It’s only the middle of June but already the waffle crop is coming in strong. Normally the harvest doesn’t start until sometime in July, but the plants are unpredictable and the long cool spring and abundance of rain this year apparently set them early into overdrive.
I like to go once a year and pick my own. Not many growers plant waffles, and they hardly ever show up in the farmer’s markets – even ramps have a longer season -- but there’s a guy only an hour’s drive south of the city, out in Will County, who opens his fields a couple of weeks every year to persons who know to ask. These are a hybrid crop that he breeds himself. He assures me otherwise that he grows them to organic standards, though he does admit that he brushes the undersides of the leaves with clarified butter to help prevent sticking. Most of his waffles he sells directly to local chefs, so I consider myself in very good company!
Picking waffles is hot work, and backbreaking too, but totally worth it. Really there is nothing to compare to the taste of a fresh waffle, lightly warmed and drizzled with some maple syrup, except perhaps a French toast made with free range brioche.
If you aren’t able to locate a grower of waffles in your area, you can always use the following recipe. They may not taste quite as much of the soil and the sun, but then you won’t have to worry about washing them either. Be sure to use instant yeast – one teaspoon to be exact. And do not under any circumstances refrigerate the batter. Instead just use all the batter at once and then freeze the waffles you don’t eat. Waffles are a lot like peas and blueberries. They freeze remarkably well.
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Raised-Waffles-40050
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