Recipe: Ski Chalet Buckwheat Galettes

Ski-chalet food is just the sort of thing I fancy at this time of year, for two reasons: 1) I’ve officially decided to give up any pretence of diet or restraint until 2016, and 2) the warm winter evenings and smell of christmas trees remind me of alpine resorts and wonderful gut-busting food to gorge yourself on after a day on the slopes.

In fact, I’ve never been served anything like this in a ski-chalet – vegetarianism still seems a fairly alien concept in the Alps, and I usually seem to end up eating “beaucoup des frites”, (not that I’m complaining).  But if I ran a vegetarian ski chalet, (hey, there’s an idea!), it would serve food like these Ski Chalet Buckwheat Galettes.

The inspiration for the filling comes from the traditional French dish ‘Tartiflette’, which I’ve never actually eaten in France as it always contains bacon.  But the rest of the ingredients sound so lovely that this is my little nod to it.

I say traditional, but rumour has it that Tartiflette was in fact dreamt up in the 1980s by Reblechon producers, as a way to sell more of their cheese, (the recipe usually contains an entire Reblechon!).

So, my galettes are stuffed with white-wine braised onions, garlic, sliced new potatoes, reblechon cheese and plenty of fresh parsley.  The pancakes themselves are delicious – buckwheat has a wonderfully nutty flavour, and despite its name is not a wheat, and is in fact gluten-free.

Please note: this recipe is not vegan – this blog became vegan in January 2016 and recipes posted before that date may not be vegan.

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Ski Chalet Buckwheat Galettes

Prep Time

15 mins

Cook Time

30 mins

Total Time

45 mins

 

Course: Main

Cuisine: French

Servings: 4 galettes

Author: Kate Ford | The Veg Space

Ingredients

For the buckwheat galettes:

• 100 g buckwheat flour
• pinch salt
• 1 egg
• 300 ml milk
• 50 g melted butter
• oil for frying

For the filling:

• 1 onion, peeled and finely sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
• 50 ml white wine
• 6 small new potatoes
• 4 large slices reblechon cheese (raclette or gruyère would also work well here)
• handful fresh parsley, finely chopped

Instructions

1. Make the pancake batter - in a large bowl or jug, measure out the flour and salt. In a separate jug, mix the milk, egg and melted butter, then pour this slowly into the flour, whisking carefully to make sure there are no lumps. Set the batter aside to rest.
2. Boil the potatoes in their skins for 15 minutes, then leave to cool.
3. Meanwhile, heat 2 tbsp oil in a frying pan, then add the onion and garlic. Once it is sizzling, lower the heat and cook gently for 5 minutes until soft. Then add the white wine, bring to the boil then lower to a simmer once again, and cook for a further 5 minutes. Pour into a small bowl and set aside, and wipe the frying pan clean.
4. Preheat the oven to 200C / 400F / gas mark 6.
5. Heat a little more oil in the frying pan, then pour in some pancake batter and swirl around to fill then pan as thinly as possible. Cook for a minute or two until golden brown, then flip over and cook for a further minute on the other side. Remove to a plate, and cover with a square of greaseproof paper or a very clean tea towel. (NB - the first pancake is usually pretty rubbish - don't panic, there is enough batter to make at least five, so you won't be left short!). Make the remaining pancakes in the same way.
6. Take each pancake, top with a quarter of the onion, potato, cheese and parsley, then fold in the four edges to enclose the filling, and place on a baking tray. Repeat with the remaining pancakes. Pop in the oven for 3-4 minutes until the cheese has melted and the pancakes are just starting to crisp up. Serve immediately with a crisp green salad and cold glass of wine!

Here are some more buckwheat pancake ideas from blogging friends:

• Helen’s Buckwheat crepes with creamy asparagus, beans & mushrooms from Family Friends Food
• Elizabeth’s Buckwheat Blini Pancakes from Elizabeth’s Kitchen Diary
• Choclette’s Banana Pancakes with Ricotta and Chocolate Sauce from Tin & Thyme

For more inspiration take a look at my Pinterest board Pancakes, Croquettes and Fritters: Vegetarian & Vegan
Follow Kate Ford | The Veg Space’s board Pancakes, Fritters & Croquettes: Vegetarian & Vegan on Pinterest.

I’m linking this recipe to Meat Free Mondays challenge over at Tinned Tomatoes – hop over for seven days of veggie inspiration!