Galettes de ble noir, light lacy buckwheat savoury pancakes, are popular in France - they are the French version of pizza. They can be light and delicate or mixed with wheat flour to become more crepe-like. Fillings run the gauntlet from cheese and ham with egg to chorizo, cheese and olives or, as is very popular in the markets of Brittany, gaulette saucisse, where a sausage is wrapped in a galette like a blanket - mustard and cheese optional.
Traditional galettes were cooked on large flat iron griddles in very large 28-30cm rounds. Use whatever frying pan you have and adjust the amount of batter you use accordingly. The galette batter is best left to stand for a while before being cooked.
For the galettes
| 2 cups | Buckwheat flour (Main) |
| 2 | Eggs |
| 2 cups | Water |
| ½ cup | Beer |
| ½ tsp | Salt |
| 50 g | Butter |
Filling suggestions
| 4 slices | Chorizo sausages, use up to 6 slices per galette; alternatively use slices of ham, jamon or smoked salmon (Main) |
| 1 large handful | Grated cheese, for each galette (Main) |
| 1 | Egg, per galette (Main) |
Directions
- Place the buckwheat flour in a bowl and make a well in the centre. Beat the eggs, water, beer and salt together and gradually pour into the well, stirring gently to make a smooth batter. Cover and set aside for at least two hours, or overnight if time permits.
- Before cooking the galettes, stir the mixture lightly as the buckwheat flour can settle to the bottom of the dish, forming a sediment. Stir to even the mixture out. The batter needs to be the consistency of milk, thinner than a crepe batter. Add water to the batter if you need to thin it down.
- Melt the butter in a frying pan and cook until it is golden brown. Stir into the galette mixture.
- Heat a large 25cm frying pan and brush lightly with butter. Quickly pour one ladleful of mixture into the hot frying pan, turning the pan on an angle as quickly as you can so the batter coats the base of the pan thinly and evenly.
- Cook over a high heat for a good minute, or until the edges of the galette begin to curl up, the underside is well-browned and it can be lifted and flipped without tearing. Cook the second side for a good 30 seconds —the galette needs to be cooked well. Slide the cooked galette on to a plate or cake rack to cool.
- To serve as a filled galette, return the galette to the pan, arrange 4-6 slices of chorizo in the centre third, scatter over a good handful of grated cheese and break an egg in the centre. Flip the outside edges over to create a square and warm through until the egg has cooked. Alternatively transfer the filled galette into a hot oven (200C) for a few minutes until the egg is cooked. These galettes can be filled and shaped in advance and cooked in the oven when ready to serve.