowl of your favorite waffle batter (I used Mark Bittman's but in the future I plan to try either one of the recipes that Molly of Orangette just posted here)
Quinoa flour (optional, substitute up to 25% of the flour in your waffle recipe)

6-8 asparagus stalks, chopped into small pieces with the tops left in tact
1/2 cup cooked quinoa
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

To serve (all optional):
1 egg (per waffle)
1 strip of bacon (per waffle)
Lavender-Rhubarb Butter
Kiwi-Kumquat Salsa
Maple Syrup
Powdered sugar

Preheat your waffle iron.

Saute the asparagus in olive oil over medium heat until tender. Mix into the waffle batter along with the cooked quinoa and cheese. Pour into waffle iron and cook as you normally would. Keep waffles warm in a 200 degree oven until ready to serve.

Meanwhile, cook the bacon and eggs. Once the waffles are done, top each with one egg, chopped bacon, a small scoop of lavender-rhubarb butter, kiwi-kumquat salsa, and a dusting of powdered sugar (which I forgot, even though I had some). Skip the bacon and it's vegetarian. Enjoy.



PS- Join the waffle revolution at WAFFLEBLAWG

Thai-Style Corn Pancakes

Every time I pick up my copy of How to Eat Everything Vegetarian by Mark Bittman, I think "I should cook from this more often." When we moved into our new house a few weeks ago, I randomly grabbed it from the apartment to bring over, and for awhile it was the only cookbook here. I have about a million recipes marked with little post-it notes and this was one of them. I randomly opened the book to this page last week and decided to make them as soon as possible, which happened to be today for lunch.

They were a fantastic light lunch and would be great paired with a fresh, green salad. The Thai influence from the soy sauce and chilies was fairly subtle and I found serving them with a drizzle of soy sauce on top brought the flavors out. Bittman also recommends serving them with a fresh tomato or tomatillo salsa, cilantro pesto, or even maple syrup (although I'm not sure if that is a combination that I would like). They came together quickly and I definitely plan on making them again.



Thai-Style Corn Pancakes
Adapted from Mark Bittman's "How to Cook Everything Vegetarian"

2 eggs, separated,
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup chopped scallions (I didn't have any on hand so I used yellow onion)
1 tsp minced fresh chile, cayenne, or hot red pepper flakes to taste (I used 1 jalapeño)
2 cups corn, fresh from the cob or thawed frozen
1 tbsp soy sauce
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3-4 tbsp butter or oil (I used peanut oil)



In a large bowl, combine the egg yolks, salt, black pepper (about 1/2 tsp), scallions, chile, corn, soy sauce, and flour.

In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff, then fold into the corn mixture.



Heat the butter or oil on a large skillet over medium-high heat. Spoon dollops of the batter on the skillet and cook until nicely browned on one side. (I cooked 3 at a time, the first batch took 4 minutes to brown and the rest were done much quicker). Flip and brown the other side. Serve immediately.

Makes 10-12 small pancakes.