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Wow, writing this Buckwheat Galette recipe really sent me.
I first got to taste this dish in St. Malo, on the Brittany coast in France. I was on a trip for my 30th birthday, in the home of my ancestors. They hadn’t lived there for centuries, but it was from here that my father’s forebears made their way to Canada and eventually spread to Michigan, where I was born.
On that trip, after enjoying Paris for several days, we wandered up to St. Malo, where we took bike rides along the coast to Cancale. There, straddling an ancient wall made up of oyster shells, I ate an oyster the size of my fist aptly named “Pied de Cheval” (horse’s foot). We called it my birthday cake.
To my left, vendors were selling all kinds of oysters right there on the street. To my right, there was the beach, and centuries-old oyster beds tucked right there into the ocean. And beyond that, the never ending horizon. What a place to celebrate a milestone birthday.
On the first day in St. Malo I also discovered the most incredible breakfast. It was a buckwheat galette with fried eggs, swiss cheese and stewed sweet onions, very popular in this part of France. My god, it shook me to my core. I had to have it every day for breakfast for the rest of the trip, and when I came home I began perfecting my own version.
The crunchy, nutty galette, the gooey, melted swiss cheese and sweet onions all topped off with a perfectly fried egg with the goldenest of runny yolks. Ugh… Fifteen years later, I still salivate just thinking about it, and it’s still in my rotation.
A buckwheat galette in St. Malo, circa 2011
30 year old me, feeling très Parisian. Circa 2011
Feel Good Vibes
- Buckwheat is naturally gluten free and brings more fiber and minerals than a standard white flour crepe.
- Eggs and Swiss cheese add satisfying protein and fat, making this feel like a real meal rather than a delicate breakfast pastry.
- Onions and arugula add prebiotic fiber, antioxidants, and freshness, balancing the richness of the butter, cheese, and egg.
Ingredient Substitutions
- Light buckwheat flour: dark buckwheat flour (crepe will be darker)
- Muscovado sugar: coconut sugar, maple sugar, turbinado sugar or cane sugar if not avoiding refined sugars.
- Sweet rice flour: King Arthur gluten free all purpose flour
- Butter: ghee can be used to cook the crepe batter
- Melted onions: grilled veggies (peppers, squash, zucchini, eggplant)
- Swiss cheese: sliced provolone, mozzarella, havarti or gouda
- Over easy fried or poached eggs: sliced prosciutto or ham
- Arugula: spinach, watercress
- Lemon: sherry or champagne vinegar
- Olive Oil: avocado or grapeseed oil
Recipe Tips & FAQs
- Where to find light buckwheat flour: You don’t have to use light buckwheat flour, but I think it looks more appetizing. I love this Bouchard Family Farms light buckwheat flour.
- What’s the golden rule with making pancakes and crepes? You’ve got to accept the fact that the first one you cook usually doesn’t turn out right. Usually the temperature needs to be adjusted, or maybe you add too much or too little batter. Don’t be hard on yourself. You’ll know you’ve got it dialed in when the bottom gets golden brown and the top layer has a nice amount of little lacy holes in it.
- The trick with the melted onions is to cook them with a lid on in a heavy bottomed pot and go nice and slow. If they start to brown, stir and lower the heat.
- A galette sometimes means “cake” in French, but in the somewhat independent region of Brittany, a galette is actually something similar to a crepe. The main differences are the addition of buckwheat flour, which lends a nutty flavor to this dish, and the choice of a savory filling in lieu of something sweeter.
- The batter needs to rest overnight, so prep a day ahead. The good news is the batter will last up to 4 days in the refrigerator. You’ll be grateful to find it waiting for you so you can easily make a quick breakfast, lunch or dinner and add any type of filling your heart desires.
Serving Suggestions
- The buckwheat crepe can be filled with anything you want. I recommend the roasted sweet potatoes & spinach filling from this delicious wrap for a tasty lunch.
- Serve it along with this Asparagus Mushroom Frittata for a weekend brunch.
- I’m not really into dessert crepes myself, but if that’s your thing, here’s a whole slew of ideas.
Storage and Shelf Life
Make Ahead: Crepes and melted onions can (and should) be made ahead of time
Refrigerate: Components can be stored separately in airtight containers for 3-4 days.
Freezer: Crepes can be frozen individually and stored in an airtight container for up to a month.
Reheat Instructions
To reheat the crepes, preheat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Warm up the crepes for 30 seconds in the pan. Quickly place a piece of swiss cheese on top.
