Winter kitchen
Seasonal enjoyment: vegetarian tarte flambée with pumpkin, pear and goat cheese
Pear, pumpkin and goat cheese – a winter spectacle of flavors
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Would you like a little variety? This vegetarian tarte flambée with pumpkin, pear and goat cheese combines the flavors of the season. The recipe.
It doesn’t always have to be ordinary – a wonderfully crispy tarte flambée with a cream of fine goat cheese, topped with pear, pumpkin and red onions invites you to enjoy. A seasonal feast for all of you who are in the mood for a little variety and extravagance.
Flammkuchenzeit – traditional enjoyment
The Christmas season is just around the corner – and with it the festive season of Christmas markets, Advent dinners and family visits. Keyword Christmas market – as the epitome of the pre-Christmas season, a visit to the annual market is a true experience for the senses. Wrapped up warm, with mulled wine in hand, strolling through the colorful, brightly lit Christmas market, hooked into your loved ones and always smelling the scent of countless dishes – there is hardly anything more beautiful. In addition to roasted almonds, French fries, gastric bread or sugary waffles, the tarte flambée should of course not be missing. But what is actually behind the delicious specialty?
Basically nothing more than a crispy baked base made from yeast or oil dough. Traditionally coated with sour cream, steamed bacon and onions, this is then baked for a short time in a wood-fired oven over high heat – a wafer-thin, wonderfully crispy pastry is created, supported by the interplay of the aromas of its topping.
Origin of the tarte flambée
The tarte flambée comes in its original form from France, more precisely from Alsace and is accordingly referred to here as “tarte flambée”. In Saarland, Baden and the Palatinate, the dish is also a regional specialty and is therefore extremely popular in this country too.
The tarte flambée was created from the bread dough of that time. Bakers and farmers cut off a small piece of the dough, rolled it out thinly and placed it on the hot stone plate in the oven for a few minutes to check the temperature of the oven. Since the tarte flambée was baked in the first strong heat of the wood oven, it is also known as a heat cake in some regions. Today’s specialty was therefore mainly used as an aid to assess the temperature of the oven for the later bread. If the dough got dark too quickly, you had to wait until the oven had cooled down a bit before pouring in the bread. The term “tarte flambée” is due to the fact that the flames in the oven were not yet completely exhausted when it was pushed in.
Today’s classic was born from the idea of an inventive baker to top the piece of dough with creme fraiche, onions and bacon before putting it in the oven. Rumor has it that the delicious smell of the food attracted numerous residents and farmers of the village. You divided the piece of dough and loved the unmistakable interplay of the flavors – a traditional dish was born.
Seasonal enjoyment
In addition to the classic Alsatian tarte flambée, countless variations with various combinations of ingredients have established themselves over the years. Whether with smoked salmon, dill and horseradish, Mediterranean with tomato, mozzarella and fresh basil or with an oriental touch with dates and fine honey – Tarte flambée cuts a fine figure in any shape.
The tarte flambée is particularly suitable for getting creative with the topping depending on the season. In spring, asparagus and May beets provide variety, in the cold season kale, potatoes or beetroot inspire. The “heat cake” is also a sweet treat. For dessert, an apple and cinnamon combination is convincing, and nut and nougat cream with fresh fruits and powdered sugar make culinary dreams come true.
The creation presented here also uses seasonal ingredients. The basis is a full-bodied cream made from goat’s cream cheese. The finely nutty pumpkin flesh is accompanied by aromatic red onions, which, with their slightly fiery note, harmonize ideally with the sweet pear. Crunchy pumpkin seeds and a pinch of yeast flakes serve as the finish – these provide a wonderfully spicy note and round off the taste of the dish. They also provide an extra load of nutrients. Here you can find out what makes yeast flakes so valuable.
Those of you who like to experiment can sprinkle a little honey over the finished tarte flambée after baking. This emphasizes the sweet note of the pear and harmonizes fantastically with the fine, sour note of the goat cheese. A successful conclusion – Bon Appetit!
Recipe for two vegetarian tarte flambée with pumpkin, pear and goat cheese
ingredients
- 200 grams of spelled flour 630
- 120 milliliters of warm water
- 3 tablespoons of oil
- 1 pinch of salt
- 250 grams of goat cream cheese
- 50 milliliters of whole milk
- 1 teaspoon of dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon of dried rosemary
- fresh, ground pepper
- salt
- 300 grams of pumpkin e.g. Hokkaido
- 1 medium-sized pear (approx. 200 grams)
- 1 red onion
- For garnish: pumpkin seeds and yeast flakes
- Optional: some honey
preparation
- Mix the spelled flour with warm water, oil and a pinch of salt until you have a smooth dough. If the dough is too sticky, add a little more flour.
- Let rest for at least 30 minutes.
- Mix the goat cream cheese with milk, season with thyme, rosemary, pepper and a little salt.
- In the meantime, wash the pumpkin, remove the seeds and cut into thin slices. Peel and core the pear and cut into fine wedges. Peel the onions, cut in half and cut into rings.
- Divide the dough into two parts and roll out very thinly, preferably directly on a piece of baking paper.
- Spread goat cream cheese on the flatbread, top with onions, pumpkin and pear slices. Season with pepper and salt.
- Place on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes at 230 degrees top / bottom heat.
- Sprinkle the finished tarte flambée with pumpkin seeds and yeast flakes. Optionally drizzle with a little honey.
- Serve immediately.