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Bryanna’s Crispy Vegan Orange-Pecan Cornmeal Waffles

Adapted from Bryanna Clark Grogan’s The Fiber for Life Cookbook

Don’t be put off by having to put the beans on to soak the night before. This takes just minutes before you retire for the night and then, in the morning, the batter is quickly made in the blender while the waffle iron heats up.

These waffles take a little longer to bake than ordinary waffles (about seven minutes), so you might want to make them ahead of time or have two waffle irons going at the same time. They can be reheated quickly in a very hot oven for a short time (you just want to crisp and heat them, not dry them out) or in a toaster.

And don’t worry—no one will suspect that there are beans in these waffles!

The Night Before:
1/3 cup dry soybeans, chickpeas, or white beans
Plenty of water to cover

• Soak the beans in plenty of water to cover, with a few inches of water above the beans.

Note: The beans can soak in water in the refrigerator for up to 1 week with no fermentation, if you aren’t sure when you’ll make the waffles.

In the Morning:
1 1/2 cups fresh water
1/3 cup orange juice concentrate
1 cup cornmeal
2 Tbsp. oat bran (or rice bran or wheat bran)
4 tsp. sugar (or another sweetener)
2 Tbsp. ground golden flaxseeds
1 Tbsp. grated (organic) orange zest
1/2 Tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt
1/3 cup finely chopped toasted pecans

• Drain the beans. Place in a blender along with all the other ingredients. Blend until smooth, light, and foamy.
• Meanwhile, heat a nonstick waffle iron.* When hot, pour on a heaping 1/3 cup of the batter for a 4-inch-square waffle. Close the iron and set the timer for 7 minutes. If the iron is hard to open when the time’s up, let the waffle cook for a couple more minutes. The waffle should be brown and crispy. Repeat until all the batter has been used. If the batter gets thicker while standing, add a little water, just until it’s the consistency you started out with.
• Serve immediately, or let cool on cake racks. Serve with your favorite toppings. Leftovers can be place in the freezer in plastic bags or rigid containers.
• If you don’t use all the batter and you don’t want to cook the waffles ahead of time and freeze them, just refrigerate the batter in the blender with the lid on. You can re-blend the batter (adding a tiny bit more water if the batter has become too thick) just before cooking.

*Note: Even if you have a nonstick iron, this recipe will work better if you spray the grids well with oil from a pump-sprayer.

Makes 8 waffles