Best 7 Alsatian Tart With Leeks Fromage Blanc And Bacon Recipes

FLAMMKUCHEN/FLAMMEKUECHE (TARTE FLAMBEE)

Steps:

• Mix together the flour, oil, salt and water in a bowl. If it's too dry and won't come together, add a little more water, but it will be a relatively dry dough. Kneed for a minute then set aside while you prepare the toppings.
• Preheat the oven to 450F/230C. Line a large baking sheet/tray (half sheet) with parchment.
• Cut the bacon in to thin strips ('lardons') and cook in a small skillet/frying pan over a medium heat until they are just starting to brown. Remove from pan and set aside.
• Add the onions to the pan, along with the butter, and cook a few minutes until the onions have softened but are only just browning.
• Add the nutmeg, salt and pepper to the creme fraiche and mix well.
• Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface into a circle/oval as thin as you can (around 1/8in/3mm).
• Transfer the dough to the lined baking sheet then spread the creme fraiche over the top, leaving a space around the edge without any topping.
• Spread over the sauteed onions then top with the bacon, spreading them as evenly as you can. Top with the gruyere then bake for around 10 minutes until the edges are lightly brown and crisp and the toppings are just starting to color.

ROQUEFORT, LEEK AND WALNUT TART

Steps:

• Blend together flour, baking powder and half the salt in a bowl or a food processor. Beat egg yolk with 5 tablespoons cold water. Stir in olive oil. Pour this mixture over the flour mixture and beat with a fork if using a bowl, or pulse about a dozen times in the processor, until dough starts to come together. Add another teaspoon or two of water if mixture is too dry.
• Gather dough together and knead briefly on a lightly floured surface to form into a ball. Roll and trim to make an oblong 9 by 13 inches or a 12-inch round. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Fold up a half-inch border all around either shape. Heat oven to 400 degrees.
• Spread bacon in a heavy skillet and cook until very lightly browned. Stir in leeks and remaining salt and cook until softened and translucent. Stir in walnuts, sauté about 30 seconds, and remove from heat. Mash Roquefort and work in crème fraîche. Spread on pastry. Scatter leek, bacon and walnut mixture evenly on top. Bake 20 minutes, allow to cool briefly, cut in squares or wedges and serve.

ALSACE ONION TART

Steps:

• Make pastry:
• Blend together flour, butter, shortening, and salt in a bowl with your fingertips or a pastry blender (or pulse in a food processor) just until most of mixture resembles coarse meal with some small (roughly pea-size) butter lumps. Drizzle evenly with 4 tablespoons ice water and gently stir with a fork (or pulse in processor) until incorporated.
• Squeeze a small handful: If it doesn't hold together, add more ice water, 1/2 tablespoon at a time, stirring (or pulsing) until just incorporated, then test again. (Do not overwork mixture, or pastry will be tough.)
• Turn out mixture onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 6 equal portions. With heel of your hand, smear each portion once or twice in a forward motion. Gather dough together with pastry scraper and press into a ball, then flatten into a disk. Chill dough, wrapped in plastic wrap, until firm, at least 1 hour.
• Roll out dough on a floured surface with a floured rolling pin into a 14-inch round and fit into tart pan. Trim excess dough, leaving a 1/2-inch overhang, then fold overhang over pastry and press against side to reinforce edge. Lightly prick bottom with a fork and chill until firm, about 30 minutes.
• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 400°F.
• Line chilled shell with foil and fill with pie weights. Bake until pastry is set and pale golden along rim, 15 to 20 minutes. Carefully remove foil and weights and bake shell until golden all over, 10 to 15 minutes more. Transfer shell to a rack. (Leave oven on.)
• Prepare filling while shell bakes:
• Cook bacon in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until crisp, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer bacon with a slotted spatula to paper towels to drain and pour off bacon fat. Add butter to skillet and cook onions with 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper over moderate heat, stirring, until just wilted, about 2 minutes. Cover surface of onions with a round of parchment or wax paper (or cover skillet with a tight-fitting lid) and continue to cook, lifting parchment to stir frequently, until onions are very soft and pale golden, about 20 minutes. Stir in bacon, then remove from heat and cool 10 minutes.
• Whisk together crème fraîche, eggs, nutmeg, remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a large bowl, then stir in onions.
• Fill and bake tart:
• Pour filling into tart shell, spreading onions evenly, and bake until filling is set and top is golden, 25 to 35 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

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 CHEESE TART

Steps:

• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 400°F.
• Roll out pastry on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin into a 12-inch square, then transfer to a large baking sheet.
• Blend cottage cheese, sour cream, salt, and pepper in a blender until smooth.
• Cook bacon in a 10-inch skillet over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until it just begins to brown, about 5 minutes. (Bacon should be tender, not crisp.) Remove from heat.
• Spread cheese mixture evenly over pastry, leaving a 1-inch border all around. Scatter bacon and onion on top, then sprinkle with parmesan. Bake until pastry is golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Cut into 36 pieces and serve warm.

ALSATIAN ONION TART

Steps:

• Sift the flour into a large bowl then rub in the butter with your (clean) fingers until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
• Mix the egg yolks with the salt and 3 tablespoons water. Stir into the flour, using a knife, to make a soft and smooth (but not sticky) dough. Add the extra tablespoon of water if the mixture is too dry.
• Pat the dough into a ball, wrap up in cling film and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 220C/425°F.
• Roll out the pastry on a floured surface and use to line a 10-inch tart pan.
• Prick the pastry all over with a fork and bake blind for 10-12 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool.
• Lower the temperature of the oven to 190C/375F and place a baking sheet in the oven to heat.
• Heat the oil in a non-stick frying pan. Add the onions, bay leaf, thyme, salt and pepper. Cover and cook gently until the onions are soft and transparent, stirring occasionally.
• Add the wine and simmer, uncovered, until all the liquid has evaporated.
• Remove the bay leaf and taste for seasoning.
• Whisk the eggs and cream together.
• Spread the onions into the pastry crust and pour in the egg mixture.
• Place on the hot baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes.
• May be served hot or room temperature.

ALSATIAN TART WITH LEEKS, FROMAGE BLANC, AND BACON

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and season with salt. Cook until softened but not colored, about 8 minutes. Let cool.
• Put the bacon in a skillet over medium heat. Cook, stirring, until it renders some of its fat and just begins to crisp, about 5 minutes. Transfer it to a small bowl with a slotted spoon.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll the puff pastry into a 12-inch circle (if the packaged pastry is round) or into a 10 by 12-inch rectangle (if the packaged pastry is rectangular). Transfer it to a baking sheet and prick with a fork in several places. Return it to the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 375°F.
• Put the fromage blanc, crème fraîche, and nutmeg in a small bowl and stir until smooth. Add several grinds of pepper.
• Spread the fromage blanc mixture evenly over the surface of the dough, leaving a 1/2-inch bare border. Scatter the sautéed onions and bacon over the fromage blanc. Fold the border over to make a rim and crimp it as you would a pie crust. Bake until the pastry is puffed and golden-brown on the edge and well browned on the bottom, about 40 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board, sprinkle with the chives, and let cool for about 5 minutes, then cut into pieces of desired size. Serve warm.
• Enjoy with Cakebread Cellars Napa Valley Chardonnay or another white wine with a full, creamy body.