Chocolate filled crepe.

Outside of France, I often see the crepe batter used as a galette batter. This, while not strictly traditional, is not necessarily a bad thing. Making a crepe savory is as simple as stuffing them with what you would expect to find in a galette. I’ve done this myself a few times–it’s one less batter to make. Just remember that while a crepe can generally fill the role of a galette as a savory dish, the galette cannot normally make the leap to be a dessert. The buckwheat flour contributes earthy, wheat flavors that meld better with savory foods than with sweet ones.

As I mentioned before, the crepe is the refined version of the galette. The crepe uses much richer ingredients (milk/beer, eggs, white flour) and yields a much less dense dish.

My favorite fillings for crepes generally keep it simple. Lemon juice and sugar, butter and sugar, and dark chocolate are my top three favorite. And Nutella. Definitely Nutella. I eschew the many American recipes that adorn their crepes with whipped cream or ice-cream in favor of the simple, traditional application of flavors. I rarely get more complicated than pouring a bit of warmed Grand Marnier and lighting it on fire (which looks awesome, by the way).

I’ll repeat a few things from the galette recipe here as the preparation and cooking methods are very similar.

Using a non-stick skillet is key to good crêpes and galettes. If you try this in a regular skillet, your success rate will probably be very low.

Ingredients
3 eggs
2 cups unbleached flour
2 1/2 cups milk (or 1/2 beer, 1/2 milk)
2 tbsps oil
up to 3 tbsps Grand Marnier (or use a tiny bit of orange extract)
unsalted butter (for cooking)

Batter Directions

1. Make a well in the center of the flour in a large mixing bowl. Add the eggs and combine gradually with a whisk until it comes together. DO NOT just mix everything with a spoon. Gradual mixing is key to avoiding a lumpy batter.
2. Keep mixing until it nearly forms a dough. It should be thicker than brownie batter and most of the flour will still be on the edges of the bowl. Slowly add beer/milk to thin it and to work in the rest of the flour. Once as it comes together, add the salt, oil, and Grand Marnier. Whisk well.
3. Allow the dough to rest at least two hours in the fridge. Remove from fridge half an hour before use.

When you are ready to cook, the batter may need a little more liquid added to thin it, especially if allowed to sit in the fridge over night. It should have the consistency of a thin pancake batter (or like heavy cream).

Cooking Directions
Use the largest skillet you can get your hands on!
Tip: Put a pad of butter in a small plate and keep a paper towel folded to smear butter into the skillet between cooking. Keep using the same paper towel. You could use a non-stick spray, but any Frenchman worth his salt would insist on using real butter.

1. Heat a large, non-stick skillet over medium to medium-high heat. When hot (a drop of batter will sizzle), add butter to the skillet and wipe with the paper towel to coat the pan.
2. For a 12 inch skillet pour slightly under one half cup of liquid into the center of the skillet and swirl the pan to spread the batter evenly. I find it helps to shake the pan as you rotate. If you need to patch any holes, do it quickly so the crepe cooks evenly.
3. After 30-60 seconds, flip the crepe. If you aren’t afraid to drop one, go ahead and try to flip it in the pan. Otherwise just slip a spatula under and flip.
4. Cook for 30 seconds more, add whatever filling you need and cook for 30 more seconds. Some fillings, like syrups, are best to add once the crepe has been plated.
5. To plate, fold the crepe in half to make a semi-circle, again to make a quarter-circle, and one last time to make eighths.

Dark Chocolate Sauce
If you have a chocolate sauce you like, you can use that instead of making your own. I like a rich, dark chocolate flavor that is not too sweet. This simple recipe takes only moments to make and allows you to easily control the flavor.

Ingredients
2 parts cocoa powder
1 part sugar
2-3 parts hot water

Directions
Start with 2 parts cocoa powder and one part sugar in a bowl. Add just enough hot water to mix it in a thick paste. Starting out with a paste will make sure that all the chocolate and sugar dissolve without leaving lumps in the sauce. Once the chocolate and sugar are mixed in the paste, taste it. If you like a sweeter sauce, add more sugar, for a richer chocolate flavor, add more cocoa. Slowly incorporate more hot water until it reaches the consistency of a thick sauce.

Butter Sugar or Lemon Sugar
You could probably figure this out yourself. The ingredients are already listed for you…
For the butter-sugar crepe, while the open crepe is still in the hot pan, spread some butter over the crepe with a spatula. Then sprinkle on some sugar to your liking. Fold. Serve.
For the lemon-sugar crepe, replace the butter above with freshly squeezed lemon juice.

I mentioned a bit of the history when I reviewed La Crêperie Bretonne from my Paris trip. Crêpes and galettes are a traditional Breton dish from the north-west of France. Today, crêperies can be found all over France (and the world) and have become a well known example of French food. One thing that is commonly overlooked (at least in the US) is that the traditional drink with galettes and crepes is a dry cider served in a bolée (a kind ceramic cup).

Galette with onions, tomato, cheese, ham and egg.

