Breakfast
Buckwheat pancakes (Galettes de Sarrasin)
A classic bistro dish from Brittany. The buckwheat pancakes have a deep, nutty flavour and should be golden with a lacy, honey-comb like texture to them if done right. The key is to start with a hot pan and then lower the heat so that the egg can gently cook while the pancake develops a crispy, toothsome underside. They make a stout breakfast but are so filling that they would equally serve as brunch or lunch instead.
Cook's notes
You want to make your batter at least 2 hours in advance, preferably a day ahead. You can prepare all your fillings in advance too as they’ll reheat on top of the pancake.
Ingredients
For the pancakes:
- 100g buckwheat flour
- 1 egg
- salt
- 280ml water
- 2 tbsp butter, plus extra for greasing the pan.
For the filling:
- 4 eggs
- 200g mushrooms, fried and seasoned
- 300g spinach or chard leaves, wilted, cooled and roughly chopped
- 150g cheddar cheese, grated
- 100g shredded smoked ham – optional
- Salt & pepper
Method
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Step 1
Place the buckwheat flour into a bowl, make a shallow well in the centre and crack in the egg. Add a generous seasoning of salt and half the water. Whisk together until you have a thick lump-free batter and then slowly whisk in the rest of the water. Cover and leave in the fridge to rest for at least 2 hours, ideally overnight.
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Step 2
Meanwhile, prepare all the filling ingredients.
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Step 3
When ready, warm a frying pan or crepe pan over a medium heat and add 2 tbsp of butter. Let it melt and then tip it into the batter and whisk it in.
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Step 4
Grease the hot pan with a little more butter, return to the heat and then add a ladleful of batter to the pan, swirling it as you do so for a thin and even covering. Let it cook on a medium heat for a minute or so and then drop the heat down a fraction, so it is nice and steady.
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Step 5
Now, carefully crack an egg into the centre of the pancake and gentle swirl it around to spread the white out thinly. Re-centre the egg so the yolk is in the middle. Season the egg with a little salt and pepper.
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Step 6
Surround the yolk with some mushrooms, chopped spinach, grated cheese, and ham (if using). Continue to cook gently until the egg white is nearly set. Then fold the outside edges in to give you a square with the egg yolk still visible in the centre. The edges should be golden brown and crisp.
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Step 7
Cook for a further minute or so, until the egg is cooked but the yolk is still runny. Serve immediately.
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Step 8
If you want to make them all before all serving, you can hold them in a low oven (100°C) while you make each one, but it is worth slightly under cooking them as the eggs will continue to cook slowly in the oven as you work. Some people like to cook the all the pancakes on both sides first, fill and fold them and then bake them in the oven to set the eggs. Don’t feel like you need to use up all the batter, this recipe makes a little more than you need to cover contingencies, split eggs and disastrous first attempts!