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Tarte Flambé

This is a pizza in all but name, and it disproves the notion that “creative” pizzas began in California. Creamy, smoky, and crunchy, it’s a real winner.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    makes 4 or more servings as a starter or light main course

Ingredients

1/2 recipe Pizza Dough (page 572)
Flour as needed
Olive oil as needed
1 cup fromage blanc or crème fraîche or 3/4 cup sour cream thinned with 1/3 cup milk
1/2 cup minced onion
1/2 cup minced bacon
Salt and black pepper to taste

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Preheat the oven to at least 500°F (600 is better if your oven goes that high), with a pizza stone in place if you have one. Knead the dough lightly and place it on a lightly floured surface; sprinkle it with a little more flour and cover it with plastic wrap or a towel. Let it rest while the oven heats.

    Step 2

    Pat or roll out the dough as thinly as possible, to a diameter of about 12 inches, using more flour or oil as necessary. The process will be easier if you let the dough rest occasionally between rollings. If you have a pizza stone in your oven, place the dough on a floured peel or long-handled board; if not, lay the dough on a baking sheet brushed lightly with olive oil. Let the dough rest for 15 to 30 minutes, or until it begins to puff ever so slightly.

    Step 3

    Spread the fromage blanc on the dough. Sprinkle with onion, bacon, a little salt, and plenty of pepper. Bake until nicely crisp, about 10 minutes; if the tart is browning unevenly, rotate it back to front about halfway through the cooking time. Serve hot or, in a pinch, at room temperature.

The Best Recipes in the World by Mark Bittman. © 2005 by Mark Bittman. Published by Broadway Books. All Rights Reserved. MARK BITTMAN is the author of the blockbuster The Best Recipes in the World (Broadway, 2005) and the classic bestseller How to Cook Everything, which has sold more than one million copies. He is also the coauthor, with Jean-Georges Vongerichten, of Simple to Spectacular and Jean-Georges: Cooking at Home with a Four-Star Chef. Mr. Bittman is a prolific writer, makes frequent appearances on radio and television, and is the host of The Best Recipes in the World, a 13-part series on public television. He lives in New York and Connecticut.
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