You Have to Make Falafel Waffle Mix
Until recently, I had never watched an entire season of the Real Housewives franchise. I tried to get into Beverly Hills, but it didn’t work out. For some reason (longing and boredom) I decided to try Salt Lake City and now I’m on the verge of obsessing over a bunch of rich women who live in Utah.
Complicated feelings about organized religion aside, I don’t have much in common with these women, so imagine my surprise when I heard “good Mormon turned bad” Heather Gay ordered falafel waffles, something that was on my to-do list. months. (One of my bad habits is to propose an article idea, get it approved, and then just… do nothing with it.)
Anyway. Seeing girls order falafel waffles, which I decided to call “fawafel,” made me feel like I had to finally make them, and they’re delicious.
If you have a recipe for homemade falafel you can use that, but there’s something nice about making the mixture all you have to do is add water. I’m sure each mix behaves a little differently between bowls, but Trader Joe’s mix turns into a savory wafer that’s tender on the inside and slightly crunchy on the outside in less than two minutes . (Each waffle also contains 12 grams of protein, which is great if your New Year’s resolution includes puffing .)
Instructions will vary slightly from brand to brand, but you’ll need to add enough water so that the dough can be scooped up yet still soft. (For Trader Joe’s blend, this is 1 cup of the blend and 3/4 cup of water, covered and aged for half an hour.)
Falafel batter is stickier than many other waffles, so you can grease the waffle iron with a little oil before making the waffles. (Just avoid sprays containing lecithin if your waffle iron has a non-stick coating; it can build up on the coating over time, making your previously non-stick waffle iron very sticky.)
Preheat the waffle iron to medium heat and grease both plates with oil. When hot, place 1/2 cup batter in the center of the waffle iron and press down firmly. Cook 1 1/2 to 2 minutes until the fawaflale comes off the grill easily. (You can use a chopstick to coax him into using a spatula.)
Serve with a protein breakfast egg or regular falafel. (When I made tzatziki, I didn’t have tzatziki, so I used sour cream. It worked well, but tzatziki would have been better.)