Pizza Waffles with Marinara Dipping Sauce
Your Belgian waffle iron doesn't have to be a one-trick appliance. Make it a pizza iron, too, with this recipe for crispy, cured meat and mozzarella–stuffed pizza waffles. For best results, serve them with no-cook marinara sauce for dipping.
Makes: 2 pizza waffles
Cost: $10
Equipment
- Belgian waffle iron (or 1-inch-deep waffle iron)
- Rolling Pin
- pastry brush
Ingredients
- 2 cups super-easy marinara sauce (or your favorite marinara sauce), divided
- 1 (14- to 16-ounce) ball pizza dough
- 4 thin slices pancetta (or 2 to 3 ounces thinly sliced pepperoni)
- Dried oregano
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- Nonstick cooking spray
Instructions
- Preheat a Belgian or other 1-inch-deep waffle iron on the medium-high setting. (If yours goes up to 6, turn the dial to 4.)
- Cut the ball of dough into four equal-size pieces. Set two pieces aside and cover them with a damp dish towel. On a floured work surface, roll or stretch out the first two dough pieces to fit inside the mold of your waffle maker. Mine makes 6-inch round waffles, so I rolled my dough pieces out to a diameter just short of 6 inches.
- Spread a spoonful of marinara sauce onto one of the rolled/stretched-out dough disks and spread it out, leaving a 1-inch border of dough all around. Place 2 slices of pancetta on top of the sauce, than half of the cheese. Sprinkle with oregano.
- Brush the exposed border of dough with olive oil, then brush some more olive oil around the perimeter of the second rolled/stretched out dough disk. Invert the naked dough disk onto the topped on and pinch around the edges to seal. Brush the top with olive oil.
- Open your waffle iron (it should be really hot by now) and coat it with non-stick cooking spray. Carefully invert the pizza dough packet onto the iron, oiled side down, and brush the top with more olive oil. Close the waffle iron and cook for 3 to 5 minutes or until the crust is golden brown but still springy to the touch. (This part is loud and messy, as some of the cheese and sauce will bubble and ooze out of the waffle iron.) When the waffle is done, remove it from the iron.
- Roll out the remaining portions of dough and repeat steps 3, 4, and 5 to make a second waffle.
- Fill a ramekin or small bowl with some of the marinara sauce. Cut the waffles into wedges or sticks and serve them with the sauce for dipping.