Galettes: cheap eats in Paris!

Montmartre at dusk.
Sacre Coeur (L), throngs of tourist trying to take arty photos of that pointy tower at sunset (M), an artist hard at work (R)

The past couple of months have been full of hectic travelling for both work and fun, going from super-hot to super-freezing weather! But this also meant lots of feasting in between, which has unfortunately resulted in coming home to Switzerland with an extra 3 kilos of food baby… (detox starts next week).

So it all started in November with another Paris trip – my first ever non-leisure one! I was fortunate enough to be invited to a week-long winter school on photovoltaics hosted by the Ecole de Mines de Paris. This was an annual event held at one of the IDEA League universities (the top technical universities of Europe). The week was a massive blur of super-intensive lectures, project work, lab visits, feasting, bar hopping, and (mild) hangovers.

As part of the course, we also visited some PV research centres. Because these companies are located in the suburbs of Paris, they have their own subsidised cafeterias. And my god, these are the Willy Wonkas of office cafeterias.  Firstly, I knew that the French are pretty passionate about eating. But seriously, 3-course meal lunches that can include options of duck, steak tartare, or salmon; a chocolate fountain (first time I’ve seen it outside of a wedding reception); and wines, all for under 10€? Of course, after lunch then everyone retires to the sunny coffee room for 50cents espressos before heading back to work.

I can only imagine the shock horror that a Frenchie must experience upon seeing the ‘lunching at desk’ culture in Australia…  Honestly, I would TOTALLY work in French engineering companies just for the food alone (in my head I assume they all have these kind of amazingly cheap cafeterias).

Wednesday night post-dinner Louvre-ing (L), pint-sized wine bar at Le Marais (M, R)

Unfortunately, the hostel restaurant we stayed at wasn’t as great as I hoped. But being on a grad student budget I couldn’t really afford too many repeat performances of the 3-course lunches inside of Paris. So, I ventured out and was pleasantly surprised to find some delicious cheapo foods in Paris (Zurich, take note!). They’re not exactly 3-course fanciness but are very filling! Here are some of my favourite Paris cheap eats for under 15€:

Hearty ramens at Higuma, 32 Rue St Anne (Metro: Opera). I was sooooo happy to find a full blown Japanese town in the middle of Paris, being so deprived of good Asian food in Zurich. It’s located near the Opera metro station just on Rue St Anne. Higuma is an awesome no-frills good Japanese restaurant well known for their ramen menu. They serve humongous bowls of ramen noodle soups in their own home-made broth. Ramens cost between €8-11. And unless you haven’t eaten all day or you have Hagrid-like appetite you’d want to share a bowl with a friend. It’s not uncommon to see people lining up for tables around the corner at dinner time and weekends.

Takoyakis at Happa Tei, 64 Rue St Anne (Metro: Opera). Just down the road from Higuma. Takoyakis are Japanese potato and squid balls cooked in a special rounded pan. It’s kind of like un-crumbed croquettes, topped with Japanese mayonnaise and bulldog sauce. One of the most scrumptious bites of food I’ve ever had. There is an upstairs area if you want to eat-in. A box of 6 balls costs 13€.

Galettes at Au P’tit Grec, 66 Rue Mouffetard (Metro: Place Monge). Not really hard to spot. It’s the shop that is always packed with both famished students and peckish late night patrons. They have an impressive spread of sweet and savoury galettes (thick crepes made with buckwheat flour), which will set you back a whopping 3-4€ each.

Felafels at Chez Marianne, 2, rue des Hospitalieres-Saint-Gervais. Le Marais area being the Jewish quarter is always packed on Sundays as it’s almost the only place where shops and restaurants do Sunday trading in Paris. Everyone always seems to make the beeline at L’as Felafels, but I prefer Chez Marianne. The marinated pepper is always the highlight of their gargantuan falafels for me (it’s almost like the size of 2 meals).

Appreciating art at the Louvre

Here is a recipe of my version of galettes with various fillings. Buckwheat flour is quite low in gluten, so really I can argue that my low-carb diet starts today ;)

The first is my version of Galette Complète, which is typically served with ham, egg, and emmental cheese. But since our fridge is looking tragically bare as a result of a long skiing week, I’ve had to make do with what we have (i.e. a very Aussie bacon and egg version). I also made a Galette Saucisse (with grilled sausage inside), but I only had a bratwurst and that worked! And last but not least, of course my favourite… Nutella!

Bacon & egg Galette Complète

Galettes (Bacon & Egg, Saucisse, Nutella)

For the galettes

2 cups of buckwheat flour

1.5-2 cups of water

Pinch of salt

1 large egg

1 tablespoon olive oil

For the fillings

Bacon & egg Galette Complète

2-3 strips of turkey bacon or bacon, cooked

1 medium sized egg

1 handful of grated cheese (I used Gruyere, but feel free to use any melting cheese)

Galette Saucisse

1 large sausage, grilled

Galette Nutella

A healthy dollop of Nutella at room temperature

1. Galette batter: sift the buckwheat flour and salt into a large bowl. Make a well in the middle of the bowl, and drop in the egg and oil. Whisk vigourously while continuously adding water until you achieve a very liquid consistency (like, pouring). Cover the bowl and chuck it in the fridge for an hour or two. Alternatively, if you are currently experiencing the mad European winter weather, like our -15 degrees in Zurich, leave it in the balcony for about half hour.
2. While you wait for the batter to chill, cook the fillings if needed.
3. Heat up a large frying pan over medium heat. If you’re not a master pancake flipper the medium heat stops the galettes from cooking too quickly, so you have more time to flip it without destroying the galette.
4. Drop a teaspoon of olive oil and with kitchen towel spread the oil around the pan evenly.
5. Pour in half a cup of the batter in the pan, and quickly swirl it around the pan making sure it covers the entire base.
6. For bacon and egg galette complète: when the edges of the galette are starting to crisp up (after about 30 seconds in the pan), throw in a handful of grated cheese and spread evenly on top of the batter. Break an egg in the centre of the galette. Spread the egg white around, leaving the yolk in the centre. Throw in the bacon around the egg yolk. Cook for about 2-3 minutes, then start folding the edges of the galette towards the middle, making a small parcel. The yolk will still be a bit runny. If you want a firmer yolk, cover the pan while you cook.
7. For the galette saucisse: when the edges of the galette are starting to crisp up, flip the galette and cook the other side. Put the cooked sausage in the centre of the galette and start folding the edges to wrap the entire sausage (like a buritto)
8. For the galette nutella: when the edges of the galette are starting to crisp up, flip the galette and cook the other side. Spread nutella evenly across the top. Fold however you like. Eat immediately.