Thin Leek Tart (Flammekueche)
Flammekueche or tarte flambée is a French-German dish that is traditionally made of a very thin dough, covered with crème fraîche or fromage blanc (creamy soft cheese made with whole or skimmed milk and cream), onions and lardons. Throughout the years, cooks came with variations to satisfy all the palates. Being a vegetarian, one of my favorite is the leek version.
A few tips before starting
Leek is a vegetable that is full of flavors and low in calories. Most of us tend to use only the white part and throw away the green. Which is actually where the nutrients are concentrated. You can chop it finely and use in soups, omelettes, dips ; the same way you would with spring onions.
You can make the dough using a stand mixer or by hand. When mixing, you don’t want to pour all the water at once as it might be too much. You need enough water to gather all the ingredients together but you don’t want the dough to be sticky.
When rolling out the dough, you shouldn’t need any flour, you can spray a bit of oil on the counter if you find that it sticks to much. The shape doesn’t really matter, round or rectangular, do what’s convenient and easier for you.
I used sour cream instead of crème fraîche because it’s not an easy thing to find here in Canada, but if you have crème fraîche, the taste is going to be even better.
Serve the flammekueche as an appetizer or a main dish with some arugula and beet salad for example. If you are looking to make a full Aslatian meal, check out my spaetzle with creamy mushrooms recipe and finish off with some vanilla kipferl cookies.
Since it’s a very thin tart, it cools down pretty quickly. Bake one after the other so you can enjoy it hot and fresh.
Other vegetarian flammekueche toppings ideas : mushrooms ; goat cheese, onions and honey ; munster cheese and potatoes. You can also make a dessert out of it with sliced apples, cinnamon and a scoop of vanilla ice-cream on the side.
Leek fondue
Prepare the leek by removing the green part (keep it to make another dish). Cut in four lengthwise, almost to the root (1). Chop finely, cover with water in a bowl (2) and mix it a bit with your hands. Strain and rinse thoroughly, making sure that all the dirt is gone.
Melt the butter in a pot and mix in the leek. Cook on low heat for 30 minutes, with the lid on, stirring from time to time. Add the mustard and sour cream and cook for 10 more minutes, without the lid. Season to taste (3). Keep aside.
The flammekueche
In the bowl of your stand mixer, put the flour, salt and oil. Start mixing on low speed with the hook and pour the water in slowly. Stop pouring water when the dough is forming.
Keep mixing on low speed for about 4 minutes and 6 minutes on medium speed. Shape as a ball (4) and let rest 20 minutes under a cloth so it doesn’t dry out.
Preheat the oven at 480°F – 250°C. Divide the dough in two and roll out in a very thin 9×12 inch – 23×30 cm rectangle (5), 2mm thick. Put on a baking tray lined with parchment paper and spread sour cream on top (6). Spread out the leek fondue on top (7). Bake for 15 minutes.
Thin leek tart (flammekueche)
Ingredients
Leek fondue
- 5 cups leek white (400 g) – finely chopped
- 1 ½ tbsp sour cream 14% (30 g)
- 1 tbsp butter (15 g)
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard (10 g)
- salt and pepper to taste
Flammekueche
- 1 ½ cups + 2 tbsp all-purpose flour (250 g)
- ½ tsp salt (2.5 g)
- 4 tbsp canola oil (50 ml)
- ½ cup water (120 ml)
- 4 tbsp sour cream 14% (80 g)
Instructions
Leek fondue
- Melt the butter in a pot and mix in the leeks. Cook on low heat for 30 minutes, with the lid on, stirring from time to time.
- Add the mustard and sour cream and cook for 10 more minutes, without the lid.
- Season to taste.
Flammekueche
- In the bowl of your stand mixer, put the flour, salt and oil. Start mixing on low speed with the hook and pour the water in slowly. Stop pouring water when the dough is forming.
- Keep mixing on low speed for about 4 minutes and 6 minutes on medium speed.
- Shape as a ball and let rest 20 minutes under a cloth so it doesn't dry out.
- Preheat the oven at 480°F – 250°C.Divide the dough in two and roll out in a very thin rectangle (2mm thick), 9×12 inch – 23×30 cm.
- Put on a baking tray lined with parchment paper and spread sour cream on top.Spread out the leek fondue.
- Bake for 15 minutes.
Notes
Leek is a vegetable that is full of flavors and low in calories. Most of us tend to use only the white part and throw away the green. Which is actually where the nutrients are concentrated. You can chop it finely and use in soups, omelettes, dips ; the same way as you would use spring onions.
You can make the dough using a stand mixer or by hand. When mixing, you don’t want to pour all the water at once as it might be too much. You need enough water to gather all the ingredients together but you don’t want the dough to be sticky.
When rolling the dough out, you shouldn’t need any flour, you can spray a bit of oil on the counter if you find that it sticks to much. The shape doesn’t really matter, round or rectangular, do what’s convenient and easier for you.
I used sour cream instead of crème fraîche because it’s not an easy thing to find here in Canada but if you have crème fraîche, the taste is going to be even better.
Since it’s a very thin tart, it cools down pretty quickly. Bake one after the other so you can enjoy it hot and fresh.
Other vegetarian toppings ideas : mushrooms ; goat cheese, onions and honey ; munster cheese and potatoes. You can also make a dessert out of it with apple and cinnamon and a scoop of vanilla ice-cream on the side.
Prepare the leek by removing the green part (keep it to make another dish). Cut in four lengthwise, almost to the root. Chop finely, cover with water in a bowl and mix it a bit with your hands. Strain and rinse thoroughly, making sure that all the dirt is gone.
Calories are per one serving of the recipe.