My little Alsace obsession...

Flammkuchen: 'classic' and 'blue cheese and walnut'

Could flammkuechen be Europe's best kept secret?

'Flammkuechen' or 'tarte flambee' originates from the Alsatian region of south-west Germany and east France. It's a super light bread dough rolled out thin and traditionally topped with creme fraiche, onions and bacon, although many variations now exist.

Over the past couple of years flammkuechen has become my 'thing'. Weeknight dinners, drinking food, BBQs, lunch time treats, I can literally find any excuse to whip up a few of these delicious crowd-pleasing alternative pizzas. They are so versatile, can be topped with anything you fancy and take minutes to prepare.

I'm so passionate about them that at one point I even wanted to start my own flammkuechen restaurant. But don't just believe me, try them for yourself! This recipe is for the 'classic' bacon and onion flammkuechen. I have many favourite toppings (which I will be sharing with you on this blog) but everyone seems to agree you just can't beat that light, creamy base topped with sweet onions and salty bacon, served with a crisp glass of white wine.

Ingredients: 

• 200g plain flour + extra for dusting (wholemeal also works well) 
• 2 tablespoons of oil 
• 125ml water
• 200g creme fraiche
• 2 large onions 
• 100g bacon (the really thin bacon works well) 
• 1 tablespoon butter
• salt and pepper

Method: 
1. Preheat the oven on the highest temperature.
2. Lightly grease two large baking or pizza trays.
3. Add the flour and a pinch of salt to a large mixing bowl.
4. Add the oil and water and mix well into a (non sticky) dough.
5. Cut the dough in half and use a rolling pin to roll each half into a large thin base. 

6. Place the bases on the trays and pre-bake the base for 3-4 minutes.
7. Finely slice the onions and cut up the bacon.
8. Melt the butter in a frying pan on a low-medium heat.
9. Gently 'sweat' the onions until soft.
10. Add the bacon and fry for another 2 minutes.
11.. Spoon and evenly spread half of the creme fraiche onto each of the bases.
12. Evenly distribute the onion and bacon topping and season with pepper.
13. Bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes, until the edges look crispy.
14. Remove from the oven, cut into pieces and ENJOY!

Serving suggestion: Serve with some white wine or good beer. Warning flammkuechen are very light and extremely moreish, make plenty if feeding a crowd. :-)