Lisa's Culinary Atrocities

     What to waffle what to waffle…I know!  My favorite new meatballs: Quorn Meatless Meatballs.  It was the first waffling in my cute little apartment and it was dandy, I tell you, dandy!

“Great with pasta, Swedish meatball-style dishes, meatless meatball grinders and more! Delicious Quorn Meatballs are so flavorful and succulent that your meat-eating friends and family will not be able to tell the difference!”

This is true—I love these meatballs.  As a matter of fact, they are the ones that Robert and I served at our Tapas and Wine dinner at Dazzle, and they were a hit!  Made of mycoprotein rather than soy (so, mushrooms), they are a lot more meat-like than your typical meatless meatballs.  *There’s egg in them so they’re not vegan.

I made Capellini pasta with Trader Giotto’s Traditional Marinara Sauce, TJ’s new organic 100% Spanish garlic infused olive oil, roasted garlic, shaved Parmesan, Romano & Asiago cheese, and TJ’s new flower pepper which has rose, calendula, lavender and cornflower petals. Mmmhmmm.  I must say, this pepper is outstanding…as is the garlic olive oil.  One might think I work at Trader Joe’s, but I don’t—I am simply having a love affair with them. I also had a wonderful salad that included pea sprouts and microgreens…Trader Joe’s…yup.

Conclusion: While I do love these meatballs, I know that meaty-meatballs would have been a greater success.  My grand notion of marinara and garlic olive oil filled divots of yum was quenched as the Quorn meatballs are a bit too firm, but it was not a total failure, oh no.  The meatballs were kinda crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside.  If I cooked meat in my abode, this would be a really fun thing to do…

I’ve been wanting to try Scotch Eggs for some time and thought it would be great fun to try to make them vegetarian.  Relying on my dear Dr. Praeger’s California Veggie Burgers, I thawed a few out, molded them around boiled eggs and rolled them in panko.  Not sure which cooking method would work best, I fried one and baked the other for about 20 minutes at 375 degrees F.

Conclusion:  Quite good!  The baked version was much better: crispy and a lot less greasy.  Frying it was a bit of a mess.   I am not sure that they could rival a true Scotch Egg, but as a vegetarian option, I would definitely make them again!

     One of my recent grand ideas is to take Robert’s recipes and make waffles out of them, not only for fun, but as a creative way to combine our different styles.  He recently made his über delicious Black Beans Mole and there were magical leftovers, soooo woo-hoo…waffle potential numero uno!  I decided to try two different ways, being a researcher and all: waffling his incredible concoction and making waffles from a Black Bean Patties recipe I found online with a few modifications.

I honestly am not being biased here when I say that Robert & Lisa’s Black Bean Mole Waffles collaboration was far superior to the Black Bean Patties version.  The latter was simply not moist enough.  Perhaps if I add the egg to the mixture like I did with my Chickpea and Quinoa Waffles, it would be much better.  The Mole version was intensely flavorful, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, much like a perfect black bean burrito, sans the tortilla.  The chocolate in the mole, paired with the cinnamon, oregano and chili powder is an outstanding combination of flavors, especially with the earthy black beans. In other words, a deeply exotic Mexican waffle.

Paired with a Malbec and mixed green salad with lightly baked green onion leaves…süper num.  Will definitely make this again…

Black Beans Mole

• 4 cups Cooked black beans
• 1/4 cups almonds, ground to fine meal
• 1/4 Tbs. ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoons dried oregano
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 tablespoons oil
• 1 small yellow onion, chopped
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cups tomato sauce
• 2 tablespoons cocoa powder

Combine cinnamon, oregano, and the chili powder. and set aside. Saute onion in oil until translucent. Add garlic, saute 30 seconds.  Add the spice mixture and saute 30 seconds. Add the tomato sauce, cocoa powder, and almond meal. Cook 5 minutes. Return to skillet and add the beans. Cook 10 minutes

Black Bean Waffles

• 2 tablespoons oil, plus more for frying
• 1 small diced onion
• 1 large minced garlic clove
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon chipotle
• Two 15-ounce cans or 2 cups freshly cooked black beans
• 1 1/4 cups panko
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1/3 cup all-purpose gluten free flour
• 2 large beaten eggs
• Sharp white cheddar cheese, green onions and chipotle salsa for serving.

In a medium skillet, heat the 2 tablespoons of oil. Add the onion and garlic and cook over moderate heat just until softened, about 3 minutes. Add the cumin and chipotle and cook until just translucent. Scrape the onion mixture into the bowl of a food processor. Add 1 1/2 cups of the beans and pulse until the mixture is finely chopped but not smooth. Scrape the mixture into a medium bowl. Mix in the remaining whole beans and 1/2 cup of the bread crumbs and season with salt and pepper. Form the mixture into patties, about 1/2-3/4 inch thick.  Put the flour, beaten eggs and the remaining 3/4 cup of bread crumbs into 3 shallow bowls. Dust each black bean cake with the flour, tapping off the excess. Dip the cakes in the egg and then in the bread crumbs, pressing so that the bread crumbs adhere.  In lightly oiled waffle iron, add the cakes and waffle until crisp and golden brown. Top with sharp white cheddar, chipotle salsa and green onions.

Serves 4.

Black Beans Mole Waffles

Take recipe above for Black Beans Mole. With 2 cups of mixture, add 3/4 cups of panko and fold until just combined.  Form into patties, dip in flour, egg and remaining panko, and place in waffle iron.  Press lid closed and cook until crispy and golden brown. Top with sharp white cheddar, chipotle salsa and green onions.  Masticate.