Wednesday night is potato night at our house.
One dinner that my child loves to eat is the fun potato waffle. There are many delicious-sounding versions online but are all too involved for me. The bonus of my potato waffles is that they are easy, quick, and don’t make a big mess, which is perfect because kitchen messes make me crazy and, ironically, I’m the queen of making them when I cook.
I’ve listed three versions of the simple potato waffle and one requires cooking potatoes first. I microwave my potatoes. There was a point in my life when I shunned the microwave and even heated soy milk on the stove for a latte. However, I’ve since learned that microwaving hasn’t been shown to cause any health issues and interestingly retains more nutrients in food. This is the case for the potato. Yay! So, as a #lazycook, I microwave my potatoes but if you have a bunch of potatoes to cook, the oven is a great option (maybe seal in parchment paper to steam).
If you cannot be bothered to wash, microwave, or bake the potatoes, skip down to version two. Version two tastes even better because it’s preseasoned and has all those shreds to brown but that plastic bag isn’t so eco. No judgment as my #lazycook self often overtakes my #savehumanity self. Keeping your toppings vegan is a good way to pay penance for the plastic bag (not really, but vegan is more eco, #savehumanity).
three versions, one ingredient
(version one) whole, organic yukon gold potatoes
* only yukon gold potatoes work, as they are “stickier”
* organic is best, as potatoes are heavily sprayed and pesticides, read here
* heat your ceramic, non-stick waffle iron… I have the deep belgian style but the less deep style works better.
* wash potatoes, leave the skin on (we love fiber), poke with holes, wrap in a damp cloth napkin, and microwave until soft (one at a time)
* put the potato on the hot waffle iron, close the lid keep squashing it down until the potato is relatively flat
* cook for 5-10 minutes until golden
* add toppings of choice (list of vegan potato toppings)
***
(version two) organic, seasoned yukon gold hashed browns
* alexia is our favorite brand
* slightly thaw yukon gold hashed browns on the counter
* heat ceramic, non-stick waffle iron
* pile hashed browns on the waffle iron to the edges, close the lid to squash.
* keep pressing it down as steam releases and potato shreds fuse.
* once flat, let cook for 5-10 minutes… give it a good 5 minutes before checking
(version three) organic yukon gold hash browns–extra credit
* ok, this one has more than one ingredient but, let’s just say we are incorporating the toppings into the waffle, and remember that toppings don’t count as ingredients.
* repeat steps above but instead of a pile put a thinner layer of hashed browns on the waffle iron
* add toppings of choice on top of hashed browns
* if using cheese I recommend non-dairy diaya as dairy cheese sticks to the iron and makes a huge mess
* if adding greens… dry after washing and only use a little as they release moisture when cooked
* add another layer of hash browns
* press the lid down firmly and hold until fully squashed
* cook 5-10 minutes until golden
enjoy!
Jen Grauer 