Alsatian tarte flambée — the flamed tart with cream, onion and bacon

Tarte flambée, known in the Alsatian dialect as Flammekueche, is the most famous dish of France’s Alsace region — a tart of very thin dough, spread with fresh cream, topped with thin onions and bacon, and baked for a few minutes in a very hot oven. Alsatian bakers once used it to test the temperature of the wood oven before baking bread: if the tart baked in 2–3 minutes, the oven was ready. Today it is served in every Alsatian tavern, usually accompanied by a glass of the region’s white wine.

Ingredients (for 2 large tarts, about 4 people)

For the dough:

• 250 g flour
• 125 ml lukewarm water
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt

For the topping:

• 200 g fresh cream (crème fraîche)
• 100 g white cheese (fromage blanc) or strained yogurt
• 1 large onion
• 100 g smoked bacon (lardons), cut into strips
• Salt and black pepper
• Nutmeg, to taste

Preparation steps

1. Prepare the dough: mix the flour with the salt in a large bowl, add the lukewarm water and the olive oil. Knead for about 5 minutes until you have a smooth, elastic dough. Form a ball, cover it and let it rest for 30 minutes.
2. Heat the oven to maximum temperature (250–275°C), with a baking tray or pizza stone heated inside.
3. Slice the onion very thinly. In a small bowl mix the fresh cream with the white cheese, salt, black pepper and a pinch of nutmeg.
4. Divide the dough in two and roll each piece out very thinly (2–3 mm) on baking paper, in a round or rectangular shape.
5. Spread each tart with the cream mixture, leaving an edge of about 1 cm. Scatter the thin onion and the bacon strips on top.
6. Bake for 10–12 minutes, until the edges turn golden and the bacon becomes crispy. Serve immediately, cut into squares.

Time and servings: Preparation about 45 minutes (including the dough’s rest); baking 10–12 minutes. Enough for 4 people as a light main course, or for 6–8 people as an appetiser.

Tip: for the traditional “gratinée” version, sprinkle with a little grated cheese (gruyère or emmental) before baking; for the “forestière” version, add thin mushrooms.