LCBO Food & Drink Summer 2023

WAFFLES WITH PASSION FRUIT CARAMEL & STRAWBERRIES Passion fruit juice brings its bright, tropical fla vour to this smooth, rich caramel. Combined with some briefly marinated strawberries and toasted coconut, it makes a divine trio for waffles. Most store-bought passion fruit juice will be blended with other juices, so try to pick one that’s mixed with a single juice (such as pear or apple) for the best flavour. PASSION FRUIT CARAMEL 2 cups (500 mL) granulated sugar 1/2 cup (125 mL) water 1/4 tsp (1 mL) fine sea salt 1/2 cup (125 mL) heavy cream 1/2 cup (125 mL) passion fruit juice 1/2 vanilla bean, seeds scraped STRAWBERRIES 3 1/2 cups (875 mL) hulled and quartered strawberries 3 tbsp (45 mL) granulated sugar 1 tsp (5 mL) finely grated lemon zest ASSEMBLY Buttermilk Waffles (recipe this page) 1 cup (250 mL) flaked coconut, lightly toasted 1. For the caramel, pour sugar evenly over the bottom of a large saucepan. Without stirring (this prevents sugar from crystalizing), add water and salt. Set over medium-high heat. Cook, without stirring, gently swirling if needed, until amber in colour, 10 to 15 min utes. Immediately remove from heat to a cool burner. Working quickly and very carefully, pour in cream—mixture will vigorously bubble and steam upward—whisking to combine. Return to heat over medium. Continue cook ing, whisking often, until mixture returns to an amber colour and is very lightly thickened, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and very carefully whisk in passionfruit juice then vanilla seeds (saving pod for another use). Let cool to room temperature before serving, 30 min utes. (Caramel can be chilled in a resealable container up to 5 days. Let come to room tem perature or gently rewarm before serving.) 2. For the strawberries, combine strawberries with sugar and lemon zest in a medium bowl. Let stand until sugar is dissolved and mixture is lightly saucy, 10 minutes. 3. Drizzle waffles with passionfruit caramel. Top with strawberries and coconut. Serve immediately. Serves 8 to 10

WHAT TO SERVE Brickworks Ciderhouse Stadium Island Peach Cider LCBO 478495, 473 mL, $3.50 A crisp cider is a natural match for these waffles. Delicately sweet, the peach, pear and apple notes find familiarity with the fruit in the dish. The cider’s tangy acidity balances the pairing. WAFFLES WITH BLACKBERRY CRUMBLE & MAPLE ICE CREAM Crispy, buttery crumbs, a spiced blackberry compote and maple-walnut ice cream create a deconstructed fruit crumble to top hot‑off the-iron waffles. Both the crumble and compote are easy to make ahead of time and store until ready to serve. CRUMBLE 3/4 cup (175 mL) large flake oats 1/2 cup (125 mL) all-purpose flour 1/4 cup (60 mL) granulated sugar 1/4 tsp (1 mL) fine sea salt 1/4 cup (60 mL) unsalted butter, cold, cubed BLACKBERRY COMPOTE 3 1/2 cups (875 mL) blackberries, divided 1 cup (250 mL) granulated sugar 1/2 small cinnamon stick, about 2 inches (5 cm) 1 1/2 tsp (7 mL) strained fresh lemon juice 1. For the crumble, position rack in centre of oven. Preheat to 350°F (177°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment. 2. Combine oats, flour, sugar and salt in a medium bowl. Using your fingers, fully blend in butter until mixture is crumbly. Scrape onto prepared baking sheet in an even layer. Bake in centre of oven until crumble is golden, 16 to 18 minutes. Transfer to a rack. Cool to room temperature. Crumble into pieces. (Crumble can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.) 3. For the blackberry compote, finely crush 1 1/2 cups (375 mL) blackberries and sugar with a potato masher in a medium-size saucepan. Stir in remaining 2 cups (500 mL) blackberries and cinnamon. Bring to a full boil, then reduce heat to medium and simmer, stirring occa sionally, until berries are soft and mixture is syrupy, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice. Discard cinnamon. Serve ASSEMBLY Buttermilk Waffles (recipe this page) Maple-walnut ice cream

warm or let cool to room temperature before serving. (Cooled compote can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Let come to room temperature or gently warm before serving.) 4. Spoon blackberry compote over waffles. Top with a scoop of ice cream. Sprinkle with crumble. Serve immediately. Serves 8 to 10

WHAT TO SERVE Sortilège LCBO 250134, $35.15

This maple liqueur is a deliciously decadent partner for this dessert. The sweet maple, toffee and caramel notes reduce the lightly spiced blackberry compote, creating a fantastic match.

BUTTERMILK WAFFLES This resilient batter can be used immediately or made ahead of time and refrigerated over night. It uses baking powder instead of soda which does the trick to let it withstand this lengthy rest. Leaving some lumps in the batter will keep these waffles tender and fluffy, so be sure not to overmix. 2 1/2 cups (625 mL) all-purpose flour 2 tsp (10 mL) baking powder 1 1/4 tsp (6 mL) fine sea salt 1 cup (250 mL) shaken buttermilk 1 cup (250 mL) whole milk 4 large eggs 1/2 cup (125 mL) granulated sugar 1/2 cup (125 mL) unsalted butter, melted, plus more for cooking 1. Preheat a mini waffle iron according to the manufacturer’s instructions. In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking powder and salt. In a second bowl, whisk milks with eggs and sugar until combined. Stream in butter, whisking until smooth. Add flour mixture to milk mixture, gently whisking just until a batter comes together with some lumps remaining. (Batter can be covered and refrigerated for up to 1 day.) 2. Brush waffle iron lightly with butter. Spoon batter into iron and cook until steam subsides, and waffles are deeply golden, 4 to 6 minutes. Transfer to a plate and repeat with the remain ing batter. Makes 22 waffles

142 FOOD & DRINK SUMMER 2023