Galettes began their life as the peasant’s crepe. Buckwheat was imported to the north of France because it could be cultivated in the poor growing soils. This flour was used instead of white flour–the refined flour was for the rich. Only one egg and water, instead of three eggs and milk in my crêpe recipe, are used to bind the flour into a dough. Simple, whole wheat ingredients make for a very frugal, yet filling dish.

Speaking of filling, what can you put in a galette? Anything, nearly. Asparagus, tomato, onion, ham, cheese, egg, turkey… My favorite “galette complete” is a combination of grated Emmental (or Gruyere) cheese, a slice of ham and a scrambled egg, cooked on the galette.

One more note before I get into the recipe: Using a non-stick skillet is key to good crêpes and galettes at home. If you try this in a regular skillet, your success rate will probably be very low. Of course, you can get a real, cast iron crepe pan if you want to, but non-stick is easier. And easy is good.

Galette with ham, cheese and egg.

Ingredients
2 cups buckwheat flour
2 tbsp regular flour
1 egg, separate yolk and white
2 1/2 cups water
salt & pepper
2 tbsp oil (vegetable, canola…)

Batter Directions

1. Combine the buckwheat and white flour in a large mixing bowl. Make a well in the center of the flour and add the egg yolk. Combine gradually with a whisk until it starts to come together. DO NOT just mix everything with a spoon. Gradual mixing is key to avoiding a lumpy batter.
2. Slowly add water to thin it and to work in the rest of the flour. Add enough water to make it about the consistency of a thick sauce, about two to two-and-a-half cups. As it comes together, add the salt, pepper, and oil. Whisk well.
3. In a small mixing bowl, whip the egg white to just under stiff peaks. Fold the whipped egg white into the batter.
4. Allow the dough to rest at least two hours in the fridge. Remove from fridge half an hour before use.

When you are ready to cook, the batter may need a little more liquid added to thin it, especially if allowed to sit in the fridge over night. It should have the consistency of a thin pancake batter (or like a heavy cream).

Cooking Directions
Use the largest skillet you can get your hands on!
Tip: Put a pad of butter in a small plate and keep a paper towel folded to smear butter into the skillet between cooking. Keep using the same paper towel. You could use a non-stick spray, but any Frenchman worth his salt would insist on using real butter.

1. Heat a large, non-stick skillet over medium to medium-high heat. When hot (a drop of batter will sizzle), add butter to the skillet and wipe with the paper towel to coat the pan.
2. For a 12 inch skillet pour about a third of a cup of liquid into the center of the skillet and swirl the pan to spread the batter evenly. I find it helps to shake the pan as you rotate. If you need to patch any holes, do it quickly so the crepe cooks evenly.
3. After about 60 seconds, add any fillings you want. Most fillings can/should be constructed directly in the hot skillet. See below for specific instructions.
4. To plate, most galettes are not folded into triangles like crepes, but are folded into a square or rectangle. I like to fold the left and right sides into each other and allow the filling to show at the top and the bottom.

Fillings: I’ll describe how to do an egg, ham and cheese galette. You can substitute any of the ingredients you need want.

When adding the ingredients in step three, I have found it’s best to do it in this order. First lay a slice of ham flat onto the galette. Wait a few seconds for the ham to heat, then break an egg over the ham. If you want scrambled egg, run your fork through you yolk a few times to mix it up. Once the egg begins to set, sprinkle cheese over the galette. If doing sunny-side up, the presentation is nicer if you don’t put cheese directly over the yolk. Fold the edges toward the center and serve.

Heath tip: There are not really many changes to make. It’s already pretty much whole wheat, you can leave out the white flour. Use a non-stick spray instead of butter in the skillet. Go light with the cheese. Throw some thinly sliced vegetables in the galette and you’re set.

First thing first, order a bottle of cider. Cider is the traditional drink to have with galettes and crêpes. It’s a bit different from US cider as the carbonation is a result of natural fermentation as opposed to forced carbonation during bottling. This yeilds a smoother drink. Oh, and you normally drink of out bolées.

Galette

I know that nearly everyone knows what a crêpe is, but what about the galette? The galette is the savory, salty version of the dessert crêpe. This thin pancake has it’s origins rooted in the traditions of a simple, cheap, poor man’s dinner. It is made with buckwheat flour, as the refined, white flour used is crêpes was not commonly available, and fewer eggs (or none). (The white flour and eggs were used by the likes of Marie “Let Them Eat Cake” Antoinette.)

The nutty flavors of the galette also help it stand up better to the various savory ingredients used. A galette “complète”, as I ordered mine, basically means it has egg, meat, and cheese wrapped in it for the meal. The final difference between the galette and the crêpe is simply the presentation. Galettes are normally folded into squares or rectangles, crepes are folded into triangles. The thicker filling of the galette doesn’t fold nicely into a triangle.

Flambéed Nutella Crêpe

The crêpes are what keep people interested. This one was a Grand Marnier flambéed Nutella crêpe. It’s kind of hard to see the fire in the picture, but the pale blue glow over it is the flame. Other varieties include the no-fuss butter-sugar crêpe (a fantastic classic) and the lemon crêpe (absolutely worth a try). But me, I’m all about the Nutella or the chocolate crêpes.

Granted, you can pick up a street crêpe at any street corner, but to get the real deal, stop by La Crêperie Bretonne.