Hazelnut Waffles with Berry Coulis
Berry coulis
6 cups berries, divided (a blend of fresh strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and blackberries or a frozen bagged mix)
½ cup sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Waffles
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
¼ cup honey
3 cups flour
½ cup whole-wheat flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon baking soda
3 large eggs
1½ cups milk
1 cup reduced fat sour cream
1 cup chopped roasted hazelnuts
For the berry coulis: Place half the berries in a medium saucepan. Add sugar and lemon juice and macerate for 30 minutes or until the juices are released. Bring the berry mixture to a simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium and simmer uncovered until berries are soft, about 10 minutes.
Strain mixture through a fine mesh strainer into a medium bowl, pressing on solids to release as much juice as possible. Discard the solids in the strainer. Return purée to the saucepan. Add remaining berries to the saucepan and warm over medium heat, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Keep warm on very low heat while you make waffles.
For the waffles: Melt the butter with honey in a small saucepan over low heat.
In a large bowl, whisk together flours, baking powder, salt and baking soda.
In a smaller bowl, whisk together eggs, milk and sour cream. Slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until well blended. Add the honey-butter mixture and hazelnuts and combine.
Cook in a preheated waffle iron according to manufacturer’s directions.
Serve waffles warm, sprinkled with confectioners’ sugar and warm berry coulis (or butter and maple syrup).
Serves six to eight.
Cook’s note: This makes about 10 cups of batter. With my Belgian waffle iron, which has two 5-inch squares, I made six batches for a total of 12 waffles.
The coulis recipe yields about 3 cups, so you may want to double it. If you don’t have whole-wheat flour on hand, increase the amount of all-purpose flour. The waffles are served with a warm berry coulis (or sauce), but they’re also fabulous with maple syrup and melted butter.
Adapted from Balthazar restaurant