Ham, cheese and egg buckwheat galette

Galette is a term used in French cuisine to designate various types of crusty cakes but also for the galette Bretonne. It is a pancake made with buckwheat flour and various savoury filling originally from my region, Brittany.

Credit: Adam Liaw

• serves

  4

• prep

  5 minutes

• cook

  15 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

This batter will make enough for about 15 galettes, but the remainder will keep refrigerated for up to 1 week.

Ingredients

• 4 eggs
• 50 g comte cheese
• 60 g sliced country-style ham
• 50 g baby spinach

Batter

• 1 kg buckwheat flour
• 1 egg
• 1 tbsp wild honey
• 1 tbsp salt flakes (fleur de sel if possible)
• 500 ml (2 cups) lager beer
• butter, for cooking and brushing

This recipe needs to be started 1 day in advance.

Instructions

1. For the batter, sift the flour into a bowl and make a well in the middle. Add the egg, honey and salt, then gradually whisk in the beer and 1 litre of cold water until a smooth batter forms. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, but ideally overnight.  
2. Remove the batter from the refrigerator 30 minutes before cooking the galette and stir well. The texture should be a creamy consistency. Add a little extra cold water if necessary.
3. Brush a little butter in a large, non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Tilting the pan as you go, pour enough mixture into the centre of the pan to lightly coat the base. Cook until the base is golden and the top is just set, then flip the galette over. Break an egg into the centre and spread the egg white a little. Sprinkle one quarter of the cheese and ham around the yolk and continue cooking until the egg is almost cooked to your liking. Add a quarter of the baby spinach around the yolk, then fold the edges of the galette up to almost reach the yolk. Cook for an extra minute, then brush the edges of the galette with a little melted butter and serve immediately.
4. Repeat with the remaining batter, eggs, cheese, ham and spinach.

 

Photography by Adam Liaw.

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Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.

This batter will make enough for about 15 galettes, but the remainder will keep refrigerated for up to 1 week.