This Recipe is part of the Merry Morning Christmas Brunch Menu
This is a special recipe for a special occasion. In place of a traditional hollandaise, I make a fresh, creamy tomato sauce, and in place of English muffins, savory waffles whose crevices embrace every bit of tasty goodness.
Scallion Waffles
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tbsp cornmeal
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 eggs
2 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 cup finely chopped scallions (green onions)
Oil, for greasing waffle iron
Directions
1. Stir the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt, and baking soda to combine. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, and melted butter. Add this buttermilk mixture to the flour mixture and stir just until blended. Stir in the scallions.
2. Preheat a waffle iron and lightly grease it. Make the waffles according to the manufacturer’s instructions and keep warm in a 250°f (120°c) oven until ready to serve.
Serves 4 (makes 8 to 10 waffles)
Tomato “Cream”
1 pint/2 cups ripe cherry or grape tomatoes
1/2 cup canola or grapeseed oil
salt & pepper
Directions
1. Wash the tomatoes then place them in a jar and purée finely with an immersion blender. While blending, gradually pour in the oil. The mixture will emulsify and look like a tomato mayonnaise. Strain the sauce through a sieve, season to taste, and chill until ready to serve.
2. For a twist, this recipe can be made using red, orange, and yellow tomatoes. Blend each tomato color separately with oil then strain.
Makes 2 cups
Poached Eggs with Peameal
8 slices peameal bacon, cooked
1 tbsp white vinegar
8 large eggs
Directions
1. Keep the peameal warm while you prepare the eggs.
2. Fill a pot with 16 cups (4 L) water, add the vinegar, and bring to just below a simmer. Break an egg into a cup. Stir the water to create a “whirlpool” in its center. Drop the egg just to the side of the center (the water should still be moving) and cook it until set on the outside but the yolk is still visibly soft (for “easy”), about 4 minutes. You can cook the eggs 2 or 3 at a time. Remove them from the water with a slotted spoon.
3. To assemble this dish, place 2 waffles on a plate and arrange a slice of peameal bacon on each. Top with poached eggs and spoon tomato cream over. Serve immediately.
Serves 4
Fresh Take
• The tomato “cream” is a trick I picked up from Michael. The acidity of the tomatoes emulsifies, or binds, with the oil, creating a sauce with the consistency of a thin mayonnaise and a full fresh tomato taste. I find cherry or grape tomatoes work much better than regular tomatoes. Try this on your next blt in place of mayo!
• Waffles are no more difficult to make than pancakes, so if you have a waffle iron, pull it out of the cupboard and put it to use!
• Poaching eggs, on the other hand, is a real art. Twirling the water to create a whirlpool and adding vinegar both help to keep the egg white from going all over the place. This creates the oval shape that, once cooked, is easy to lift out of the water with a slotted spoon.
Excerpted from Fresh by Anna Olson. Copyright © 2009 by Anna Olson. Excerpted by permission of Whitecap Books. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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