Tarte Flambee

French Alsatian flat bread with bacon, onions & cheese.

A tart in flames?? I’d heard of Crepes Suzette Flambee or Bananas Foster Flambee and had trouble picturing a tart in flames so I was curious to try one. While staying in the incredibly quaint village of Riquewihr in the Alsace region of France for a family Christmas vacation, we noticed that every restaurant featured the name Tarte Flambee on their chalkboard out front.

It was actually at a crepe stand in another village, Obernai, during a perfectly timed, pillowy and fluffy snowstorm that we first tried the tarte. It was an instant favorite as we exclaimed - “C’est Merveilleux” of for those among us less eager to impress, “This is good!” That could not be the last time I tasted one so I bought a postcard that had the recipe on the back and tried it back home in my own kitchen where I had no illusions about my abilities at the French language, but somewhat more in my culinary abilities. And it was easily accomplished to rave reactions to the smoky bacon with the rich, nutty bite of the cheese, and creamy slightly tangy sauce, sweetened by the slivers of carmelized onions.

I've since heard it called French pizza but I had never considered the similarities as it is so uniquely flavored as to be a creation of some other great mind, who thinks just vaguely alike that of an Italian.

Flammekueche (the German pronunciation) or Tarte flambée (the French) is a well-known Alsatian specialty. It is like pizza in that a thin crust of dough is baked in a very hot oven but its topping is primarily crème fraîche, onions, and bacon. Like many traditional regional dishes there are innumerable ways of preparing it. Here is one example.

Dough:

• ¼ cup flour

• ¼ cup moderately warm water, about 110 degrees

• 1 tablespoon sugar

• 1 tablespoon yeast

• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon salt

• ¼ cup beer (or water)

• 6 tablespoons (¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons) milk

Topping:

• 2 tablespoons oil

• 1 medium onion, thinly slivered

• 1 cup crème fraîche, commercial or homemade (see note)

• ½ teaspoon salt

• ¼ teaspoon pepper

• 4 pinches nutmeg

• 6 ounces bacon, cut into matchsticks

• 1 cup sliced Muenster Cheese or Gruyere Cheese (optional)

·         NOTE: To make crème fraîche, combine 1 cup heavy cream with 2 tablespoons buttermilk or sour cream, stir, cover with plastic wrap, and leave at room temperature for 12 to 24 hours, or until it has become very thick. Refrigerate, and it will become even thicker. 

-Mix ¼ cup flour, ¼ cup water, yeast, 1 tablespoon sugar together in a small bowl, cover tightly, and set aside in a warm place for 30 minutes. When the starter is light and bubbly, mix the beer and milk into the mixture.

-Place the flour and salt into a food processor, then, with the motor running, add the yeast mixture through the feeding tube. Process the dough until it forms a ball. Add very small amounts of additional flour or milk if necessary.  Process the ball until it is smooth, elastic, and warm, about 45 seconds to 1 minute.

-Butter a medium-sized bowl, roll the ball around in the butter, then cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. Punch down and let rise a second time (an additional 45 minutes.) You may use the bread-proof function on your oven if you have one which will shorten the rising time by about 15 minutes for each rise.

-While the dough is rising, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a nonstick skillet. Add the onion and cook, stirring, over low heat for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool. Combine the crème fraîche, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Add the cooled onion.

-Heat the remaining oil in the skillet and fry the bacon until lightly browned, stirring constantly. Remove and drain through a strainer.

-Heat the oven to 450 degrees. Oil a 14 x 16 inch baking sheet. Roll the dough until slightly smaller than the baking sheet. Place it on the sheet. With greased fingers push the dough out even larger till it covers the baking sheet. Spread the onion mixture over the dough, leaving a very small raised rim all the way around, then dot with the bacon and cheese.

-Bake for 20 minutes, or until the tart is lightly browned. Serve very hot on a flat wooden board so it can easily be cut up. Serves 6 - 8 

Spread the creme fraiche over the dough in the pan.

Cut into squares and serve while still warm. Ooo..la..la!