Taste of Brittany: Buckwheat galettes

I like galettes and the really good thing about them is that you can accompany them with ANYTHING! The only limit is your imagination.

Galettes come from Upper Brittany and are similar to crepes (French pancakes) but made with buckwheat. I just discovered that buckwheat was brought back from Asia by crusaders during the XII century. It 'took off' in Brittany because of the right acidity of the soil. There were two ways of making buckwheat crepes, which bore two different names: galette in Upper Brittany and buckwheat crepes in Lower Brittany. The latter takes longer to make and is more fragile, therefore difficult to prepare with fillings. The former is the comon dish you will find in CREPERIES (crepe & galette restaurants). Galettes are usually used for savoury dishes whereas crepes are prepared with sweet fillings

Ingredients for 8 galettes:

250g buckwheat flour, sieved
1 egg, beaten (optional)
500ml water
pinch of salt

1. mix the flour with the salt in a big bowl and make a well.

2. dilute the beaten egg with the water and gradually add to the flour, stiring constantly with a wooden spoon, until very smooth. You cannot remove the water once it is in so make sure the batter is not too liquid! Your first galette may be too thick but you can add more water if necessary.

3. Heat a large frying pan (or a pancake pan if you have one!). Spread a small quantity of vegetable oil with a brush (silicone brush, or hairs will burn!). Spoon a soup-ladle of the batter onto the pan, avoiding holes. Turn after 1 min. Repeat until all the batter has been used, stiring the batter between each galette.

You can eat them plain, or fill them with anything you like: place a galette onto a frying pan, place the filling on one half, cover with the other half. Cook on both sides and serve with a green salad or some vegetables. If you like cider, this is the perfect drink to go with your galettes.
Yesterday, I filled the galettes with grated cheddar and slices of tomato, served with mushrooms cooked in soya cream, and a fried egg.

Now it is your turn! What is your favourite filling?