To heat up the melted onions, place the desired amount in a saucepan over medium heat until warmed through.
Final Thoughts
I know it’s silly, but I get that sweet sort of heartache when I look back at pictures of my 30th birthday trip. I’m just so grateful that it happened. Getting to explore your roots is such an enlightening experience, especially when it involves food.
Diving into the cuisine of your forebears and finding dishes to pull back into the present, dishes that you can create thousands of miles away from where they enjoyed them, keeps me connected to my family and my past.
When I eat a buckwheat galette for breakfast or buy butter imported from Brittany (as I did earlier this spring), I get a chance to daydream about what my ancestors were like, and imagine a day in the life of a 16th century Mr. or Mrs. LeRoy. I imagine them walking the beach of St. Malo, harvesting mussels under the ramparts, or at least haunting the famous tide pool, where a very dramatic descendant would one day stand around eating a buckwheat galette and thinking about them. Maybe they got to plunder English and Portuguese ships on the open seas (given St. Malo’s colorful history, it’s not much of a stretch to assume I might have some corsair blood in me).
If they were pirates, that’s pretty epic. But centuries later, I’d like to give some of the bounty back by sharing this incredible Buckwheat Galette recipe with you.
On the beach in St. Malo, circa 2011
Bon Secours seawater tide pool in St. Malo, circa 2011
Have you tried this recipe yet? If so, tell us how they turned out in the comments below. I hear that leaving positive comments on recipe websites is an easy way to bank some favourable winds for your next voyage.
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Buckwheat Galette
Special Equipment
- non-stick crepe or omelet pan
Ingredients
Galette: batter must rest overnight
- 2 cups buckwheat flour
- 1 tablespoon muscovado sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 egg
- 4 cups milk
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
Melted Onions
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 pound vidalia onions peeled and thinly sliced
- 1.5 tablespoon sweet rice flour
- 1 cup milk
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
- Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
- Sea salt to taste
- Fresh cracked black pepper to taste
To Assemble:
- Crepe batter
- 3 tablespoon unsalted butter
- Melted Onions
- 20 slices high quality swiss cheese
- 20 over easy fried or poached eggs
- 1 bunch arugula
- 1 lemon
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Make the Galette Batter: Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a small pot over medium heat.
- Combine 2 cups of buckwheat flour, 1 tablespoon muscovado sugar and ¼ teaspoon sea salt in a large bowl.
- Whisk 1 egg in a large bowl, then add 4 cups of milk. Blend the liquid into the dry ingredients. Next, whisk in 1 tablespoon of melted butter until smooth.
- Store covered in the fridge until ready to use. The batter will need to chill for at least 8 hours.
- Make the Melted Onions: Melt 2 tablespoons unsalted butter in a large saucepan. Cook 1 pound of thinly sliced vidalia onions, covered, on low to medium heat until translucent, stirring frequently, about 30 minutes.
- Add 1.5 tablespoons of sweet rice flour, stirring until it’s combined. Then whisk in 1 cup of milk and 2 tablespoons of cream. Grate a pinch of fresh nutmeg into the sauce and let it come to a simmer, whisking frequently and making sure to scrape the bottom of the pan so the sauce doesn’t scorch. As soon as the sauce comes to a rapid simmer the heat has activated the starch, and this causes it to thicken. Remove it from the heat. Season with sea salt and freshly cracked pepper to taste and chill until ready to use.
- When you are ready to make the galettes, melt a small pat of butter on medium heat in a non-stick crepe or omelet pan.
- Once the pan is hot, ladle 2 ounces of batter into the pan. Use a quick rotating motion to make the thin batter coat the bottom of the pan, or use a crepe spatula to spread the batter evenly.
- Cook for 15 seconds and then using a spatula and your hands, flip the galette on its other side. Add a slice of cheese and top with a tablespoon of melted onions. Fold the galette in half and transfer to a plate. Continue making the rest of your galettes.
- Cook your eggs according to your desired outcome, then place an egg on top of each galette. Toss the arugula with lemon juice and olive oil, place a small amount on the galette and enjoy immediately.
Hi, I’m Julia.
I’m a chef and wellness advocate passionate about helping others live well through nourishing food. I trained at the Culinary Institute of America and now work as a personal chef and community food advocate in Atlanta.
Want to know what inspired me to start Everyday Alchemy? Click the link icon below to read more.