We’ve really been experimenting with breakfast and brunch foods lately – last week we featured some cheese and herb muffins, and earlier this summer we cooked up a batch of chocolate waffles.  Today we’re showcasing more waffles, but in a savory variety.  Scallions and sesame seeds are a pretty common combination, but you usually see them paired together in rice or noodles or some other kind of dinner dish.  But we found this recipe in the New York Times and thought it sounded intriguing – especially since there’s a secret ingredient in here – so we put our own spin on these waffles and found that they made for a good Sunday brunch.  If this all sounds to you like something tasty, follow along to see how you can have these cool waffles for yourself.

You’ll need:

• Flour
• Sugar
• Black sesame seeds
• Baking powder
• Baking soda
• Parmesan cheese
• Scallions
• 3 eggs
• Vegetable oil
• Butter
• Hot sauce

To make the waffle batter, stir together 1 3/4 cups of flour, a tablespoon of sugar, a tablespoon of black sesame seeds, 1 1/4 teaspoons of baking powder, 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda, and some salt and pepper.  Grate up a cup of Parmesan cheese and slice about 3/4 cup of scallions and add those in as well.  Then mix in 1 1/4 cups of buttermilk, a tablespoon of vegetable oil, and the yolks from 2 of your eggs –  put the whites from those 2 eggs into a separate bowl.  Whisk the whites vigorously for 2 minutes and gently stir those in, then melt 1/4 cup (half a stick) of butter and mix that in, and now you have your batter.

Heat your waffle maker (we like the 4 setting), brush it with extra butter, and cook up your waffles, measuring out around 2/3 cup of batter for each one.

When all the waffles are done, you can top them with extra sliced scallions, a fried egg, and a dash of hot sauce.

This was definitely a new and interesting take on waffles:  we might not have ever thought to put sesame seeds, scallions, and Parmesan cheese into a waffle, but the combination of these items is fantastic!  Scallions and sesame seeds often get paired up, and inside a waffle they meld together well and cook so they’re not too crunchy.  The Parmesan was the secret ingredient, and it adds another layer of savory and slightly salty flavor to the sesame and scallions.  And as you can see, adding the egg and hot sauce on top makes for a colorful waffle with some extra breakfast tastes.  You can put other things on your waffle – maybe not syrup, but Miriam just brushed hers with butter and it was delicious.  And you can get creative with toppings here, since this is such a unique waffle to try out, but whatever you do this is a fun way to get some cool flavors into your breakfast or brunch!