Flammkuchen photo courtesy of lejoe on Flickr
Flamekuche (Onion, Bacon, and Creme Fraiche Tart)
1 recipe of your favorite pizza dough
2 medium white onions, cut in half vertically then sliced very thin
1 c. creme fraiche
about 1/2 c. diced bacon
freshly ground black pepper
freshly ground nutmegPreheat the oven to 450 degrees.
On a sheet of parchment paper, roll the pizza dough out very thin so it is about the size of your baking sheet. Place crust (still on parchment paper) onto baking sheet and stretch the edges if they shrank back while transferring the dough.
Mix onions and creme fraiche in a bowl, then spread mixture evenly over crust. Sprinkle diced bacon over top, then add a few grinds of black pepper and a few pinches of nutmeg. Bake 15-20 minutes, until crust is lightly browned and crispy. Enjoy!
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Wilkommen nach Deutschland!
Ok, full-disclosure time: I haven’t yet made this myself, but I watched very carefully as it was made in front of me at the home of one of my co-workers here in Germany earlier this evening. The whole time I was thinking, I’m really going to like this — simple, boldly flavored ingredients, a traditional french/german preparation… So, I made sure to take very detailed mental notes so that I could try to reproduce it at home.
Flammkuchen is far more than the sum of its parts. You might think that with just five ingredients (other than the crust) that you’d get something bland or with a flavor skewed too far in one direction. Not so! The onions, bacon, and creme fraiche are a magical trio — the bite of the onion lightens the creme fraiche which cuts the saltiness of the bacon which compliments the pungent onion — these are no doubt bold flavors but in the end the dish isn’t at all overwhelming. It’s in fact incredibly delicious — so delicious that after the dinner party I came straight back to my hotel and wrote up the recipe so I wouldn’t forget it. Not that there’s much to forget, there being a grand total of five ingredients…
To accompany the flamekuche we had glasses of both white and red Federweisser, also known as Suser, Junger Wein (young wine), or Sturm (translates to storm — called this due to its cloudy appearance). Federweisser is on the sweet side, and has a nice bubbly zing to it. It is the product of fermented freshly pressed grape juice, and as far as I know isn’t much available in the US (if you know of anywhere it is available, do leave a comment!) I have vague recollections of trying Sturm when I stayed in Linz and not being wild about it, but drinking it alongside its traditional partner flammkuchen was certainly a great way to start out my trip.
It may be sacrilegious, but when I make this at home I might consider adding a sprinkling of freshly chopped parsley, or perhaps half with parsley, half without to do a side-by-side comparison, traditional french/german v. california adaptation… anyhow, Guten Appetit!
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Comments
This entry was posted on Sunday, October 5th, 2008 at 12:26 pm and is filed under Delectable Dairy, Onion, Sausages, Meats, Veritable Vegetables. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Nice one, Jen! I love Flamenkuche - especially when I have nice crisp dry Riesling to go with it. Am looking forward to hearing more of your german gastronomic adventures.
yummmm - my favorite dish! onion tart is fantastic too - similar flavor. please try.
Oh, I am glad you are eating well in Germany. Looks wonderful (though I too would want the parsley.)
Saltpepperlime — a dry riesling would go wonderfully with flamekuche — I’ll try it when I make it at home
Hiroko — what sort of crust do you like for onion tart? puff pastry? regular tart crust?
maybelles mom — so far, the food has been great. The last time I was here I remember a distinct lack of vegetables, so this time around I’m stopping at the supermarket and picking up some easy-to-eat-raw veggies like cucumbers, carrots, and peppers to eat alongside everything else.
Flammekuchen ist easier on the stomach if you cook the freshly chopped onion in a bit of butter until glassy before putting it on the flammekuchen. Gives also a smoother taste.
Btw: parsley goes well with this. but put it on a bit later. It gets bitter fast.
Ah, that reminds me of my time studying at the University of Strasbourg in France. There it was called tarte flambee in addition to flammekuchen. I agree that it goes quite well with a nice Riesling, preferably Alsatian. :)
Flammkuchen is the best, and there are more than one delicious varieties. Thanks for the recipe!
Robert — thanks for the tip about sauteing the onions a bit before adding them to the flammekuchen!
Beth — what other varieties are there?
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here’s a recipe for tarte a l’oignon. yes, it is alsacien.
http://www.linternaute.com/femmes/cuisine/recette/305466/1384405027/tarte_a_l_oignon.shtml
Hiroko — thanks! that look delicious! one question though — how much is “1 pot moyen”? does it mean something like “small container”?
this looks great, but our little market in town does not carry creme fraiche. can i substitute sour cream? thanks! -denise
denise - I think that sour cream would work just fine. also, I’ve made this again since posting it originally, and I would recommend 1) using just enough creme fraiche / sour cream to coat the onions (could be anywhere from 1/2 - 1 c. depending on the size of your onions), and 2) partially precook the bacon pieces and drain off the grease. This made for a better result than the first time I tried it. I hope you enjoy it!
Oh, this stuff is so good. A great way to warm up on a cold winter’s afternoon.
Just wanted to let you know that my husband and son love this dish alot. Thanks for sharing.
Hey Jen, just came across your blog this afternoon and was browsing the archives… this tart (which looks delicious) seems vaguely reminiscent of a tart I’ve made several times before: one large or two medium yellow onions (sliced and cooked gently in butter until you can squish them with your fingers), brie, and fresh thyme over a sheet of puff pastry. I bet that, like so many things, it would benefit from the addition of a bit of bacon. It’s hard to go wrong with pastry/dough, onion, dairy, and bacon!