Savoury Sweet Potato Waffles

1. I adore waffles, and we make all kinds in our waffle maker, from Parmesan & Paprika Potato Waffles and Marmite Waffles to Double Chocolate Brownie-Style Waffles and French Toast Waffles. So we were absolutely on board to try the 14 waffle recipes within Regula Ysewijn’s Dark Rye & Honey Cake including these fabulous Savoury Sweet Potato Waffles.

Read more about the book in our indepth review of Dark Rye & Honey Cake by Regula Ysewijn.

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Savoury Sweet Potato Waffles

These waffles are the best savoury waffles you will ever make – in my humble opinion, anyway. The spices provide a subtle flavour in the background: they aren’t meant to be pronounced, just to support.I serve them with our traditional platte kaas (quark or fromage blanc), which is also used in the cheesecakes of Wallonia or smeared onto bread, topped with radishes and served with Gueuze beer.

Makes10 medium waffles (2 per person, for lunch or breakfast)

Author Regula Ysewijn

Ingredients

• 400 g (14 oz) sweet potato
• 50 g (1¾ oz) unsalted butter
• 100 g 3½oz cheese, such as semi-mature gouda, cheddar or red Leicester
• 100 g 3½ oz strong (bread) flour
• 100 g 3½ oz plain flour
• ¼ teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt
• ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
• ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon dried bruschetta herbs or oregano
• 2 eggs,separated
• 50 ml (1¾ fl oz) full-fat milk

To serve

• flat-leaf parsley
• platte kaas (fromage blanc, quark) or sour cream or skyr
• cracked black pepper chervil sprigs

Notes

Makes 10 medium waffles (2 per person, for lunch or breakfast)

Instructions

• Use a plain waffle iron (see below for more information).
• There are two ways to go about cooking the sweet potato: if you are feeling organised you can put the whole unpeeled potatoes into the oven along with your evening meal and bake them until soft (this is the way that will yield the most flavoursome result and it’s so easy you will definitely remember to pop in a sweet potato or two next time). The oven temperature isn’t important as long as you don’t go over 200°C (400°F) – just squeeze the potato after 30 minutes to see if it is soft; the skin will be wrinkly if it’s ready. You can keep the cooked potato in the fridge for up to 3 days after cooking.
• The second way is to cook the sweet potato on the day you’re making the waffles. If you can find small ones, cook them whole as it will improve the flavour, but if they’re large cut them into cubes and keep an eye on them so they don’t fall apart. Depending on the size of the potatoes, cooking them will take about 20 minutes.
• Scoop the flesh out of the potato peel or toss the cubes into a food processor and blend to a purée, then let it cool.
• Meanwhile, melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat so it doesn’t bubble, then let it cool. Grate the cheese.
• Put both the flours, baking powder, salt, spices and herbs into a large bowl and mix well.
• In a separate bowl, whisk the sweet potato purée and the melted butter together until well incorporated. Add the egg yolks and milk, then add this mixture to the flour mixture. Stir until combined, then whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks and fold them into the batter with the grated cheese.
• Heat a plain waffle iron. Place a dollop of batter on the iron and bake each waffle for 3 minutes or until golden.
• Chop some parsley and add it to the cheese or sour cream. Add the pepper, as much as you like, and stir to combine.
• Serve the waffles with the cheese mixture, scattered with the dainty leaves of chervil, which will give a delicate flavour. Other delicate salad leaves will work too.
• Freeze leftovers or keep in an airtight container. The next day, or after thawing, simply heat up in a hot waffle iron or a toaster.

Regula’s Guide to Waffle Irons

While it would be great to use antique waffle irons, not everyone is an avid collector like me who owns these curiosities, and not everyone has the muscle to handle them. Here is a guide if you are excited to use the right waffle plate for the correct waffle. In Belgium having a waffle iron with more than one waffle plate is very common because, let’s be honest, this is waffle country. Waffles are part of our identity.

The Brussels (or Flemish) waffle is made in a very deep waffle iron plate today, which can only really be used for this waffle. It can be made in a more shallow plate and be just as delicious, and that shallow plate then also works for other waffles, which means you can try out more recipes, so it is a good all-rounder.

It goes without saying that super-thin biscuit-like waffles such as lukken and oublies cannot be made in a deep iron. You can use an ice-cream cone iron for these, or invest in one of the two irons listed here that allow you to swap the plates. They cost a little more (though not as much as professional ones), but are also much more versatile and you only need one machine.

I want to mention that none of the waffle iron brands have sponsored or contributed to the making of this book. I just want you to know what the best gear for home baking is, in my experience, so that your waffle iron will give you (and maybe your children) a lifetime of joy . . . and waffles.

FriFri waffle irons with interchangeable waffle plates are the 21st-century version of the Nova Electro waffle irons our parents and grandparents used in Belgium. The following plates have been used with the waffle iron FriFri WA102A – BMC2000.

Waffle plate 4×6 FriFri M001: Deep iron, for thick Vlaamse, Brusselse and Liukse waffles.

Waffle plate 4×7 FriFri M002 and 6×10 FriFri M003: Plain iron, creates a waffle with 1.5 cm (1/2 inch) thickness, for 16th and 17th-century waffles, savoury waffles, Regula’s waffles; will also work for thinner Liukse, Vlaamse and Brusselse waffles.

Waffle plate thin FriFri M004: Shallow iron for lukken, Nieuwjaarsrolletjes; will also work for oublie, gaufre de Tournai, lacquemant.

Waffle plate FriFri M007 (thinner than M004): Shallow iron for oublie, lacquemant.

Lagrange waffle irons with interchangeable waffle plates are a French brand that has been made since the 1950s. Today the iron still has quite a retro look. The following plates have been used with the Lagrange Waffle iron 039425.

Waffle plate 5×8 030122: Plain iron, for 16th and 17th-century waffles, savoury waffles, Regula’s waffles; will also work for thinner Liukse, Vlaamse and Brusselse waffles.

Gaufrettes iron 030222: Shallow iron for gaufre de Tournai (with a fantasy imprint as seen on page 57), lukken and lacquemant.

And…

For historical looking oublies: Nordicware Krumkaka iron (stovetop, not electric).

For wide-imprint lacquemant waffles, have a look for an inexpensive ice-cream cone iron; this will also work for the gaufre de Tournai, lukken and lacquemant.

Want more waffle recipes, click here!

Kavey Eats was provided with a review copy of Dark Rye & Honey Cake from publisher Murdoch Books. This recipe and its photo are reproduced with permission from the publisher.