Bacon and onions and creme fraiche, OH MY!

Bacon and onions are a perfect match. Just ask anyone who walks in your house after you've sauteed both ingredients in preparation for Flammekuechen!

Basically the best onion & bacon pizza you can imagine, Flammekueche is an Alsation specialty...that's also served in the Pfalz, the Rhine, the Moselle regions -- if it's a wine area, there's a version of onion pie served at harvest.  We paired ours with the 2016 Louie Pinot Gris, a weighty, round, buxom Gris that spent 10 months in French oak barrels. 

While Sue-Ann utilized pre-made, par-baked pizza crust for last Saturday's Flammekueche on Instagram Live, here's a FABULOUS recipe from Patricia Wells (NYT Cooking) for making the whole thing from scratch. As with any regional recipe, there's as many versions of flammekueche as there are cooks -- try this one and see if it works for you! 

Flammekueche (Thin-Crusted Cheese, Onion And Bacon Tart)

 INGREDIENTS

THE DOUGH:

1 cup lukewarm water

2 ½ teaspoons, or 1 package, dry yeast

2 ¼ to 2 ½ cups unbleached flour

1 teaspoon salt

THE TOPPING:

2 medium onions, sliced into thin rounds

1 cup cottage cheese or ricotta

1 cup creme fraiche or sour cream

 Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

12 ounces slab bacon, rind removed, cut into matchstick-size pieces

PREPARATION

Combine the water, yeast and one cup of the flour in a large mixing bowl. Stir until thoroughly blended and set aside to proof the yeast, about five minutes.

Once proofed, add the salt, then begin adding the remaining flour, little by little, until the dough is too stiff to stir. Place the dough on a lightly floured work surface and begin kneading, adding additional flour if the dough is too sticky. Knead until the dough is smooth and satiny, about 10 minutes.

Once kneaded, place the dough in a bowl, cover, and let rise at room temperature until double in bulk, about one hour.

Punch down and let rise again, covered, until double in bulk, about one hour.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Combine the onions, cheese, creme fraiche, salt and pepper and let sit for 15 minutes to soften the onions.

Roll the dough on a lightly floured surface into a rectangle to fit a large baking sheet, measuring about 12 1/2 by 15 inches. Place the dough on the baking sheet.

Spread the onion mixture over the dough right to the edge. Sprinkle the bacon evenly over the top, then sprinkle generously with pepper.

Bake just until the dough is crisp, 15 to 20 minutes. Serve immediately.