There are only five employees at The Little Rooster Cafe, a small breakfast and lunch spot, but its terrific food and friendly service make it popular with locals and tourists (especially those who come to browse the town's outlet stores). Chef and co-owner Hub Poelmann features a different waffle every day. "We have an open kitchen," he says. "People smell the waffles cooking, and then order them." Poelmann credits his cooks with this lemon-poppy seed recipe, which was the happy result of "playing around in the kitchen."
These light waffles would also be good with maple syrup, if you prefer.
Recipe information
Yield
Makes 4 servings
Ingredients
Blueberry sauce
Lemon-poppy seed waffles
Preparation
For blueberry sauce:
Step 1
Bring blueberries, 1/2 cup apple juice and sugar to boil in heavy medium saucepan. Simmer over medium heat until reduced to 2 cups, about 15 minutes. Dissolve 1 tablespoon cornstarch in remaining 2 tablespoons apple juice and add to blueberry mixture. Add lemon juice. Bring to boil, stirring constantly; simmer until thick, about 1 minute. Cool slightly. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Rewarm over medium-low heat before serving.)
For lemon-poppy seed waffles:
Step 2
Whisk first 6 ingredients in large bowl to blend. Whisk eggs, buttermilk, melted butter and lemon peel in small bowl to blend. Add buttermilk mixture all at once to flour mixture and whisk until just blended. Let mixture stand 15 minutes.
Step 3
Preheat waffle iron according to manufacturer’s instructions. Spoon batter onto waffle iron. Cover and cook until golden and cooked through, about 7 minutes (cooking time will vary, depending on waffle iron). Repeat with remaining batter. Serve immediately with warm blueberry sauce.
