Cornmeal Waffles with Fresh Currant Syrup Topped with Honeyed Mascarpone and Pistachios

A few days ago I entered an Iron Chef-style contest on an internet forum. The theme was "breakfast," and considering that is incredibly broad, I initially had absolutely no idea what I would choose to make. I thought about roasted asparagus with a poached egg and truffled breadcrumbs; I considered bacon pancakes or a breakfast pizza, but then I recalled the gorgeous fresh red and white currants that were sitting on my fridge and I knew exactly what I would make.


The cornmeal in these waffles gives them a really nice bite, and the fresh currant syrup is both refreshingly tart and sweet. The creamy honeyed mascarpone is a delicious alternative to whipped cream, and the pistachios add a satisfying crunch and saltiness that pairs with the currants remarkably well.


I have no idea if I placed (I think I'll know in a few days), but I'm proud of my entry, and I think it was pretty creative!


This post definitely has more pictures that my others simply because for the contest I had to take pictures of the process.

Cornmeal Waffles with Fresh Currant Syrup Topped with Honeyed Mascarpone and Pistachios

recipe adapted from here

ingredients:

• 1 cup white whole wheat flour
• 3/4 cup coarse-grind cornmeal
• 1/4 cup wheat germ
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 3 large eggs
• 2 cups buttermilk, well-shaken
• 6 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• Fresh Currant Syrup (recipe below)
• mascarpone
• honey
• pistachios, toasted and chopped

1. Preheat your waffle iron, and also preheat your oven to 200 degrees.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cornmeal, wheat germ, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter, buttermilk, and eggs. Add in the flour mixture all at once and whisk to combine.
4. Spray your waffle iron with nonstick spray and ladle the batter in. Cook according to your manufacturer's instructions. 
5. Remove the cooked waffles and place on a baking sheet in the oven to keep warm until you're ready to serve.
6. In a small bowl, combine a dollop of mascarpone with some honey and whip together with a spoon.
7. Serve your waffles drizzled in the currant syrup with a dollop of the honeyed mascarpone and a sprinkled of pistachios.

Fresh Currant Syrup

recipe adapted from here

ingredients:

• 1 cup fresh currants (I used a mixture of red and white)
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 tbsp red wine (I used a Merlot)
• 1 whole star anise

1. Combine all of the ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 15-20 minutes, stirring fairly regularly, until the mixture has reduced by about half.
2. Remove from heat and strain through a fine sieve, being sure to press all of the liquid out of the solids. Serve with Cornmeal Waffles!

P.s.- This is the new GORGEOUS Shun knife that my wonderful boyfriend surprised me with for no reason at all that I use at any moment I possibly can because I still can't believe how awesome it is:

Blogging- A whole new world! Plus- Wheatberry Pancakes with Strawberry Syrup

For the past eight months, food blogs have been enticing me daily- filing up my free time and inspiring me to cook and bake more than ever before. I've wrestled with the idea of starting my own blog for a couple of months now, but I wasn't sure I was up for it. Well, I guess I'll find out!

In this blog I hope to keep track of my day-to-day meals in my ongoing quest to eat (mostly) healthy, while trying to balance my insane love of all things buttery, creamy, and delicious!

So, without further ado, I present my breakfast...

Wheatberry Pancakes with Strawberry Syrup

wheatberry pancake recipe adapted from here

These pancakes were quite yummy. The pancake base would be a really good jumping off point for mix-ins! I was thinking the strawberry syrup would have been nice with some toasted pecans added into the pancake batter. The syrup smelled like heaven while it was cooking and the lemon zest really brought out the strawberry flavor. Though, in the end I thought the syrup turned out a bit too sweet for my tastes so I was thankful that the pancakes weren't really sweet at all themselves.

pancake ingredients:

• 3/4 cup whole wheatberries
• 1 cup whole milk
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tbsp dark brown sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Add wheatberries and milk to blender and blend on highest setting for four (4) minutes.
2. Add in the eggs, brown sugar, salt, vanilla, and baking powder and continue blending for one (1) more minute.
3. Rub a stick of butter on a hot griddle (you will know it is perfectly sizzling hot when a drop of water dances across the surface) and carefully use a paper towel to rub the butter around until you barely see any.
4. Using a medium sized cookie scoop, scoop the batter onto the hot griddle (I used two scoop-fuls per pancake). You can flip the pancakes when the bubbles along their tops remain open (You can see in the picture below that the pancake on the right is ready to flip, while the pancake in the middle was just put on. The pancake on the left is almost ready.).
5. Store pancakes in a 200 degree oven until ready to serve!

strawberry syrup ingredients:

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 cup frozen strawberries
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• 1 tbsp butter

1. Place the sugar and water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat and simmer for around three (3) minutes until the mixture becomes syrupy (you're really just making a simple syrup here- 2 parts sugar to one part liquid).
2. Add the strawberries, lemon zest and butter and bring to a simmer. Simmer for around six (6) minutes stirring occasionally.
3. With a fork, mash up the berries into the syrup until desired consistency (you could also pour the mixture into a blender if you wanted it really smooth).
4. Serve the syrup over the pancakes.

Makes enough for two very hungry individuals (about 10 little pancakes)!

I put four of the pancakes on a plate for myself but only ended up eating three and I'm stuffed! I paired my pancakes with a nice big glass of nonfat milk. The milk helped distract from a bit of the sweetness. I think I wouldn't have noticed the overt sweet flavor of the strawberry syrup as much if I had used less. I will definitely make the pancake batter again and I can't wait to try different combinations of flavors. Some that had crossed my mind are:

• walnut and banana
• dark chocolate and coconut flakes
• dried cherries and pine nuts
• blueberry and lime zest

The options are seriously endless!