I want waffles… all the time. In my dreams, I replace all of the bread in my life with warm waffles. Waffles with peanut butter and jelly. Waffles with ham and cheese. Waffles with ice cream and hot fudge.
Perhaps this is just a phase… equal to my cargo pants and cropped jean jacket phase.
Actually wait… I still maintain that I looked great in those cargo pants. I wish someone would have told me not to actually carry cargo in my pockets though. No one needs the bulk of a lady wallet and lipstick added to their thighs. Fashion pockets, Joy. Fashion pockets.
So… waffles! Consider them delicious, freshly-made bread… and act accordingly. Prosciutto, spinach, and tart apples slices are a wonderful place to start: open-face sandwich style.
Let’s start with polenta.
It’s as good a place as any to start.
Polenta is coarsely ground cornmeal. You might call them grits… same thing!
Polenta gets cooked up. Butter is whisked in.
What could go wrong here? Exactly nothing.
Whisking cold butter into warm polenta is 100% satisfying.
Creamy and smooth.
Next, cold milk is added to the buttered polenta.
… and this is totally going to turn into waffles. I promise!
Now… about the dry ingredients.
These are gluten-free waffles, so I used an all-purpose gluten-free flour mix.
My absolutely favorite gluten-free flour mix is Cup4Cup.
Just about everything is made better with cheese and fresh herbs.
In this case, we’re talking Gruyere and coarsely chopped parsley.
You might also consider cheddar cheese and chives… that would be a great move!
Creamy polenta mixed with gluten-free flour and spices.
After about a minute of combining the wet and dry ingredients, the mixture thickens substantially.
Fold in the cheese and herbs, and you’ll have a batter so thick it dollops instead of pours.
This will create the most wonderful soft, but crisp waffles.
Toppings!
Where are you going with your savory waffles?
For these lunch waffles I chose mustard, thin apple slices, and prosciutto.
I don’t aim to coat my entire waffle pan with batter. I have a large square waffle iron and dollop about 1/4 cup of batter into each waffle section. Pressed down… the waffles bake up into round-ish individual waffles.
These waffle are the perfect open-face sandwich vehicle. The outside is golden and crisp. The inside of the waffle is just melting with creamy polenta and cheese goodness. It’s the best of both worlds. Crisp and Cream.
This recipe comes from Lena Kwak of The French Laundry. We spent an afternoon cooking together in the French Laundry test kitchen. She made a variation of these waffles… I stumbled through making a Gluten-free Quiche. There’s an awesome video aallll about it! Lena developed the gluten-free flour Cup4Cup that I used in these waffles. It’s my absolute favorite and now the flour is a staple in my kitchen pantry.
If you’re not gluten-free, you should try these sexy Cornmeal Waffles… also completely delicious.
You don’t have a waffle iron? I understand. Will this batter work to fry up pancakes? Well… the batter is very thick and studded with lots of cheese. While it is an ultra lovely waffle batter, I don’t find this to be the ideal pancake situation. I’ll be in the kitchen making gluten-free pancakes just for you… soon!
Gluten-free Waffles with Cornmeal and Gruyere
makes about 12 small waffles
recipe adapted from Lena Kwak, The French Laundry
1 cup water
1/2 cup dried polenta or grits
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into large cubes
1 cup milk
1 cup Cup4Cup all-purpose gluten-free flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
pinch of cayenne pepper
1 large egg
3/4 cup grated gruyere cheese
3 tablespoons chopped parsley or chives
Bring water to a boil in a small saucepan. Add polenta and cook over medium heat for 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat and add butter cubes. Stir until butter is melted. Add cold milk and set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, pepper, baking powder, garlic powder, and cayenne.
Pour the cooled polenta mixture over the dry ingredients. Add egg and whisk until the mixture is thoroughly incorporated. Add the cheese and herbs. Fold to combine. Waffle batter will be thick. That’s perfect.
Cook waffles according to waffle machine instructions. I dolloped about 1/4 cup of batter into each section of my large waffle iron. Serve warm with fried egg and prosciutto.
Waffles can also be wrapped individually, frozen, thawed slightly, and reheated in a toaster for quick lunch or breakfast situations.
Ann P.
Lunch waffles are the new thing, and they are SO GOOD! apples and prosciutto are the perfect combo, joy. you are GENIUS!
rachel h.
thank you, friend, for posting a gluten free recipe that you know full well i am going to shove my face all up in.
was that even an english language sentence?
anyway, thanks. this looks AMAZING!
Chris
Mmmmm. I had never heard of savory waffles until I was watching one of the food channels one day and someone was positively drooling over chicken and waffles. Within a couple of weeks, I happened to see several more cooking shows (including a Rachel Ray Show episode) extolling the virtues of Chicken & Waffles plus other savory waffle creations. I had to try it! I’m the only one in my family who really likes it – I mean, my family will eat it without complaint, but they won’t beg me to make it or anything like that. So I saw this on my bloglovin update and I was going to pass it by (sorry), but I just couldn’t. I mean, waffles, proscuitto, apples – so intriguing. I may just make them up and hoard them to myself on my weekday days off while everyone else is at work and school – they won’t know what they’re missing anyway… right?
Jocelyn
Tried to make these but they didn’t work in the waffle iron, made pancakes instead. They taste great and are an excellent alternative to gluten free bread. May try them again. Not sure what went wrong.
Heidi - Apples Under My Bed
Joy…I need a waffle iron in my life. My life is far too empty, from a waffle perspective. Love the sound of the crispness….mmmmm. Beautiful.
Heidi xo
Kate @ eatrecyclerepeat
Waffles are a dream…I want to eat open-faced waffle sandwiches for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert. I also love the size of these! They would make great appetizers. And apples & prosciutto? Knock me over with a feather. Now I’m soooo hungry!
kristin eldridge photography
This waffle situation does look pretty darn good! I haven’t tried a savory waffle yet, but I think this might just be the one to turn me to the dark side. :)
Taylor
Can you use a variation of this recipe to make regular or sweet waffles? I had to go gluten green and miss waffles!!!
Courtney @ Bake.Eat.Repeat.
Ohmagoodness. I am loving all this “waffle as vehicle for deliciousness.” I went to the best pizza place of my life the other week and you know what made it even better? Dessert was a mini waffle with berries, whipped cream, and nutella. Pizza and waffles. You just don’t get a Friday night much better than that.
Spillers of Chard
Being a huge fan of Prosciutto and Waffles this is a great recipe that i can’t wait to try. Love your blog and your recipes really well written and the pictures are a great aid also.
Jillian@TheHumbleGourmet
Yum, yum, yum! Can’t wait to try these!
I like to make a rosemary waffle with shredded chicken, sauteed mushrooms and pesto on top. Super delicious.
Lindsay @ The Live-In Kitchen
I’ve never tried savory waffles, but this totally makes me want to!
Laura
Oh Joy,
Look what you have done, now I have gone and bought a waffle iron, just to make these and every other type of waffle under the sun (the banana and walnut ones will be next).
My boyfriend will thank you, but my diet will not :)