Strawberry and rhubarb waffles

My daughter Pepper requests waffles a few times a week. We make them messily together before preschool and top them with coconut yoghurt and fresh berries for a surprisingly healthy breakfast. You can be ad-hoc with what they are made from but follow the ratios for the ones below. We use buckwheat as the base most days, then add ground nuts or seeds in for the other half along with chia seeds for extra nutrition.

Waffles can be pretty healthy if you don’t add too much sweetener in to the mix, I go light on the sweetener for the compote and then, to serve, add a delicious drizzle of maple syrup to taste. There is a lot to love about this recipe — a crispy gingery cinnamon waffle topped with fragrant strawberries, rhubarb and coconut yoghurt or ice cream. The waffle mix will keep in the fridge for 2-3 days, making it easy to whip them up when short on time. You will need a waffle iron for this recipe.

For the wet ingredients

1 ½ cups	Almond milk (Main)
1 ½ Tbsp	Apple cider vinegar (Main)
4 Tbsp	Coconut sugar, or coconut nectar
2 Tbsp	Coconut oil, melted

For the dry ingredients

1 cup	Buckwheat flour (Main)
½ cup	Brown rice flour (Main)
½ cup	Almond flour
2 Tbsp	Tapioca starch, or arrowroot (Main)
2 tsp	Baking powder
2 tsp	Ground ginger
1 tsp	Ground cinnamon (Main)
1 pinch	Nutmeg
2 pinches	Sea salt flakes

To serve

1 bottle	Maple syrup
1 tub	Coconut yoghurt
2 cups	Strawberry and rhubarb compote, see recipe below; use more if liked to serve (Main)

Directions

1. Whisk all the wet ingredients together in a large bowl.
2. Sieve the dry ingredients into another bowl and gently stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until combined, being careful not to overmix. Let batter sit for a minimum of 10 minutes before using. Depending on your flours you may need to add a little extra almond milk or water to get a thick but pourable batter consistency.
3. Heat a waffle iron and follow the manufacturer's cooking instructions — opt for a medium temperature to increase cooking time to ensure your nutrient-dense buckwheat flour is completely cooked through.
4. Serve with rhubarb and strawberry compote, coconut yoghurt or coconut ice cream if you're going for an indulgent brunch.

Strawberry and rhubarb compote

Makes around 2-3 cups

400g strawberries (fresh or frozen), chopped into quarters
500g rhubarb, washed, with leaves removed
A few large pieces of lemon peel
3 Tbsp water
2 tsp raw honey or another sweetener
Splash of vanilla

1. Place the strawberries, rhubarb and lemon peel in a pot with the water, bring to the boil then gently simmer for around 10-15 minutes until the rhubarb is soft but still holds some shape. Add the honey or sweetener and vanilla to taste, then remove from the heat.