Tarte Flambée à l'Alsacienne

Winter is upon us and we're all thinking about the cold weather, layers of clothing, holiday parties and festive foods from the oven.

During this season of open houses and large family dinners, why not prepare something special and guaranteed to impress your guests as they come in from the cold: La Tarte Flambée - a traditional Alsatian dish which can be served as appetizer or main course depending on your mood.

Tarte flambée is a simple dish, much like a thin crust pizza without the tomato sauce.  Yet, it is quite far in flavour from any pizza of your choice as it is baked with crème fraiche, cheese curds, double-smoked bacon and onion slices.  Here are the ingredients:

Tarte flambée served last Christmas.

2 cups unbleached flour
1 cup milk, warmed
1 tbs melted butter
1/2 cup warm water
1 tbs dry active yeast
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2 onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup diced double smoked bacon, or
1 cup sliced mushrooms (for vegetarians)
1/2 cup crème fraiche
1 cup cheese curds

Add water, sugar and yeast to a small bowl. Leave untouched for 10 minutes. In a large bowl, add flour and salt. Then add the yeast mixture, milk and butter. Mix thoroughly until you get a dough consistency. You may add some flour or water if the mixture is too wet or too dry. Knead the dough in the bowl and form it into a large ball. Cover with cloth and let rise for one hour or until it doubles in size. Punch the risen dough and shape into a ball again for second rising for 15 minutes. Heat the oven to 500F or hotter (hence the name of this dish). Flatten dough on a large parchment paper with a roller until it is quite thin. Transfer the flattened dough and paper to a baking sheet. Add onion slices, double-smoked bacon slices or mushroom slices, cheese curds and crème fraiche.  Sprinkle some sea salt and ground nutmeg. Bake for 10 minutes or until the top of the dough turns light golden as the curds melt. Slice into wedges and serve immediately.  Your kitchen will be filled with delicious aroma that can seduce any hungry soul.  Serve with a cold lager or Riesling.

Prost!

Ramen: The latest Food Craze in Toronto

Every time I read or hear people talk about Ramen, I always remember the cult Japanese movie Tampopo - a rather unique film about food, gangsters, and a trucker. But the part of the movie that will make you heading to the nearest Ramen house right after the ending is what I liked the best: the story of a single mother raising a young boy and trying to learn about making good Ramen.

For those of you who may not be familiar with this food, think of it as the Japanese version of Chinese noodle soup, except it is utterly sublime when made with great care and skills.  As such, this simple Japanese comfort food has been elevated to gourmet status by outsiders who are just discovering the real McCoy for the first time, after years of really bad versions in fast food and pseudo-Japanese spots.

Momofuku Ramen

Just recently, Toronto has witnessed such an explosion of Ramen houses that it's now the trendiest food to have, creating long line-ups and endless reviews online, as well as in major papers and magazines. In the last 4 months alone, 5 ramen houses have opened, including a New York import from David Chang's Momofuku empire. Whether this trend will survive a long time is hard to tell given the finicky and still-developing food culture in the city.

But, first, let me tell you the two most important ingredients that make a truly satisfying and superb ramen: Perfect noodles - preferably hand-made from the best wheat or other fine grains; and skillfully-made broth that has been simmered and NOT boiled for hours, using quality meat and bones, vegetables, spices, onions, etc. A good ramen usually has a topping of tender meat or seafood, and some have poached egg, wild mushrooms and miso added to the broth. If you haven't had a good Ramen and you live in an urban area with a good ramen house, you really must give it a try.

Back to Tampopo, one scene I like is about an old man and his young protegé on how to enjoy ramen. It is delightful to watch, if only to understand the Master's ritual, which treats this simple dish with such respect and honour.

Enjoy!