Embellished Tarte Flambée (Flammekueche)
Tarte Flambée with Sausage and Caramelized Onions
Tarte flambée is a specialty from Alsace, thinly-rolled bread dough topped with crème fraîche, thinly sliced raw onions, and lardons, then baked in a very hot oven. It resembles a thin pizza, and like pizza, the toppings can be varied infinitely.
While it’s great fun to make a tarte flambée from scratch, it takes hours to make the dough and take it through two rises before topping it and baking it. Here we take an approach suited to a quick weeknight dinner: start with a frozen base, add some tasty toppings, then quickly blitzed in a hot oven.
The key is not to overwhelm the base with too many/too heavy toppings. It will literally disintegrate under their weight, making it impossible to serve (tarte flambée in a bowl, anyone?) For the same reason, avoid using raw vegetable toppings, which will give out too much water while the tarte flambée is cooking, making it soggy.
— 2-4 servings
*Items marked in green are available from The Gourmet Corner.
Base
- Four-Cheese Tart Flammekueche, frozen
Toppings 1 : Caramelized Onion and Saucisson a L’Ail
- 1 large onion, thinly sliced
- 1/4 lb Saucisson a L’Ail (French Garlic Sausage), thinly sliced
- 1 Tbs olive oil
- 1/2 tsp balsamic vinegar, or to taste
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Caramelize the Onion
Place onions and oil in a heavy pan with a tight-fitting lid (an enameled cast-iron cocotte is perfect for this). Sauté over medium heat for 15 minutes, stirring, until lightly browned.
Reduce heat to the lowest it will go and cover the pan. Cook onions 45 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes, until they have turned a rich golden brown. Remove from head and season sparingly with salt, pepper, and a splash of balsamic vinegar.
Toppings 2 : Roasted Pepper, Mushroom, and Niçoise Olive
- 1 red, orange, or yellow bell pepper
- 1/2 lb fresh mushrooms, thickly sliced
- 1/4 cup pitted niçoise olives
Prepare the Peppers and Mushrooms
Peppers:
If you have a gas stove, roast the whole pepper directly over the flame, allowing the skin to blacken and blister, turning it frequently to prevent the flesh from charring. Without a gas stove, core the pepper and cut it vertically into thirds. Lightly brush the pepper pieces with oil, then place flat on a baking sheet, skin-side up. Broil until the skin is spotty and blackened in places (depending on the broiler configuration, you may need to shift them around a bit to get them evenly roasted). Once the pepper is evenly roasted, place in a covered bowl for 15 minutes to cool and let the steam loosen the skin. Remove the skin (and core and seed, if still intact). Quarter the pepper vertically, then slice the quarters crossways into narrow strips.
Mushrooms:
Heat 2 Tbs olive oil in a heavy frying pan over medium-high heat. When it begins to shimmer, add the mushrooms and stir well. Saute the mushrooms until browned, then season with a little salt and plenty of fresh-ground pepper.
Tarte Flambée with Roasted Peppers, Mushrooms and Niçoise Olives
Assemble and Bake the Tarte Flambée
Pre-heat oven to 450F.
Remove the frozen tarte flambée from its packaging and place it on a baking sheet (it’s best to use a baking sheet without sides, so you can slide the finished tarte onto a serving dish.)
Apply the toppings to the tarte flambée, scattering them lightly and evenly across it.
Bake the tarte 12-14 minutes, until the crust is lightly browned on the edges. Remove from oven and slide onto serving dish/cutting board. Slice and serve!
