Pecorino Romano Waffles with Sauteed Ramps, Mushrooms and Poached Eggs

Yesterday morning I was thinking about how long it had been since I had made belgian waffles and I was getting pretty hungry for them!  There is nothing like a hot, fluffy on the inside, crispy on the outside large belgian waffle to make your day more delicious...I used to always make them with strawberries when I was younger and have plenty of butter to melt over the hot waffle!  Although most people usually have them for breakfast or brunch, I often times end up making them for dinner when I am the most hungry.  Afterall, nothing wrong with having breakfast for dinner, or "Brinner" as my friend Matt likes to call it...I love that word!  So last night I decided that brinner was in order, and belgian waffles were it! However I did not feel like the usual sweet waffles, as I was a bit sweeted out from eating a large amount of chocolate cake the day before...so savory seemed like the perfect option! 

I had seen a recent episode of Martha Stewart, where she made savory cheese waffles topped with sauteed veggies and a poached egg.  I loved the concept, so I went with my own version of it!  I had some pecorino romano that I thought would be perfect in the waffles, since it has such a delicious nutty salty flavor, and I had some ramps and local crimini mushrooms that I could sautee and top the waffle with!  I am so excited to finally be able to use ramps again, since they are available in stores for the season, so I use them quite a bit!  Lastly I topped the waffle and veggies off with a perfectly poached egg, which is my favorite way to cook them!  It was a delicious meal...the crispy cheese enhanced  waffle topped off with the savory flavorful veggies and delicious egg with a nice runny yolk to add to the deliciousness, almost like a flavorful built in sauce!  It all had me thinking I should make stuff like this more often!  My waffle maker doesn't get used nearly enough and I need to change that!  It is quick to make, and the waffles are wonderfully fluffy due to the whipping of the egg whites before adding them to the batter!  You should try it out...here is the recipe! 

Pecorino Romano Waffles with Sauteed Ramps, Mushrooms and Poached Eggs

Serves 4

Waffles:
1 cup goat milk
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 large eggs, divided
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 1/2 cups shredded pecorino romano cheese

Poached eggs:
2 tsp vinegar
1 tsp sea salt
6 cups water
4 organic eggs

Veggies:
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 bunches ramps, ends sliced and leaves kept in tact
about 16 crimini mushrooms, or whatever is locally available
sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste


To make waffles, preheat belgian waffle maker, and preheat oven to 250 degrees.  Whisk together goat milk, olive oil, sea salt, pepper, and egg yolks in a large bowl.  Place egg whites in a medium bowl, and with an electric mixer and clean beaters, whip to stiff peaks and set aside.  Whisk baking soda, baking powder, whole wheat pastry flour, and cornstarch into the milk mixture.  Add about 1/4 of the egg whites and whisk to lighten, then fold in remaining egg whites and pecorino romano until just blended.  When waffle maker is heated, Drop batter by the 3/4 cup onto the iron and cook according to package directions.  When waffle has finished, remove to the oven to stay warm while you prepare the other 3 waffles and toppings.  Repeat with remaining waffle batter. 
To poach eggs, heat water to a simmer in a medium saucepan with the vinegar and salt. Crack an egg into a ramakin. Stir water with a spoon to swirl, and carefully pour egg into it. Let cook for 3-4 minutes or preferred doneness, and remove with a slotted spoon to a paper towel lined plate. Repeat with other 3 eggs.
To make veggies, heat 1 Tbsp oil in a large non-stick pan, and add mushrooms and bottom part of ramps.  Saute until softened, about 5 minutes, then add tops of ramps, and cook until just wilted.  Add sea salt and pepper to taste. 
To plate, top each waffle with the veggies, then a poached egg, and serve!

Vanilla Coconut Almond Waffles

Sometimes you just need to have breakfast for dinner, and sometimes nothing else will do but waffles.  Yesterday was such a day for me.  I was craving some Belgian waffles hard core after my Mom was talking about them and saying I hadn't made any in a while...which was true.  I used to make them on Sundays for brunch every so often and have a few people over to enjoy them, but I believe it has been over a year since I have done that.  This time though, I was going to make them for dinner, and I wanted them to be substantial, so I decided to create a new vegan recipe with added protein.  Of course I wanted them to be every bit as delicious as the butter filled rich version I used to make, but not be able to tell.  I decided that coconut and almonds would be the perfect addition to my waffles to give them a wonderful fragrance and aroma instead of the usual vanilla.  I wasn't sure how they would turn out, because I added soy protein powder to them, but I didn't even notice it in the finished product!  My kitchen smelled like wonderful brunch as they were cooking, and my mouth was watering in anticipation of the delicious waffles I was about to dive into!  They were crunchy on the outside, fluffy in the middle, as Belgian waffles should be, with the added toasty flavors of coconut and almonds...perfection with some persimmons and maple syrup!  If you feel that you need to make breakfast for dinner, you should!  Try this recipe out if you like!

Vegan Vanilla Coconut Almond Waffles

Makes 4 Belgian waffles

Waffles:

1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1/4 cup organic soy protein powder
1/2 cup toasted finely shredded coconut
1/2 cup chopped toasted sliced almonds
1 Tbsp baking powder
3/4 tsp sea salt
1 cup organic full fat coconut milk
3/4 cup organic soy milk
3 Tbsp agave nectar
1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
1 tsp pure almond extract
3 Tbsp Earth Balance butter, melted

To serve:

1/2 cup toasted large flake coconut
1/2 cup toasted sliced almonds

2 persimmons, sliced (or fruit of choice)

1/4 cup crasins

maple syrup

Heat oven to 250 degrees, and place a baking sheet in there (to keep waffles warm and crisp while you cook the others).  Preheat waffle iron while you mix together ingredients.  Whisk together whole wheat pastry flour, protein powder, coconut, almonds, baking powder, sea salt in a large bowl.  In a smaller bowl, whisk together coconut milk, agave nectar, vanilla extract, almond extract, and earth balance, then whisk into dry ingredients until well blended.   Scoop about 3/4 cup batter onto the waffle maker and cook according to maker's instructions, then when cooked, remove to oven to stay warm while you make the remaining waffles.  To serve, scatter coconut, almonds, and fruit over waffles, and drizzle a bit of maple syrup over as well...enjoy!