So, previously I have walked you through making a blackberry jaffle-pie in a jaffle maker. This particular way of cooking really appeals to me since there’s so many variable fillings you can put in, as I’m sure you’ve worked out for yourselves. I’m going to take you through a breakfast jaffle pastie because it’s a filling combination you might not otherwise consider. This particular effort owes itself to another of my breakfast favourites, the basil/fetta omlette. The omelette is basically what it says it is, basil leaves and chopped fetta scrambled up with eggs and served with some toast and a hash brown or two. Adapting it to a jaffle maker was going to take a little thought. Being honest, I will tell you that this recipe is easy, but quick it is not. Save it for a weekend when you have the time to fluff around making something a bit special. You need a sheet of puff pastry (or more, depending on how many of these you intend to make- one sheet does two pasties) out of the freezer and softening while you get together your other ingredients- an egg, a leaf of spinach, some fetta and some pinenuts.
The first thing you need is the leaf of spinach. If you have a garden, walk up and get one (which is what I do) or otherwise you need to have bought some spinach ahead of time. Use the rest of it to make a quiche or something, we only need one leaf here. Boil your kettle, and tear your leaf into smallish pieces; if you aren’t sure how big you want them, err on the side of smaller. Put the pieces in a bowl, pour boiling water over them, and chuck a saucer or plate on top to keep the heat in, then walk away and leave it.
While your spinach is cooking, chop up your fetta nice and small. Maybe half centimetre strips-ish? Again, err on the small side. By the time you’ve done that your puff pastry should be soft enough to put in the jaffle maker. A critical point here- normally, you would preheat your jaffle maker before cooking things in it. DO NOT PREHEAT for this. Your pastry will be cooked before you get a chance to put your fillings in. Put it in (half will be on the iron and half sort of hanging off), and then with a spoon or your fingers, push the pastry down into the concave bits so that you have a little scoop to put things in. Not preheating also helps with the not-burning-your-fingers bit here. The point of this, as you can see above, is so your egg will sit in there nicely and not ooze everywhere. If you have all your other bits and pieces prepared, you can probably turn on your jaffle maker to start is heating at this point. Check your spinach before you do though, as timing is important to getting maximum tastiness.
Check your spinach, it should be just nicely blanched (which is to say a tiny bit undercooked). If it isn’t, give it a bit longer or refresh with new hot water. Once it’s ready, strain it, and then squeeze the excess water out with your hands (be careful, it will still be quite hot), then disperse it around on top of your egg. I should point out that as I was making this for me alone, I have a different flavour in the other space- basil, parmesan and mushroom. If I was making it for someone else as well, I’d obviously have to do the same thing in both spots.
Next put in your fetta and pinenuts. Be generous with them, they’re your main sources of flavour here. Now, just fold the other half of the pastry over and close the lid on your jaffle maker to let it cook. The trick with this is the egg. You really want to keep the yolk just a little bit liquid (soft boiled-ish) but you still want it heated through. I got it wrong once and the yolk was still cold… ergh…
The best way to do it is to turn the jaffle maker off when it looks roughly like the above. Leave it in the jaffle maker so it continues to cook with the remaining heat, but with the power off it’s going to cook the outside faster and only heat the inside so you cook the pastry and leave your egg soft. Once the pastry’s looking cooked, haul it out and serve.
The results are delightful. There are so many more combinations you can do with an egg, because it means that you don’t necessarily have to rely on spreads, chutneys or cheese for moisture. I’m even thinking of putting hollondaise sauce in one with some double smoked ham and seeing how that comes out. Happy experimenting!
