Cheese-Stuffed Waffled Olives Are Awfully Good

I am having to get a little creative with my snacks recently. Instead of traipsing to the store whenever a craving strikes, I have to make do with whatever I have at home. Last night, I had to make do with six olives and a few bits of gruyere.

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I could have just eaten them as they were, cold and drab, but why? Why would I do that when I could render the olives warm and lightly roasted, and the cheese melted and lacy? Why would I do that when I have a waffle maker, and could turn them into a beautiful little salty snack, perfect for munching on during cocktail hour?

Waffled, cheese-stuffed olives are not a pretty snack, but they are a delicious snack. The waffle iron smushes and warms the olives, creating lovely little browned divots and ridges, while the cheese melts out, frying on the iron until it’s crispy on the edges.

You can waffle any cheese-stuffed olive, but I prefer big green ones (like Castelvetrano) stuffed with a fairly firm—but not crumbly—cheese. Just dice the cheese into cubes small enough to fit inside a pitted olive, then waffle it for 45-60 seconds using your waffle maker’s highest setting. Remove it, and enjoy your super savoury, kinda crispy, kinda roasted, perfect little snack, preferably with some sort of aperitif.