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Vegetarian Flammkuchen
Tarte flambée with leek and mushroom on crème fraîche
Flammkuchen comes from the borderlands of Alsace, Baden and the Palatinate, where farmers baked it on bread day to test the heat of the wood oven. The dough has no yeast and is rolled almost as thin as paper, spread with crème fraîche or quark and baked hot and fast so the edges blister and char in spots. The classic topping is onion and bacon; around Strasbourg and Freiburg the leek and mushroom version is a popular meat-free choice, often eaten with a glass of new wine in autumn. Chef's tip: bake it as hot as your oven will go, on a preheated tray or stone; a Flammkuchen baked at a moderate heat turns out bready instead of crisp.
- Total time
- 60 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the dough
For the topping
Method
0/8 doneStep 1: Mix 9 oz plain flour and ½ tsp salt, add ½ cup water and 2 tbsp sunflower or olive oil and knead for 5 minutes into a smooth, soft dough. Cover and rest for 20 minutes.
25 minStep 2: Put two baking trays (or a pizza stone) in the oven and heat it to its highest setting, 475°F or more, for at least 20 minutes.
Step 3: Melt ½ oz butter in a frying pan over a medium-high heat. Fry 7 oz chestnut mushrooms for 5 minutes until golden and dry, then add 1 leek and cook for 2 minutes until just wilted but still bright green. Season with a pinch of the salt and leave to cool.
7 minStep 4: Mix 7 oz crème fraîche, 3 ½ oz quark or thick Greek yoghurt, 1 pinch ground nutmeg, ½ tsp salt and ½ tsp black pepper.
Step 5: Divide the dough in two. On sheets of baking paper, roll each half out as thin as you can, about 2 mm, into a rough 35 × 25 cm oval. It should almost be see-through at the edges.
Step 6: Spread the cream mixture thinly over the dough, right up to 1 cm from the edge. Scatter with the leek, mushrooms and 1 red onion. Go easy: too much topping makes the middle soggy, which is the most common mistake.
Step 7: Slide one Flammkuchen on its paper onto a hot tray and bake for 8–10 minutes, until the edges are crisp and blistered brown and the cream is bubbling with golden patches. Bake the second the same way.
18 minStep 8: Scatter with 2 tbsp chives, cut into strips and eat straight away, with your hands.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 470 kcal
- Protein
- 11 g
- Carbs
- 52 g
- Fat
- 24 g
- Fibre
- 4 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does vegetarian Flammkuchen take?
- About 60 minutes in total: 35 minutes to prepare and 25 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- What can I use instead of plain flour?
- Self-raising flour, same amount (then leave out the baking powder).
- What can I use instead of sunflower or olive oil?
- Vegetable, sunflower or rapeseed oil, same amount (for cooking; keep olive oil for dressings if you have a little).
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