Buckwheat and vegetables

I knew the taste of buckwheat from buckwheat flour (see galettes), but had never actually eaten the grain whole. I was amazed by its shape: a kind of tetrahedron, quite unusual for a grain I thought! So, it tastes just like buckwheat flour but has a texture similar to that of bulghur or whole wheat.

So I wanted to try out of pure curiosity and I will use it again in the future because it is really nice. Another advantage on rice for instance is that it cooks in just over 5 minutes, thus saving energy.


This recipe serves 4 people:

125g buckwheat
1 red, 1 green, 1 yellow peppers, diced
1 courgette, sliced
10 baby sweetcorn cobs, sliced
herbs of your choice
unsalted cashew nuts

1. Boil the buckwheat for 5-6 minutes until tender
2. Fry the veg in olive oil, add the herbs of your choice
3. Roast the cashews under the grill and pre-heat the plates at the same time.
4. Serve immediately and enjoy!

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?