Classic Tarte Flambée (Alsatian Pizza With Fresh Cheese, Onions, and Bacon) Recipe

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Photographs: Daniel Gritzer

It looks like a pizza, it cooks like a pizza, but don't make the mistake of actually thinking it's a pizza. Tarte flambée, the Alsatian flatbread topped with fromage blanc (a fresh, tart, spreadable cheese), thinly sliced raw onions and bacon, is as Franco-Germanic in flavor as can be. This method delivers a classic tart, made on pizza dough rolled very thinly and cooked on a blazing hot Baking Steel or pizza stone right under the broiler.

Note: If you can't find fromage blanc, a tangy fresh cheese, you can substitute the fromage blanc- and crème fraîche-mixture below with either 1 1/2 cups quark, or 3/4 cup buttermilk blended with 3/4 cup cream cheese.

Recipe Facts

Active: 30 mins
Total: 90 mins
Serves: 4 to 6 servings
Makes: 4 flatbreads

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Ingredients

  • 1 cup fromage blanc (see notes)

  • 1/2 cup crème fraîche (see notes)

  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

  • Pinch freshly grated nutmeg

  • 1 recipe basic New York pizza dough or 2 pounds store-bought pizza dough, divided into 4 even portions, proofed, and ready to stretch and top

  • Flour, for dusting

  • 1 medium white or yellow onion, very thinly sliced

  • 1/4 pound sliced bacon, cut crosswise into thin strips

Directions

  1. Set Baking Steel on oven rack 6 to 8 inches from broiler and preheat oven to 550°F (or highest possible setting) for 1 hour.

  2. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk fromage blanc with crème fraîche until thoroughly incorporated. Season with salt and pepper, Whisk in nutmeg.

  3. Working with 1 piece at a time, set dough on a lightly floured work surface. Using your hands and/or a rolling pin, work dough to a thin, roughly 10- by 5- inch oval. Transfer dough to a pizza peel.

  4. Switch broiler on to high. Spread one quarter of fromage blanc mixture over dough leaving a 1 centimeter border around the edge. Scatter a small handful of onion all over, followed by a small handful of bacon. Slide pizza onto baking stone and bake until toppings are browned spots and crust is golden brown and puffed, 3 to 5 minutes. Serve immediately, and repeat with remaining dough and toppings.

Special equipment

Baking Steel or baking stone

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Nutrition Facts (per serving)
578 Calories
22g Fat
73g Carbs
20g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4 to 6
Amount per serving
Calories 578
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 22g 29%
Saturated Fat 8g 41%
Cholesterol 45mg 15%
Sodium 1062mg 46%
Total Carbohydrate 73g 26%
Dietary Fiber 3g 10%
Total Sugars 6g
Protein 20g
Vitamin C 1mg 5%
Calcium 75mg 6%
Iron 4mg 24%
Potassium 296mg 6%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)