Tarte flambée
Encyclopedia
Tarte flambée is an Alsatian
dish composed of bread dough rolled out very thin in the shape of a rectangle (traditionally) or circle, which is covered with fromage blanc
or crème fraîche
, thinly sliced onions and lardon
s. It is one of the most famous gastronomical specialties of the region.
Depending on the region, this dish can be called in Alsatian
flammekueche, in German
Flammkuchen, which means "Flame cake" or in French
tarte flambée, which translates as "Pie baked in the flames." Contrary to what the direct translation would suggest tarte flambée is not usually flambéed
, but cooked in a wood-fire oven. There are many variations of the original recipe, in terms of the garniture. The standard variations are:
-speaking farmers from Alsace, Baden or the Palatinate who used to bake bread once a week or every other week. In fact, the tarte flambée was originally a homemade dish which did not make its urban debut until the "pizza craze" of the 1960s. A tarte flambée would be used to test the heat of their wood-fired oven
s. At the peak of its temperature, the oven would also have the ideal conditions in which to bake a tarte flambée. The embers would be pushed aside to make room for the tarte in the middle of the oven, and the intense heat would be able to bake it in 1 or 2 minutes. The crust that forms the border of the tarte flambée would be nearly burned by the flames. The result resembles a thin pizza
.
Alsace
Alsace is the fifth-smallest of the 27 regions of France in land area , and the smallest in metropolitan France. It is also the seventh-most densely populated region in France and third most densely populated region in metropolitan France, with ca. 220 inhabitants per km²...
dish composed of bread dough rolled out very thin in the shape of a rectangle (traditionally) or circle, which is covered with fromage blanc
Fromage frais
Fromage frais is a dairy product, originating from north of France and south of Belgium. The name literally means "fresh cheese" in french .Fromage frais is a creamy soft cheese made with whole or skimmed milk and cream...
or crème fraîche
Crème fraîche
Crème fraîche is a soured cream containing about 28% butterfat and with a pH of around 4.5. It is soured with bacterial culture, but is less sour than sour cream. It has a comparatively high viscosity and a higher fat content....
, thinly sliced onions and lardon
Lardon
Lardon is a small strip or cube of pork fat used in a wide variety of cuisines to flavor savory foods and salads. In French cuisine, lardons are also used for larding, by threading them with a needle into meats that are to be braised or roasted...
s. It is one of the most famous gastronomical specialties of the region.
Alsatian language
Alsatian is a Low Alemannic German dialect spoken in most of Alsace, a region in eastern France which has passed between French and German control many times.-Language family:...
flammekueche, in German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
Flammkuchen, which means "Flame cake" or in French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
tarte flambée, which translates as "Pie baked in the flames." Contrary to what the direct translation would suggest tarte flambée is not usually flambéed
Flambé
Flambé is a cooking procedure in which alcohol is added to a hot pan to create a burst of flames. The word means flamed in French ....
, but cooked in a wood-fire oven. There are many variations of the original recipe, in terms of the garniture. The standard variations are:
- Gratinée : with added gruyèreGruyère (cheese)Gruyère is a hard yellow cheese, named after the town of Gruyères in Switzerland, and originated in the cantons of Fribourg, Vaud, Neuchâtel, Jura, and Berne...
cheese; - Forestière : with mushrooms instead of lardons ;
- Munster : with added munsterMunster (cheese)Munster or Munster-géromé, is a strong tasting, soft cheese made mainly from milk from the Vosges, between Alsace, Lorraine and Franche-Comté in France....
cheese; - Sweet : dessert version with apples, cinammon, and flambéed with Calvados or another sweet liqueur.
Origin
Legend says that the "creators" of this dish were AlemannicAlemannic German
Alemannic is a group of dialects of the Upper German branch of the Germanic language family. It is spoken by approximately ten million people in six countries: Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein, France and Italy...
-speaking farmers from Alsace, Baden or the Palatinate who used to bake bread once a week or every other week. In fact, the tarte flambée was originally a homemade dish which did not make its urban debut until the "pizza craze" of the 1960s. A tarte flambée would be used to test the heat of their wood-fired oven
Wood-fired oven
Wood-fired ovens, also known as wood ovens , are ovens that use wood fuel for cooking. There are two types of wood-fired ovens: "black ovens" and "white ovens"...
s. At the peak of its temperature, the oven would also have the ideal conditions in which to bake a tarte flambée. The embers would be pushed aside to make room for the tarte in the middle of the oven, and the intense heat would be able to bake it in 1 or 2 minutes. The crust that forms the border of the tarte flambée would be nearly burned by the flames. The result resembles a thin pizza
Pizza
Pizza is an oven-baked, flat, disc-shaped bread typically topped with a tomato sauce, cheese and various toppings.Originating in Italy, from the Neapolitan cuisine, the dish has become popular in many parts of the world. An establishment that makes and sells pizzas is called a "pizzeria"...
.
External links
- A Flammekueche recipe can be found in the Wikimedia Cookbook