Breton galette complète

 

The pancake police raid your house on Shrove Tuesdays and if you haven't attempted some form of posh pancakery your punishment will be that your partner gives up cheese for lent - and that's bad. This happened to me once and it was a most miserable month as most meals require le fromage, bolognese sans parmesan, unthinkable I say, cauliflower cheese without cheese, well err no. These days I insist on some sort of pancakes then the following day she gives up wine, gin, chocolate, holding hands... Whatever. She's only making herself more moribund.

I've eaten galettes in Brittany, and used to make them for my kids years ago, made of a batter of buckwheat flour, they are a sort of nutty flavoured savoury pancake and usually folded into a square, (this pic above, I left open for the photo). Usually the ingredients are fresh ham and emmental cheese with an egg, which makes the galette 'complete'. However bacon and cheddar worked just as well, and I thought it made a quick tea. About a million years ago on Shrove Tuesdays the kids would have one of these and then a crepe and love them, forming an orderly que until I'd run out of batter, or lemons or both... Anyway the gf  wasn't impressed, 'tastes like breakfast', she moaned. Note to self, make them for yourself, or serve for breakfast.

So make your batter, buckwheat flower, salt, an egg, water, a few drops of milk, whisk till there is no lumps then stop - the batter consistency wants to be like, well just thicker than Heinz tomato soup, if you can imagine that. Set the batter aside in a fridge for at least 30 mins, or overnight for breakfast use,

You need hot frying pan, a touch of butter (use the edge of  the pack) then a ladle of batter, swirl around to cover, leave it alone for a minute, check the pancake is free and then turn it over, it wants to have a little colour, next turn the heat down and put an egg in the middle, wait thirty seconds and now carefully swirl it about a bit, so the egg white spreads out, add grated cheese and some bacon that you have been cooking under the grill or in another pan. As the cheese melts and the egg starts to go white carefully fold over the sides of the pancake to form an envelope around the egg, Serve when you judge the egg to be as ready. 

Serve with a Normandy farm cider or a Ricard Pastis and be very rude about the English. Oh and whilst eating galettes always chain smoke Gualoise cigarettes.