BBD#18: Nothing but Waffle...

Mediterranean Waffles with Olives and Herbs

...wouldn't quite do. So I served them with tomato salad and various antipasti, such as pickled red peppers, artichoke hearts, asparagus spears, green olives, sun-dried tomatoes, and my own home-made giardiniera (recipe to follow). The waffles I made were adapted from "Waffeln und Crêpes, knusprig, süß oder pikant" (waffles and crepes, crisp, sweet or savoury) by G. Poggenpohl (bought in Germany for the princely sum of €5, back in the good old days when the £ was worth something).
This is my contribution to BBD#18, the theme of which was Quick Breads. The event was hosted by Mansi of Fun & Food this time. Thanks, Mansi!

Mediterranean Waffles with Olives and Herbs
NB: You need a waffle iron to make these.

Ingredients:
70ml olive oil
4 eggs
100g corn flour
100g plain flour
120 ml milk
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
4 cloves garlic
50g olives
3 tbsp mixed herbs (or whatever is at hand, I used lemon thyme)

Method:
Mix plain and corn flour with baking powder and salt. Mix eggs and olive oil. Using one spoonful at a time, add egg mixture and milk to the flour mix and stir until smooth. Chop the olives, garlic and herbs and add to the dough. Heat the waffle iron and bake. I set mine to mark 5.

Makes about 6 rounds of hearts.

I thought they worked really well with the tomato salad (mine was very basic, I just added a few capers; a tomato, mozzarella and basil version would have been good, too), and the giardiniera. The waffles enable you to mop up all the tasty liquid, so they'd make a great accompaniment to all sorts of dishes, especially as so many variations are possible. I think I'll get that waffle iron out more often now. I can see waffles as an alternative to bread with soups, and even a quick solution if The Boy finds himself without a Naan for his curry. I'd like to work on a potato version and also on cutting out eggs and eventually dairy, too, for a Vegan-friendly waffle.
They can be eaten warm, straight from the waffle iron, kept warm as a stack in the oven, or cold. They also freeze well and can be de-frosted/heated in the toaster.