Traditional waffle irons seem to have lost their appeal over the years, even though (with a little bit of imagination) they can be used for more than just the common or garden waffle. For example, how about falafel with homemade hummus? We used to fry falafel in olive oil until we discovered they could be baked too.

If you don’t yet own a waffle iron, you can still have the option to fry or bake this recipe until the balls are golden brown.

A FEW NOTES BEFORE WE START

• Fresh herbs like parsley, mint or cilantro accompany this dish perfectly, but dried herbs work too.
• Chickpea flour makes the batter thicker, but feel free to substitute with any other type of flour in your cupboard.
• These waffles freeze well, so don’t be afraid to make a big batch of them.

Although these falafel waffles are delicious, they can become dry so the five minutes it takes to stir together the ingredients for the following amazing oil-free vegan yogurt sauce, is well spent.

FOR THE FALAFEL

• 2/3 cup dried chickpeas, soaked overnight (120 g)
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 red onion
• 1 handful of fresh cilantro
• 1 cup fresh spinach (30 g)
• 2 tsp cumin powder
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• Black pepper to taste
• 1 cup chickpea flour (90 g)

FOR THE YOGURT SAUCE

• 1 cup vegan yogurt (250 g)
• 2 tbsp tahini
• 1 tbsp lime juice
• 1 tbsp dried mint (or a handful of fresh mint)
• 1 tsp garlic powder (or a clove of fresh garlic)
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• Black pepper to taste

Soak the chickpeas in water overnight.

Add chickpeas to a food processor or blender, and blend for a few seconds (or, if a blender is not available, chop them up). Add the rest of the ingredients (except the flour) and mix to combine. Don’t overblend, you want a chunky texture.

Add the flour and mix with the rest of the ingredients in a bowl, cover and let stand in the fridge for at least one hour.

Preheat the waffle maker, generously coat with non-stick spray or some extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil. Form balls with your hands and place them in the waffle iron. Bake according to manufacturer’s instructions; my falafel waffles were ready in just under five minutes. Serve with some hummus, yogurt sauce, and maybe a small salad.

Bon appétit!

The post Falafel waffles with hummus and yogurt – ready in just five minutes and low in fat appeared first on overland-europe.

First impression? Heavy. More accurately, it weighs 2.8 kg. But that shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone who has ever used a Dutch oven—cast iron is heavy. The upside: once it is up to temperature, it takes a while to cool down again, which is ideal if you want a steady temperature for baking or cooking.

With the fire kindled and the dough mixed, it’s time to give it a whirl. The first lesson was to ignore everything I thought I knew about how long it would take for the waffles cook. This waffle iron takes its job seriously and really keeps the heat! Opening the iron to see my first pair of waffles revealed…absolutely nothing. I thought they had evaporated. Set against the black iron, I could hardly distinguish them in the light of my head lamp. Prying the charred remains out of the form caused them to explode into a cloud of dark dust. But, with a little more practice I got the knack of it, and I was soon producing aromatic, crispy waffles. (TIP NO. 1 Make use of the residual heat! TIP NO. 2 Setting the iron down on a wooden board will result in a mirrored Petromax logo branded into its surface…)

Cleaning the iron afterwards was easy. Taking the two halves apart simplifies things enormously.

In short, a waffle iron you can use on a camp fire is a nice luxury to have when travelling, or for a get together around the barbecue at home. There are two lengths of handle—I chose the longer version at just over 70 cm, but its shorter sibling (approx. 49 cm) might be better if space is limited in your vehicle. They both cost the same.

€40 | petromax.de

The post Petromax Waffle Iron: another hot iron in the fire appeared first on overland-europe.