Turkish Spinach Galette
Enjoy a savoury pancake with this Turkish Galette from Rachel de Thample's FIVE cookbook. These incredible buckwheat pancakes are easy to make and they're gluten free.
Introduction
Around the corner from my old flat there was a cosy creperie, La Galette, where they served the most delicious Breton-style buckwheat pancakes. All washed down with Breton cider, of course.
Galettes are great carriers for all manner of filling, including lots of fruit and veg. This recipe is packed with lots of fresh spinach, spicy harissa and a runny egg yolk in the middle for dipping.
Ingredients
| 200g | buckwheat flour |
| a pinch of salt | |
| 200ml | hot water |
| 2tbsp | butter or olive oil |
| 200ml | milk (any kind) |
| 1 | egg, beaten |
| 50ml | beer (or water) |
| a few glasses of oil | |
| FOR THE FILLING | |
| 500g | spinach |
| 2 | garlic cloves, finely chopped |
| a few glosses of oil | |
| 100g | natural or Greek yoghurt |
| 2tsp | harissa or 1-2tsp chilli flakes (more or less, to taste) |
| 4 | egg yolks |
| 2tbsp | dukka |
| sea salt and freshly ground pepper |
Method
Measure the flour into a large bowl and swirl in a good pinch of sea salt.
Mix the hot water and butter or oil until the butter melts. Pour into the flour along with the milk and egg and whisk until smooth. Pop the batter into the fridge and leave it to rest, preferably overnight. If you store it in a large jar or yoghurt pot with a lid, when you take it out of the fridge the next morning you can just give it a shake and pour it straight into the pan.
When you are ready to cook, add the beer or water to the batter and shake or whisk vigorously to mix.
Heat a large pan or pot until hot while you prepare the spinach.
Use baby or small leaves of spinach if you can. If you've huge green leaves, strip off the woody stems (retain and use them in something else) and roughly chop the soft greens. Rinse the spinach, leaving the water clinging to the leaves. Add them to the hot pan along with a hit of salt and pepper, and the garlic. Fold the spinach until about half of it has wilted down; the rest will contine cooking after you've taken it off the heat. Tip the spinach into a sieve or colander. Gently squeeze it to remove the bitter juices.
Heat a separate frying pan and brush with a little oil, to coat. Pour the batter into the centre of the pan until you have a circle about the size of a saucer. Swirl the pan to distribute the batter thinly around the base (now it should be about the size of a dinner plate). Add a little more batter if needed but work quickly.
Cook over a high heat until it is set on one side, flip, then pile a mound of spinach in the centre. Top with a couple of tablespoons of yoghurt, a swirl of harissa or a pinch of chilli flakes.
Perch an egg yolk in the centre and scatter a little of the dukka mix on top. Fold the sides of the galette toward and slightly over the filling, leaving a little peeping gap for the egg yolk. Pop a lid over the folded galette to help set the yolk to your liking. Transfer to a plate and repeat with the remaining batter and filling.
HOMEMADE DUKKA
Make your own dukka by toasting the following in a dry frying pan until fragrant: 2tbsp sesame seeds, 1 tbsp cumin seeds, 1 tbsp coriander seeds, 2 tbsp pine nuts or crushed hazelnuts, a good pinch of sea salt. Store in a jam jar, lid tightly sealed, for up to 6 months.
