Federweißer time is coming up
Hearty onion cake: The hearty dish is so easy to make
A classic onion tart can be made with or without bacon
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With the beginning of the grape harvest, the Federweißer period begins in Germany: This is unfiltered grape must that is still in the fermentation process. This makes it taste incredibly sweet – and goes perfectly with a hearty dish like onion tart.
Depending on when the grape harvest begins in this country, the fresh Federweißer ends up on the shelves of many supermarket chains between the beginning of September and the end of October (the period can vary). The drink, also known as “new wine”, is served in many places together with onion cake, which is reminiscent of a tarte flambée due to its main ingredients – onions, sour cream and bacon. The difference, however, lies in the preparation: This article explains step by step how you can easily recreate the traditional dish without yeast at home.
Recipe suggestion: Onion tart with shortcrust pastry
Unlike the Alsatian tarte flambée, which is only topped with raw onions, the traditional onion tart only contains steamed onions. The dough can be prepared with leavening agents to make it nice and thick and fluffy – but also extremely filling. The somewhat “lighter” variant is therefore an onion cake without yeast. How the dish succeeds in no time is explained in the following instructions for a Springform explained step by step.
For the dough you will need these ingredients:
- 300 grams of flour
- 150g cold butter
- 60ml of water
Salt
Put all the ingredients in one mixing bowl and knead them together until a homogeneous mass is formed. When preparing shortcrust pastry, it is important that you only knead it briefly (with your hands) so that it remains “crumbly” and does not become too elastic, such as pizza dough or strudel dough. Then form a ball out of the dough, wrap it in cling film and store it in the fridge for at least an hour.
And another tip:
You can also combine the amount of water with white wine, i.e. you take 30 milliliters of both instead of 60 – this gives the shortcrust pastry a tangy note.
For the topping you will need these ingredients:
- 2 eggs
- 1 kg of onions
- 50 grams of butter
- 125g bacon
- 200 ml sour cream
- 3 tbsp sunflower oil
- 1 tsp cumin
- Salt pepper
Then the preparation begins
- Step: First, the onions are peeled, halved and cut into fine strips. Alternatively, you can also cut thin rings, which doesn’t really matter in the end. Since it is quite pointless to cut a whole kilo of onions into small pieces, you can also use a vegetable slicer or a all-purpose grater use with the appropriate attachment – this not only saves you time, but also watery eyes.
- Step: Put the butter in a large pan and heat it on the stove. Once the fat has melted, pour in the oil and chopped onions. Sauté the onions in the pan for 10 to 15 minutes until they are golden and translucent – but not brown, otherwise they will taste too bitter!
- Step: Now it’s the turn of the bacon, which ideally is diced – it is stirred into the butter-onion mixture together with the caraway (whether ground or grains, it’s up to you) and sautéed briefly. Then remove the pan from the stove and let the contents of the onion cake cool down briefly.
- Step 1: Take a springform pan, line the bottom with baking paper (simply cut off the rest) and grease the inner ring well. Lay out two-thirds of the shortcrust pastry on the floor and form the rest into a long roll – and then press the sides together. Finally, prick the dough evenly with a fork.
- Step: Put the two eggs in a bowl together with the sour cream, salt and pepper (more or less spices depending on taste) and stir everything together. Then mix the whole thing with the bacon and onion mixture and pour the entire contents over the finished shortcrust pastry in the springform pan.
- Step 6: Finally, the raw onion cake must be prepared without yeast in a preheated oven for 40 minutes (the time may vary depending on the oven) at 200 degrees top/bottom heat. Once it is baked, it should cool down briefly on the wire rack and then be freed from the side walls so that it can rest in peace.
If you like, you can decorate the finished onion tart with fresh caraway seeds or grated cheese – a fresh lamb’s lettuce also goes well with it.
And one last tip: The dish also works without bacon if you prefer a vegetarian version. You can find even more recipes here.
Bon Appetit!
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