Alsatian Onion Pie Recipes

Steps:

• Saute onions in oil (I added 1/2 cup water to prevent burning, or you could substitute water for the oil to reduce fat), until translucent and mostly soft.
• Blend the soy milk, tofu, salt, pepper, nutmeg, and flour until smooth.
• Then combine the onions, the soy milk mixture and the couscous.
• Pour into the prepared pie shell.
• Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.

Steps:

• Make pastry:
• Blend together flour, butter, shortening, and salt in a bowl with your fingertips or a pastry blender (or pulse in a food processor) just until most of mixture resembles coarse meal with some small (roughly pea-size) butter lumps. Drizzle evenly with 4 tablespoons ice water and gently stir with a fork (or pulse in processor) until incorporated.
• Squeeze a small handful: If it doesn't hold together, add more ice water, 1/2 tablespoon at a time, stirring (or pulsing) until just incorporated, then test again. (Do not overwork mixture, or pastry will be tough.)
• Turn out mixture onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 6 equal portions. With heel of your hand, smear each portion once or twice in a forward motion. Gather dough together with pastry scraper and press into a ball, then flatten into a disk. Chill dough, wrapped in plastic wrap, until firm, at least 1 hour.
• Roll out dough on a floured surface with a floured rolling pin into a 14-inch round and fit into tart pan. Trim excess dough, leaving a 1/2-inch overhang, then fold overhang over pastry and press against side to reinforce edge. Lightly prick bottom with a fork and chill until firm, about 30 minutes.
• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 400°F.
• Line chilled shell with foil and fill with pie weights. Bake until pastry is set and pale golden along rim, 15 to 20 minutes. Carefully remove foil and weights and bake shell until golden all over, 10 to 15 minutes more. Transfer shell to a rack. (Leave oven on.)
• Prepare filling while shell bakes:
• Cook bacon in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until crisp, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer bacon with a slotted spatula to paper towels to drain and pour off bacon fat. Add butter to skillet and cook onions with 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper over moderate heat, stirring, until just wilted, about 2 minutes. Cover surface of onions with a round of parchment or wax paper (or cover skillet with a tight-fitting lid) and continue to cook, lifting parchment to stir frequently, until onions are very soft and pale golden, about 20 minutes. Stir in bacon, then remove from heat and cool 10 minutes.
• Whisk together crème fraîche, eggs, nutmeg, remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a large bowl, then stir in onions.
• Fill and bake tart:
• Pour filling into tart shell, spreading onions evenly, and bake until filling is set and top is golden, 25 to 35 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Place the bacon into a skillet, and cook over medium heat until browned. Remove bacon from skillet, reserving 4 tablespoons bacon fat, and drain on paper towels.
• Place the onions into the same skillet with the bacon fat, and cook over medium-high heat until evenly browned, about 8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Combine the milk and cream in a bowl. Sprinkle the flour over the onions, and stir to blend. Stir in the milk mixture. Cook and stir over medium heat until the mixture thickens. Remove from heat, stir in the bacon, and set aside to cool 10 minutes.
• Beat the eggs in a mixing bowl until light colored and frothy. Stir a spoonful of the onion mixture into the eggs. Add another spoonful of the onion mixture, and continue stirring. Repeat, until all the onions have been stirred into the eggs and are thoroughly blended. Pour the mixture into the prepared pie shell. Sprinkle with nutmeg.
• Bake in preheated oven until the crust is lightly browned, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool 5 minutes before serving.

Steps:

• 1. To make the pizza dough, in a bowl, whisk together the water, yeast, and sugar. Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. Add the flour, oil, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Stir until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Pull the dough out onto a floured work surface and knead a few times, then form into a ball. Oil a second bowl, put the ball in the bowl, and turn to coat it with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm, draft-free area. Let the dough rise until doubled in size, 1¿1 1/2 hours.
• 2. While the dough is rising, in a sauté pan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the onions and stir to coat. Sprinkle the sugar over the onions and stir once more. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring, until the onions are golden brown, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.
• 3. At the same time, in a second sauté pan over medium heat, cook the bacon, stirring, until crisp, about 8 minutes. Transfer to paper towels to drain.
• 4. Prepare a charcoal or gas grill for direct grilling over medium-high heat. Brush and oil the grill grate.
• 5. Dump the dough onto a floured work surface, then divide in half. Using a floured rolling pin, roll out 1 half into a round 10-12 inches (25-30 cm) in diameter and about 1/8 inch (3 mm) thick. Repeat with the second half.
• 6. Slide 1 round onto a baker's peel or a rimless baking sheet dusted with cornmeal, and then carefully slide the round off the peel onto the grill directly over the fire. Repeat with the second round. Cook the crusts until the underside is well marked, about 2 minutes. Using the peel, transfer the crusts, grilled side up, back to the work surface.
• 7. Top each crust with half the onions, half the bacon, and then half the cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Using the peel, return the topped crusts to the grill, cover the grill, and cook until each crust is firm and browned at the edges and the cheese has melted a bit, 4-6 minutes.
• 8. Transfer the pizzas to a cutting board and sprinkle with the thyme. Cut into wedges and serve at once.

Steps:

• Place bacon in a skillet and cook over medium-high heat until cooked but not crisp and fat has rendered out, about 8 minutes. Drain in a strainer; reserve the fat.
• Place skillet back over medium heat. Add sliced onions. Cook briefly just until they lose their raw edge and soften up slightly, 3 to 5 minutes. Add a teaspoon or 2 of bacon fat if pan seems too dry. Remove skillet from heat and allow to cool to room temperature.
• Mix fromage blanc, creme fraiche, nutmeg, salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper together in a mixing bowl.
• Place 1 ball of pizza dough on a well-floured surface. Flatten and roll out to a 10- or 12-inch thin circle. Transfer to a cold cast iron pan. Heat over medium-high heat to pre-cook the bottom of the crust. As dough heats and bubbles appear, deflate them with the tines of a fork so crust ends up thin and crisp (not chewy). When bottom is nicely browned and just about to start getting charred, 5 to 7 minutes, remove from heat. Repeat with remaining dough.
• Spread a generous amount of cheese mixture over the crust. Top evenly with some onions and then the bacon. Broil 5 or 6 minutes until edges are browned and starting to lift. Repeat for remaining tartes.