History

Tarte flambee began as a farmer's trick, a thin round of dough slid into the wood oven to test its heat before the week's bread went in. Topped with cream, onion and bacon, it became a treat eaten with the fingers and washed down with beer or a glass of Edelzwicker. The Kochersberg countryside around Strasbourg claims it, and it reached the city's restaurant tables in force during the 1960s. Today it is the casual counterpart to choucroute, eaten in rounds and shared.

Common allergens: Gluten, Dairy

Make it at home

Yield Makes 4 tartesHands-on 30 minTotal 1 hr 30 minDifficulty Intermediate

Ingredients

  • 300g plain flour
  • 150ml water
  • 2 tablespoons oil, plus a pinch of salt
  • 200g fromage blanc
  • 100ml creme fraiche
  • 2 onions, very thinly sliced
  • 200g smoked lardons
  • Black pepper and a little grated nutmeg

Method

  1. Mix flour, water, oil and salt into a smooth dough, knead briefly and rest for 1 hour.
  2. Heat the oven as hot as it will go, ideally 280C, with a baking stone or heavy tray inside.
  3. Beat the fromage blanc with the creme fraiche, pepper and nutmeg until smooth.
  4. Roll each piece of dough paper-thin, spread with the cream, then scatter onion and lardons.
  5. Bake one at a time for 8 to 10 minutes until the base is crisp and the edges are charred, and eat at once.

Tip from the editors. Roll the dough as thin as you dare; a thick base steams instead of crisping and loses the point.

This is the TableJourney editorial recipe, modelled on the canonical bistro / counter version. The first place to try the dish in its city of origin is below.

Where to eat tarte flambee

Tarte flambee in Strasbourg

Mama Bubbele ★ 4.0

Krutenau

Why locals love it: A no-frills tarte flambee specialist on the Quai des Bateliers that locals rate over the tourist winstubs for crisp, thin flammekueche.

Tip: Go hungry and order both a savoury and a sweet tarte flambee; the crust is the whole point.

Au Brasseur ★ 3.9

Grande IleUntil 00:00, 01:00 Fri and Sat

Au Brasseur on Rue des Veaux keeps the kitchen and taps going to midnight, later at weekends, pairing house-brewed beer with late tarte flambee.

Try: Tarte flambee and house beer

More cities are in research. Want tarte flambee covered somewhere specific? Tell us where you want to eat.

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