Leek Fondue Galettes

A vegetarian version of the traditional food eaten in France on Mardis Gras: Savory Crêpes with Leeks!

Finally! It’s about time I post some real awesome French cooking since my recent trip to Paris! While I was in Paris I took an awesome cooking class at La Cuisine Paris on how to cook crêpes! Eric, our instructor was great, it’s the first cooking class I’ve ever taken and I learned a lot, even about the simple things like how to properly hold a knife! I certainly need to keep practicing the crêpes as mine did not turn out nearly as pretty at home, but definitely as delicious!

Galettes made in Paris at La Cuisine!

In France there are two kinds of crêpes,  sweet crêpes that usually are filled with fruit or chocolate and are seen for desert or breakfast. And then there are Galettes, which are savory crêpes filled with anything, like cheese, vegetables, meat, or whatever you like. Galettes are also different because they are made with buckwheat flour.

Here in the US finding buckwheat flour meant a trip to Whole Foods and I feel like it is a little different than the buckwheat flour in Paris. None the less, it worked and was delicious! Another plus is that buckwheat flour is gluten free!

Mardi Gras in France is quite a bit different than Mardi Gras in New Orleans. In France traditionally you eat a lot of Galettes and the kids dress up in costumes like US kids do on Halloween! So this year I wanted to throw a Mardi Gras party and combine the two traditions. Thanks to Steph we had awesome Mardi Gras themed cupcakes, great decorations and she saved the day making these dang crêpes! I must say she was having much easier of a time making them than I was, I certainly wasn’t having the abilities I thought I did in my cooking class!  

This recipe is entirely owned by La Cuisine Paris but I just had to share it with you because it is AMAZING!

This recipe serves 4.

The Galette Innards:

• 175 g (1 cup) Buckwheat Flour
• 250-300 ml (1-1 1/2 cups) cold Water
• Salt
• 1 Egg
• Butter

How to Make Galettes:

1. Place the flour and salt in a large mixing bowl.

2. Slowly add the water in, constantly whisking.

3. Continue adding the water until you’ve used about 250 ml and until the mixture is a pancake like consistency, pretty runny.

4. Then whisk in the egg.

5. Cover with saran wrap and set aside to let the batter rest for about 30 minutes.

6. When you are ready to make the Galettes Get a large flat skillet and turn your stove to medium heat.  The batter may have thickened, so just add the rest of the water if you need to thin it out.

Here comes the fun but tricky part!

7. Grease your pan with butter before each Galette is cooked. Use a paper towel to wipe up any excess butter.

8. Using a ladle pour some batter into one corner of the pan with the pan tilted.

9. Tilt the pan around until the batter is spread evenly across the bottom.

10. Set the pan back on the burner and let cook for a couple minutes, similar to a pancake it will bubble.

11. Once it will freely lift from the pan, flip it and cook the other side for a couple of minutes.

You can use a spatula to flip it, I honestly just use my hands.

Don’t worry the first one usually is not the best one, it helps you determine if your heat is right, if you have enough/too much butter, and if your batter is thin enough. You want them to be very thin!

It seriously takes time and practice to make pretty uniform Galettes!

The Leek Fondue Innards:

• 4 Leeks, chopped
• 1 Shallot, minced
• 1 TBSP Butter
• 1 TBSP Olive Oil
• S&P
• 1 tsp dried Thyme
• about 1/2 cup White Wine
• about 1/2 cup Cream

How to make the Leek Fondue:

1. Cut the green ends off of your leek. (Leeks in Colorado are TINY compared to the leeks in Paris)

2. Slice the leek down the middle so you can rinse it with water to clean it.

3. Then chop the leek and shallot.

4. Melt the butter and oil in a pot on medium heat and add the shallots and leeks.

5. Let cook for a couple minutes, then add just enough white wine to barely cover them and add your salt, pepper, and thyme.

6. Turn down the heat and let reduce for about 20 minutes.

7. Add the cream and let cook for a few more minutes.

Optional: Make a goat cheese cream sauce to top the Galette (Highly recommended)

1. In a small pot put about 4 oz of goat cheese,  1/4 cup of cream and a few TBSP white wine, salt, and pepper.

2. Cook it on medium to low heat until the goat cheese is melted and everything is mixed together.

Put together the Galettes!:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 (to heat it all up again since your Galettes are probably not hot anymore)

2. Place a spoonful of leek fondue on a Galette and fold it in half.

3. Place them on a baking sheet and cook in the oven for about 10 minutes so that they are all delicious and warm again.

4. Top with the goat cheese cream sauce if you made it and dig in!

Bon Appétit!