Cream Cheese, Onion & Bacon Tart (France Does Pizza!)

The French may call this a tart, but I call it a spec pizza done in the French tradition. Per the intro, "In Alsace, this tart was traditionally cooked in the baker's oven, so it's important to have an oven that heats to a high temp for rapid, effective cooking." A Riesling or Gewurztraminer was suggested as a wine choice to accompany this dish. As this is my final offering from *French Bistro and Cafe Cooking* by Pierre-Yves Chupin, I say a fond *Au Revoir* to his spec recipes. *Enjoy* !

• Ready In: 32 mins
• Serves: 8

Ingredients

• 250  g  bread dough
• 1  kg cream cheese (may use ricotta)
• 3 1⁄8 cups creme fraiche
• 1  tablespoon flour
• 1  pinch salt
• 1  tablespoon  vegetable oil
• 300  g bacon (diced)
• 4  onions (med-size, chopped)
•  fresh ground black pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 475F (220C). Roll out dough as thinly as possible & use it to line a lrg oblong cookie sheet (16 x 12 in).
2. Prick the dough base w/the tines of a fork to within 1/2-in of the edges & bake blind for 10 minutes. Allow to cool for at least 10 minutes. DO NOT turn off the oven.
3. Combine cream cheese (or ricotta if using) w/the creme fraiche, flour, salt & oil to form a thick paste & spread it over the dough.
4. Crisp bacon in a lrg frying pan, remove w/a slotted spoon & set aside, reserving 2 tbsp of bacon fat & discarding any excess. Peel & chop onions & brown them in the reserved bacon fat.
5. Scatter bacon & onions over the cheese topping. Season w/pepper to taste pref. Return to the oven, cook for 2 min & serve immediately.
6. NOTE: Feel free to use a pizza pan if you have 1 equivalent in size (192 sq in).