Tarte Flambee Alsatian Bacon Onion Tart Food

TARTE FLAMBEE (ALSATIAN BACON & ONION TART)

Steps:

• Place bacon in a skillet and cook over medium-high heat until cooked but not crisp and fat has rendered out, about 8 minutes. Drain in a strainer; reserve the fat.
• Place skillet back over medium heat. Add sliced onions. Cook briefly just until they lose their raw edge and soften up slightly, 3 to 5 minutes. Add a teaspoon or 2 of bacon fat if pan seems too dry. Remove skillet from heat and allow to cool to room temperature.
• Mix fromage blanc, creme fraiche, nutmeg, salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper together in a mixing bowl.
• Place 1 ball of pizza dough on a well-floured surface. Flatten and roll out to a 10- or 12-inch thin circle. Transfer to a cold cast iron pan. Heat over medium-high heat to pre-cook the bottom of the crust. As dough heats and bubbles appear, deflate them with the tines of a fork so crust ends up thin and crisp (not chewy). When bottom is nicely browned and just about to start getting charred, 5 to 7 minutes, remove from heat. Repeat with remaining dough.
• Spread a generous amount of cheese mixture over the crust. Top evenly with some onions and then the bacon. Broil 5 or 6 minutes until edges are browned and starting to lift. Repeat for remaining tartes.

ALSATIAN TARTE FLAMBEE

Steps:

• On a lightly floured surface, roll the pastry to 1/8-inch thickness.
• Cut into disks about 3-1/4 to 4 inches in diameter and place on a wax paper-lined baking sheet.
• Leave in freezer until dough is frozen.
• Mix together quark, cream, nutmeg, salt and pepper.
• Preheat oven to 400°F.
• Remove crusts from freezer.
• Poke pastry with a fork.
• Spread cheese mixture equally on each crust.
• Sprinkle with onion and bacon.
• Bake on bottom rack of oven for ten minutes, or until bottoms of pizzas are a dark, golden brown.
• Serve warm.

TARTE FLAMBEE

Steps:

• For the dough: Activate the yeast by combining the lukewarm water, yeast and sugar. Stir together and let sit until the mixture becomes frothy and foamy and smells very yeasty, about 10 minutes.
• Put the flour in a mixing bowl and make a well in the center. Add the olive oil, salt and the activated yeast mixture. Stir until the dough comes together and forms a ball.
• Dust a clean work surface with flour and knead the dough until it is tight and firm, 5 to 7 minutes. Place the dough back in the mixing bowl, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let sit in a warm place until the dough has doubled in size, about 1 hour.
• For the topping: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Place the bacon in a large, wide pan and give it a couple drops of olive oil. Bring the pan to a medium heat and cook the bacon until it is brown and crispy. Remove the bacon from the pan and reserve on paper towels.
• Add the onions to the pan, season with salt, cover and cook until the onions have wilted and are very soft, about 10 minutes. Remove the lid and cook the onions until they are very soft and caramelized. This will take awhile, maybe up to 45 minutes. Stir the onions occasionally paying attention not to let them burn, but don't rush it! When the onions are really brown and sweet, remove them from the heat and reserve.
• Combine the creme fraiche and fromage blanc.
• Divide the dough into 4 even balls and roll them out until they are 1/8 to 1/16-inch thick. Place them on a sheet tray and bake them in the oven for 4 minutes.
• Remove the dough from the oven. Schmear each dough evenly with the cheese mixture, place an even layer of the caramelized onions on the cheese and sprinkle the bacon on top of the onions.
• Return the dough to the oven until the dough is crisp on the bottom and the toppings are bubbly, 6 to 8 minutes. Sprinkle with chives and serve.

BACON, ONION AND CHEESE TART

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line 2 sheet pans with parchment paper.
• In a medium saute pan, cook the bacon over a medium-low heat until it begins to render, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the onions and cook until they begin to soften, about 3 minutes. Season with pepper. Set aside to let cool. Add the thyme to the cooled bacon-onion mixture.
• In a bowl, combine the farmer's cheese, creme fraiche, egg yolk and salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
• Flour a flat surface and place the puff pastry on top. Flour the top and gently roll into a 13-by-18-inch rectangle. Cut the pastry in half and transfer each to a lined sheet pan. Using a fork, dock the puff pastry (pierce it slightly with the tines), leaving a 1-inch border untouched.
• Divide the cheese mixture between the two sheets of pastry and spread evenly on the docked area. Top each tart with half of the bacon-onion mixture.
• Place the tarts in the oven on the lower racks and bake, rotating halfway through, until the crusts are dark golden, about 25 minutes. Garnish with the pecorino and chives.

TARTE FLAMBéE (FRENCH) OR FLAMMEKUECHE (GERMAN)

Steps:

• Dough:.
• Mix the starter ingredients 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.
• Put 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. Punch down and let rise a second time.
• 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.
• Alsatian Tarte Flambee:.
• Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a nonstick skillet. Add the onion and cook, stirring, over low heat for 5 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool.
• Combine the crème fraîche, fromage blanc, 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.
• Spread the onion mixture over the dough, leaving a very small raised rim all the way around, then dot with the bacon.
• Baking:.
• Bake for 20 minutes, or until the tart is lightly browned.
• Variation - Arugula Tarte Flambee:.
• Instead of preparing the traditional Alsatian topping, proceed with baking the crust. Once the crust is baked, toss 2-3 handfuls of arugula with lemon vinaigrette. Top with shaved gruyere, olives and tomato.

RUSTIC ONION TART

Steps:

• Cook onions and bacon in skillet on medium heat 10 to 12 min. or until onions are tender, stirring frequently. Remove from heat.
• Heat oven to 400°F. Unroll pie crust on baking sheet. Mix cream cheese and sour cream until blended; spread onto crust. Spoon onion mixture over cream cheese mixture; spread to within 2 inches of edge of crust. Sprinkle with Swiss cheese. Fold edge of crust over filling, leaving opening in center and pleating edge of crust as necessary to fit.
• Bake 12 to 15 min. or until crust is lightly browned. Cool slightly.