Monday Mouthful Roundup and Next Week's Challenge: Flammekueche

Thanks to all who participated in Monday Mouthful this week! Please check out the following bloggers who whipped up the Rustic French Meatloaf at a moment's notice:**

Mindy at, well, um, this blog made a Rustic Alsatian Meatloaf.

ChefE at CookAppeal made lovely little Rustic Mini French Pâté Loaves. They're so cute and look delicious with the addition of a vintage tomato jelly.

Greg at Sippity Sup made the most beautiful Terrine de Campagne. His French terrine mold is going onto my Amazon wishlist ASAP!

**Please check back in case there were any late entries! :-) And please feel free to join in any of the Monday Mouthful adventures! Just email me at mindysmouthful(at)gmail(dot)com or ChefE at elizabeth(at)cookappeal(dot)com with a link to your entry (or for non-bloggers, let me know, and we'll work something out!)

And for the big reveal (drum roll, please): Next week we'll be making Flammekueche! This is a typical Alsatian dish which is served literally everywhere in Alsace. I'm cheating a little because it's a little German and a little French...just like Alsace. (If you'd like to know a little more about the region, check out my previous post.) This tasty pizza-like dish, made with a very, very thin crust and topped with all sorts of things, both savory and sweet. I've chosen the most typical recipe, the traditional flammekueche (or tarte flambée in French), which is topped with crème fraîche, bacon and onions. You can make the recipe below or be as creative as you'd like. It can be served as an appetizer, main dish, or if sweet, even as dessert. (One of my favorites around here is a pear and dark chocolate flammekueche.) It's traditionally baked in a wood-fired oven, so if you have one of those laying around, feel free to bake it in there! (Otherwise, you can just use the oven like most of the rest of us...)

Feel free to google either "flammekueche" or "tarte flambée" to get a sense for what this actually looks like--there weren't any images that I felt comfortable putting on here as an example, but there are plenty out there.

Flammekueche or Tarte Flambée
from Petit Recueil de la Gastronomie Alsacienne: 75 Recettes Simples by Marguerite Doerflinger

1 recipe Flammekueche dough (See below)
2 large onions, diced or sliced thinly
1 2/3 cups crème fraîche (if you can’t find this in the grocery store, you can make your own or use good quality heavy cream)--This seems like a lot to me, so you might start at a little less than this and go from there...
At least 3 slices thick-cut bacon, cut into matchsticks (or 60g lardons fumés)
1 Tbl rapeseed or canola oil
Salt, pepper, nutmeg

Preheat the oven to 450F/230C/Th. 8.

Roll out the dough until it is very thin in a rectangular shape and place it on a pizza stone or cookie sheet sprinkled with a little flour or cornmeal to prevent sticking. Season the cream with salt, pepper, and a pinch of nutmeg. Cover the dough with the onions, bacon, and cream. Drizzle the mixture with the oil. When the oven is completely hot, place the flammekueche in the oven for about 10 minutes or until the crust is very crispy and lightly browned.

Flammekueche dough
from Marmiton
Should make enough for two flammekuechen

2 cups flour
3 Tbl olive oil
Pinch of salt
½ cup warm water

Mix all of the ingredients together until it creates a dough. That’s it!