Introducing the Chicken Parmesan Waffle
Yep, it is what it is: chicken as a waffle. Chicken. Waffles. Chicken waffles. Handheld. Bite-friendly. Waffle-y. All of the flavors are there; they’re just packaged in a way that’s friendly to kiddos. Give it a try–you’ll be surprised how much you like it yourself.
- 1 boneless, skinless Chicken Breast (thaw if frozen)
- 1 large Egg
- dried Basil
- Tomato Sauce or Puree
- grated or canned Parmesan
- Breadcrumbs
- Heat a small pot of water until boiling; place chicken into the water, turn off heat, and cover. Allow chicken to sit in the pot for ten minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
- With a fork or your hands, pull and shred the chicken until it is in the form of thin shards and small chunks; place into a bowl.
- Beat one egg until whites and yolks are mixed; pour over chicken.
- Add in a spoonful of your tomato sauce (see Note below on tomato sauce), a couple of shakes of herbs from your can of dried basil, and a metric ton of parmesan; mix together. Coat the surface of the bowl’s contents in breadcrumbs, then mix in. If the mix is liquid-y, add more breadcrumbs.
- Preheat your wafflemaker. When ready to cook with it, coat top and bottom with cooking spray.
- Spoon chicken mixture all around the bottom of the iron, pressing down to combine and flatten the mixture into one; close waffle maker and heat for three minutes.
- Turn waffle (or wafflemaker) and heat until the waffle is crispy but not hardened, roughly 2-3 minutes.
As silly and/or horrifying as it may initially sound, if your little one is the sort who likes a little waffle with his/her syrup–and that’s most–it’s not a terrible idea to side with a bit of maple the first few times you make it. Also note: this is not a light bite, so keep the remaining elements on the plate light: a soft vegetable and/or fruits, a not terribly dense starch (i.e., rice or quinoa), etc.
so far as you bind the ingredients with an egg and add some breadcrumbs to get a crust on the exterior, you could waffle pretty much any protein or vegetable dish. Look for some of our takes--panjeon! spanakopita! grilled cheese!--soon.
Brad (the Dad) is the founder and Chief Recipe Officer of New Dad's Kitchen. His own cooking/feeding journey started humbly during his son's infancy, preparing and managing his son's bottle intake in order to support his wife; it has since blossomed into a full-on passion to feed his child and family delicious and healthy meals that can satisfy both a toddler and his very tired parents.
