Banana Wholemeal Waffles with Dried Apricot and Cranberry Sauce - Chef Recipe by Kim Brennan

Ingredients

Banana Sauce:

1 1/2 ripe bananas, peeled and chopped
75g silken tofu, chopped
1 1/2 Tbs soy milk
1 1/2 Tbs raw honey
2 tsp lemon juice

Dried Apricot and Cranberry Sauce:

60g frozen cranberries, thawed
65g dried cranberries
160g (1/2 cup) maple syrup
4cm strip of orange peel, pith removed, cut julienne
8 dried apricots, diced

Banana Wholemeal Waffles:

2 ripe bananas, roughly chopped
1 1/2 tsp sunflower oil
180mL soy milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup wholemeal flour
1/2 cup all-purpose (plain) flour
1 Tbs baking powder
1 pinch sea salt, to taste
4 egg whites

To Serve:

4 small ripe bananas, peeled and cut in half lengthwise
12 pieces whole walnuts, broken in half
12 small sprigs of baby mint leaves (or regular mint)

Recipe from The Pleasures of Eating Well: Nourishing Favourites from the COMO Shambhala Kitchen (Clearview, 2016) headed up by Head Chef Kim Brennan.

Method

Banana Sauce:

Places bananas, tofu, soy milk and honey into a blender, mixing until smooth. Add lemon juice to taste and blend further.

Dried Apricot and Cranberry Sauce:

Blend the thawed cranberries with 180mL water until pureed, then pass through a sieve into a saucepan. Add the remaining ingredients, bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 8-10 minutes, or until slightly thickened.

The sauce will thicken further on standing, as the dried fruit absorbs the liquid.

Wholemeal Waffles:

Combine bananas, oil, soy milk and vanilla in a bowl and whisk to a thick paste. Sift the dry ingredients into a separate bowl, add sea salt and mix until combined. Add to the banana mixture in three batches, stirring well.

In a clean bowl, whisk egg whites until soft peaks form. Using a large rubber spatula, fold one-third of egg whites into batter to gently loosen the mixture, then fold in the remaining egg whites until incorporated.

Cover and refrigerate for 20 minutes.

Heat a waffle maker and add 1 cup batter to the machine. Close the lid and cook for about 5 minutes, or until golden. Keep the machine warm and repeat with the remaining batter.

To Serve:

Spoon the banana sauce into the centre of each plate, spreading it with the back of a spoon to make a 15cm circle. Place half a waffle just off centre on the sauce.

Top each waffle with half a banana and a spoonful of cranberry sauce, then repeat this layering with the other half.

Scatter with walnuts and mint leaves. Serve immediately.

Recipe provided by Post