From the Alsace region of France, a Tarte Flambée (or Flammeküeche in the Alsatian language, a dialect of German) is unique to this region. That being said, given it’s reliance on heavy cream, bacon and onions, one can discern it’s very French and German roots, like nearly everything else in Alsace!
One legend is that Tarte Flambée began as a way to use the leftover heat of the oven after baking bread. After the bread was made, there would usually be a small amount of dough left over. The bakers would roll it out thin and bake it using the remaining heat in the oven. Another explanation says that early Alsatians created the tarte to test the heat of their wood-fired ovens. At it’s proper temperature for baking bread, the oven should be able to bake a tarte flambée thusly: pushing aside the embers,the baker placed the tarte in the middle of the oven. If the oven was hot enough, it would bake it in 1 or 2 minutes and the edges would be nearly burned by the flames.
For whatever reason they invented Tarte Flambée, Untourists in Alsace are very glad they did!
RECIPE
To serve 4 to 5 person:
Cooking time: 10 minutes
1 1/4 lb. of bread dough
3/4 pint of crême frâiche (or double cream if available)
one tablespoon of canola oil
2 ox. diced onion
3 oz .of smoked bacon (or ham hock) sliced into small pieces
2 oz. butter
seasoning to taste (salt, grated nutmeg)
- In a small skillet or pan, melt the butter and brown the diced onion, then add it to the cream; add seasoning. Brown the bacon in a small pan and set aside.
- Roll the out the dough very thinly and place it on a tray on which you will bake the tarte. Spread the cream and onion mixture evenly over the dough and then sprinkle the bacon pieces and drizzle the oil over the top.
- Cook in a very hot oven (maximum heat or broil in most cases) until the edges are crisp and the cream is bubbling hot! Enjoy!
Bon appetit!