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Saturday, February 18, 2012

Galette


Whenever I have seen a "galette" out in the American culinary world, it's usually a "rustic fruit dessert" or a "free-form pie". Not this particular galette.

I don't know if I have mentioned this on ye ole blog yet, but my husband grew up in France. The Bretagne region to be exact (you can also call it Brittany, like the girls' name:). Yep, I married a Frenchie. Sortof. He is an American citizen, and his parents are also very born and bred Americans, but he comes with some bonuses like being able to speak sweet nothings in French and knowing the correct pronunciation of the menu items at a fancy French restaurant :) He also comes with his mom, my wonderful MIL, who brought back some pretty amazing, authentic French recipes, like this one, when they came back to the states.

One of the first times I spent time with my husband's family, we had crepe and galette. A pretty common meal in the Brittany region of France. In Brittany and some parts of Normandy, a savory crepe made with buckwheat flour is not called a crepe- it is called "galette". Buckwheat is often considered a "grain", but is in fact a seed. Therefore, the gluten and dairy-filled original recipe yielded easily to becoming gluten and even grain-free(**see note).

Our family loves these. My husband can eat 5 or more in one meal. We joke that he has an extra hole in his leg just for galettes and crepes! It must be because they remind him of growing up, but he can't get enough. I hope your family loves them as much as mine does!

French Galettes (savory crepes)

Gluten-free with Grain-free option, Dairy-free, Soy-free, Nut-free, Sugar-free
Yields enough batter to make about 10 galettes (we double it for our family of 5 and enjoy leftovers the next couple days)
Ingredients
  • 150 grams (1 cup) whole buckwheat flour
  • 150 grams (1 cup) sorghum flour**see note for grain-free version
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 225 grams almond or other non-dairy milk (1 cup)
  • 450 grams water (2 cups)
  • 28 grams oil, like grapeseed or light cooking oil (2 Tbsp)
  • For the filling you can use any kind of trusted deli meat, fried egg, veggies, cheese (dairy-free or not:), peppers, anything you think would make a really good sandwich goes!

**Note: for grain-free version you may use all buckwheat flour. This will yield a crispier finished product. I prefer it with all buckwheat, but if you are not used to that flavor- it may be too much for a first-time buckwheat user.

Method
  • Mix the flours and salt in a large bowl and make a hole in the center of the flour.
  • Pour in the milk, water, and oil and stir, letting the flower fall in. The batter will be very runny.
  • Let the batter rest for about 30 minutes. I'm not exactly sure why the French say this is important...possibly because the buckwheat expands a bit as it rests. I just know it doesn't seem to make the same kind of meal if you don't :)
  • While the batter is taking it's rest, gather your meal options- our family prefers sliced turkey, with a homemade cheese, tomatoes, mushrooms, spinach, and avocados- but the possibilities are endless
  • Heat a flat non-stick skillet* with a trusted oil on medium-high heat. We use coconut
  • Stir the batter before each galette is made, and pour 1/3-1/2 cup (depending on size of your pan) batter onto the skillet for each galette.
  • Just like a pancake, it will be ready to turn when many bubbles have risen to the surface.
  • Flip (my husband believes that you must sacrifice the first galette because it never works, if you mess up the first one- the rest should be easier. A tip: make sure your pan is quite hot for the first galette).
  • Then place your filling ingredients in the center of galette and fold a square over your filling ingredients and flip one more time to sear the edges.
  • Eat right away and enjoy!

*I'm not the biggest fan of non-stick pans, but we have one in our home just for this and our crepe recipe. There are many cheap versions of non-stick pans out there that could possibly leech out toxic chemicals into our food. I do my research and buy a trusted brand and use in moderation. It's all about balance :)

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2 comments:

  1. do have any filling ideas? have you ever tried these w/ ground raw buckwheat groats? I usually like them better than the toasted buckwheat flour.

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    1. Yes, we usually do these with turkey, avocado, tomato, and mushroom. And about the groats, I'm glad you asked. I meant to put something in the post about that. If you use just the groats and not whole buckwheat flour the galette turn out very puffy and don't crisp around the edges easily. But if you like the flavor better, and don't mind a softer galette, then feel free to try that.

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