Every time I teach the class in my rotation that includes Tarte Flambée, I tell myself that I really do need to share the recipe on my
blog. But since I usually teach this
class in late spring, my attention is always quickly diverted to the wonderful
spring vegetables and fruits that are filling the markets ...and I forget....
But this year, even though the produce departments are
brimming with artichokes, peas of all kinds, asparagus, greens, strawberries
and rhubarb, I have been too busy to think very much about anything other than
work. Of course work for me means I'm
cooking...but I haven't had much time to record what I'm doing...much less take
a lot of pictures (I've just been racing to get dinner on the table before I
move on to the next thing....).
Fortunately, since I have always wanted to do a post on Tarte Flambée,
I already have pictures.... So it seems
that the moment for featuring this classic from France has finally arrived.
If you have never encountered Tarte Flambée,
it is somewhat like a white pizza...with bacon.
In fact, it is often referred to as the pizza of Alsace. I have always heard that the origins of this
tart lie in the village bread ovens of Alsace.
Once a week, when the ovens were fired up for bake day, the local
workers and farmers would take advantage of the intense heat of the freshly
fired oven—which would have still been too hot to bake bread—to make a quick
lunch. The ingredients—a scrap of yeast
dough, fresh cheese, bacon and onions—would have been readily available, so it
would have been the simple, sensible and delicious thing to do.
I'm not sure where and when I first encountered this
delicious tart. I know that I had it once
many years ago at a home in Normandy. I
was totally enamored by it, but unfortunately didn't get the recipe. I also remember watching Andre Soltner make
his restaurant version (on puff pastry instead of a simple yeast dough) many years ago. The
video for this version is still available on line and is well worth watching. When I
make it now, it is Soltner's topping that
I use on a traditional yeast dough crust.
Apparently in its original guise the bacon
and onions would have been placed raw onto the cheese smeared round of
dough. In the wood fired oven, the
flames—attracted to the rendering fat—would have reached up and over the tart,
singeing the edges of the tart and the tips of the bacon and onions. The name—Tarte
Flambée (in French) or Flammekueche
(in the dialect of Alsace)—is a reference to this: the tart is 'cooked in the flames'. In most home settings, Soltner's method of
rendering the bacon a bit first is a great idea since it avoids a flood of
bacon grease in the oven.
Not surprisingly, there are many, many
recipes for Tarte Flambée available on
line (it is one of the most famous dishes from Alsace). If you have never tried it, I hope you will
give my recipe—or one of the others—a try.
I am of course partial to mine, but most recipes are similar and I would only
encourage you to avoid recipes that use a heavier hand with the topping. As delicious as it is, adding more doesn't
make it more delicious, it just makes it soggy and greasy. There are some great variations out there—a
scattering of Gruyère for a finishing touch...a few sautéed mushrooms added to
the mix...even a dessert version with apples and cinnamon sugar (instead of
bacon and onions).... But I admit... I
have never tried one of these. Maybe
someday. For now, I think it's
perfectly delicious in its original (and simplest) form.
Tarte Flambée
(Alsatian
Bacon & Onion Tart)
For
the Crust:
3/4 c. warm water (105° to 115°)
1 1/2 t. active dry yeast
2 to 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 t. Salt
2 T. unsalted butter, softened
Combine the water, yeast, and 1 1/4 cups of the flour
in a large bowl. Whisk until
smooth. Add the butter and salt and beat
until the butter is incorporated. Begin
stirring in the remaining flour, adding just enough flour to form a soft dough
that holds its shape. Sprinkle some of
the remaining flour on a smooth surface.
Scrape the dough out of the bowl and sprinkle with a bit more
flour. Knead the dough, adding just
enough flour to keep the dough from sticking, until the dough is smooth and
springs back when pressed lightly with a finger—about 10 minutes. Transfer the dough to a lightly buttered bowl
and cover the bowl with plastic wrap.
Let the dough rise until it has doubled in size—about 1 hour.
Note: Originally, Tarte Flambée was a snack made with
extra dough in the community bread baking oven while the oven was still too hot
to bake bread. Any simple dough will
work. Use a half pound of dough per tart.
Building
and Baking the Tarte:
6 oz. thick-sliced bacon, cut crosswise into 1/2"
wide strips
1 medium white onion, very thinly sliced (about 9 to
10 oz.)—see note
1/2 c. cottage cheese
1/2 c. crème fraîche*
1 T. vegetable oil
2 t. flour
Salt & Pepper
Preheat oven to 500°F. If you have a baking stone, place it in the
oven while the oven is heating.
In a large sauté pan, set over medium low heat, cook
the bacon until most of the fat is rendered and the bacon is beginning to
color—it does not need to be crisp.
Drain off the excess fat and increase the heat to medium.
Add the onions and sweat until just
wilted—they should still have a bit of crunch.
If you removed too much of the bacon fat...or the onions look dry, you
may add back some of the bacon fat that you poured off.
Remove from the heat and season generously with
freshly ground black pepper. Set aside.
While the bacon and onions cook, place the cottage
cheese in the food processor and process until smooth. Add the crème fraîche, oil & flour and
process in. Season to taste with salt
and pepper and set aside.
Punch down the dough and divide it in half and form
each half into a ball. Place the balls
on a flour dusted counter and cover the balls of dough with a towel and let
rest for 10 to 15 minutes. Working with
one ball of dough at a time, stretch or roll the dough out (with lightly
floured hands or on a lightly floured surface) to make a thin circle that is
about 10-inches across. Transfer the dough to a semolina dusted peel or pizza
pan/baking sheet.
Spread half of the crème fraîche mixture over the
crust, leaving a half-inch border. Scatter half of the onion and bacon mixture
over the cream.
If
using a pizza pan or baking sheet, place the tart in the pan on a pre-heated
pizza stone in a pre-heated 500° oven. To
insure a crisp crust, slide the pizza off of the pan and directly onto the
pizza stone as soon as the crust is set (after 4 or 5 minutes). If using a
peel, slide the pizza directly onto the preheated baking stone.
Bake the tart until the edge of the crust is crisp and
brown, the cream is bubbling and golden and some of the tips of the onions are
beginning to caramelize, about 8 to 15 minutes (time depends greatly on your
oven). Quickly build and bake the second
tart while you enjoy the first. If you
happen to have two stones, build and bake both the tarts at the same time. Makes 2 tarts, serving 8 as a first course or
4 as an entrée.
Notes:
- I have no recollection now of where I heard this, but I remember being told once that the white onion—which is sweeter than a yellow onion—is the best choice for this tart. Since it makes a delicious tart, I have never been inclined to make it with anything else.
- Sold at most supermarkets. If unavailable, heat 1 cup whipping cream to lukewarm (85° F). Remove from heat and mix in 2 T. buttermilk. Cover and let stand in warm, draft-free area until slightly thickened, 24 to 48 hours, depending on temperature of room. Refrigerate until ready to use.
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