Julie Biuso's spinach galettes

These are simply sensational, and not that much bother to make.

Tomato sauce

3 Tbsp	Olive oil
2	Garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
2 cans	Italian tomatoes, 400g each, crushed
1 to taste	Salt & freshly ground pepper

Spinach galettes

250 g	Frozen spinach (Main)
6	Free-range eggs, medium (size 6)
4 Tbsp	Milk
1 to taste	Salt & freshly ground pepper
30 g	Butter
½ cup	Parmesan cheese, freshly grated (or grana padano) cheese
1 handful	Basil leaves

Directions

1. For the tomato sauce: Put olive oil and garlic in a medium-sized saucepan over gentle heat.
2. Cook for a few minutes until garlic just starts to change colour.
3. Carefully tip in tomatoes, season with ½ a teaspoon of salt and a little black pepper, then bring to a gentle boil.
4. Lower heat and cook sauce for 30 minutes, stirring often, until thick and pulpy.
5. For the galette, thaw spinach in a microwave, cool, then wring out as much moisture as possible with your hands.
6. Chop finely. In a bowl, beat eggs with a fork, add spinach, milk and ½ a teaspoon of salt and black pepper to taste.
7. Preheat oven to 180 degC (fanbake).
8. Heat a small omelette pan and when it is nice and hot drop in a knob of butter.
9. When butter is sizzling and just threatening to burn (but don't let it!), add a small ladleful of spinach mixture.
10. Cook until golden, then turn pancake carefully with a palette knife and cook other side until golden.
11. Repeat to make 10 pancakes in total, heating a little more butter in the pan before cooking each one.
12. Have ready a shallow ovenproof dish which is large enough to hold 2 stacks of pancakes and line with baking paper.
13. When all pancakes are done, layer them in the ovenproof dish with the tomato sauce, cheese and basil making 2 stacks.
14. Put in the first two pancakes and spoon chunky tomato sauce over each.
15. Sprinkle with a little cheese (keep plenty for the top), add a few basil leaves and grind over a little black pepper.
16. Repeat layers until there are 5 pancakes in each stack. Spoon a little more sauce over each stack, sprinkle with cheese and dot with a little butter.
17. Cook for about 15 minutes in preheated oven, or until golden on top and bubbling around edges.
18. To serve, cut stacks into quarters like a cake.

Tip: You might be tempted to take a short cut and use an already prepared tomato sauce, but the sauce here is so easy, and will cost a quarter of the price of one from the supermarket - and, importantly, I reckon, you'll know what's in it if you make it yourself! I'd definitely serve a red with this - either a medium weight cabernet sauvignon or a cabernet merlot blend.