On December 7th, the Neola (Waffle) Pride 2015 took place in Pescara. A day dedicated to re-discover a simple but always pleasing dessert typical of Abruzzo Region.

Within the event there was also a culinary competition, open to everybody, in which to unleash the imagination and create new types of neola waffles.

“A gray Sunday afternoon is ideal for spending a good time in the kitchen and the result has been more than satisfactory.”

The idea of using gluten-free flours, adding some typical regional products, has resulted in a savory Neola Waffle made with chickpea and rice flour, spiced up by the sweet red pepper from Altino town (Serranella Oasis).

It’s perfect for aperitif, paired with a creamy ricotta-like cheese, and/or some Altino sweet red pepper jam, a great combination.

Appetibilis would like to thank Mrs. Nadia Ballone for the impeccable logistic organization, and Mrs. Fabrizia Duranti for having shared with us her “know-how” – very well indeed.

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Recipe: Gluten Free Serra-Neola Waffle with Altino’s Sweet Red Pepper

This recipe yields 48 Neole waffles, made with a 18 cm Neola waffle tool.

Ingredients

• 2 eggs (medium/big)
• 100 g rice flour
• 100 g chickpea flour
• 2 tablespoons olive oil (EVO)
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil (to grease the Neola tool)
• 2 ½ teaspoons Altino’s sweet red pepper
• 1 glass white wine like “Pecorino or Passerina” (around 150 ml)
• 1 pinch of salt

Procedimento

1. Mix the flours.
2. Break the eggs into a bowl, whisk lightly and gradually add the flours mix, than the wine and the olive oil.
3. Mix the ingredients until the mixture is thick but fluid.
4. At this point only add the salt and the pepper
5. Let the batter rest for about 10 minutes.
6. In the meantime, heat the Neola tool.
7. When hot – give the batter one more swirl with your whisk and pour on 1 small ladle of the batter.
8. Close the waffle maker and let it cook for about 3 minutes, or until golden-red and crisp (the time is indicative).
9. Transfer the waffle to a cooling rack and keep cooking.
10. Serve with any topping you desire and Buon Appetibilis!

The secret to success to our light, crispy-on-the-outside, fluffy-on-the-inside Neola waffles, is letting the batter rest for 10 minutes while the Neola maker heats up.

Note:

• Please don’t stack your Neolas on top of each other, they’ll lose their distinctive crispness.
• Pair well with any of the white wines used in the recipe