When cooked collard greens and their cooking liquid get folded into waffle batter, they bring a pleasant earthiness to each bite, amping up the umami factor. The waffles lean savory—Richards pairs them with pan-fried fish and sweet, spicy maple-laced hot sauce. While the collard greens and potlikker make the waffles more rich and flavorful, they also help the waffle’s texture. The greens in the batter become crispy along the waffle’s edges as it cooks—just like a kale chip—and the potlikker “causes the waffle to steam and get fluffier,” Richards explains .
The key to making delicious collard waffles is to start with really delicious collard greens: “As long as you’ve got that, it’s really simple,” Richards says. When he makes greens, he likes to include some meat, whether that’s smoked ham hock, chicken, turkey, or pieces of bacon. “When you pick up the greens, you get some bits of meat flecked throughout too,” he says. “It brings another layer of savory qualities and salinity, echoing what’s already packed into the greens.”