February 2, 2021
When I moved to Ohio almost six years ago, one of the restaurants I fell in love with almost immediately was Taste of Belgium. It was one of the first restaurants Kevin brought me to as a way to help make Ohio feel more like home. I had read a lot of positive reviews about the Belgian-style waffles at the restaurant, but did not know what to expect. The only exposure I had to waffles growing up were the crispy exterior, fluffy interior American-style waffles. The waffles served at Taste of Belgium were in a league of their own. They were much thicker waffles and had crystallized chunks of pearl sugar weaved throughout a sweet, thick bread-like dough. I don’t usually fall in love with dishes at first bite, but the moment I bit into the Liège-style waffles at Taste of Belgium, I was blown away by how amazing the waffles were. I couldn’t get enough of the intense buttery waffles crusted with caramelized sugar. There was something truly addicting about the waffles. The restaurant served waffles on their own, but I just had to get the classic combination of chicken and waffles featured on the menu. The savory crispy chicken combined with the caramelized sweet waffle and crunchy salad made for the perfect balance of textures and flavors. I loved the food at Taste of Belgium so much, it became one of my go-to spots for taking family and friends to whenever they visited Ohio. The best part about Taste of Belgium is there are multiple locations throughout Ohio. I have even made special trips out to the North Market to get my fix of the waffles (and on occasion the hot chicken from Hot Chicken Takeover). My cravings for the dish would crop up here and there over the years. I try to reserve my visits to the restaurants for special occasions only because of how indulgent the food is. This month, I had a sudden craving for Belgian-style waffles and got back into the kitchen to try to replicate a slightly healthier version of the beloved meal I would always order. Instead of the crispy fried chicken, I coated some chicken wings with a light drizzle of olive oil, sprinkled on some kosher salt and pepper, and baked the wings until golden and crispy. For the waffles, I tried to stay as true to the Liège-style waffles as possible. The waffles I remember eating at Taste of Belgium had a rich sweet dough and insanely delicious pearl sugar weaved throughout. My experiments led me to a create a version featuring a blend of brown sugar and white sugar, a hint of cinnamon, and a generous helping of distinctly crunchy pearl sugar. The use of brown and white sugar upped the sweet factor in the waffles. The cinnamon paired beautifully with the blend of sugars and gave the waffles another element of sweetness. For the final element, I tossed together a complementary salad featuring crumbled blue cheese, julienned carrots, a blend of chopped romaine, some arugula, and thinly sliced cucumber served with a hot maple syrup. As I enjoyed the meal, I couldn’t help but reminisce over the wonderful memories of bonding with family and friends over good food at Taste of Belgium.
For the Belgian-style waffles:
(makes 8 waffles)
· ½ cup whole milk, lukewarm
· 1 tablespoon brown sugar
· 1 teaspoon instant yeast
· 2 cups all-purpose flour
· ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
· ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
· 1 large egg
· ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
· 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into cubes
· ¾ cup pearl sugar
(Optional) For the hot maple syrup:
· 3 tablespoons maple syrup
· 1 tablespoon hot sauce
Directions:
1) In a measuring cup, stir together the lukewarm milk, brown sugar, and instant yeast. Set aside for 10 minutes to allow the yeast to bloom.
2) In a large bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, and kosher salt. Set aside.
3) Once the yeast has bloomed, pour the wet mixture into the bowl with the flour mixture. Begin kneading the mixture to form a dough. Add in the egg and vanilla extract. Continue kneading the dough to incorporate the egg and vanilla extract. Add the cubed butter a couple cubes at a time and knead to combine. Keep kneading and adding the cubed butter until all pieces of cubed butter are blended into the dough for a total kneading time of about 6-8 minutes. Cover the bowl with a large plate or plastic wrap and let the dough rise in a warm spot for an hour until the dough has doubled in size.
4) Once the dough has doubled in size, lightly flour a working surface. Transfer the dough to the lightly floured surface. Use a bench scraper to divide the dough horizontally and vertically. Divide each of the pieces of dough in half again until eight triangular pieces are formed. Roll each of the triangular pieces into balls. Pour the pearl sugar onto the working surface and divide into roughly eight equal piles. Roll each of the dough balls in each pile of pearl sugar. Form the balls into patties.
5) Heat a waffle maker to medium high heat. Place each of the patties onto the waffle maker and press down onto the waffle maker for 3-5 minutes until the waffles develop a deep golden-brown exterior. Transfer the waffles to a cooling rack.
6) As an optional step, prepare the hot maple syrup by combining the maple syrup and hot sauce. Serve the hot maple syrup alongside the Belgian-style waffles.
Takeaways: I like to drizzle the hot maple syrup over the chicken, waffles, and salad prior to eating. The waffles can also be topped with some whipped cream, fresh fruit, and a drizzle of chocolate syrup. Leftover waffles can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for a few days.