Bacon and Caramelized Onion Flatbread, Flammkuchen

It's moving day for us at The Hungry Hounds. Fueled by donuts, coffee and tons of moving help from family and friends, we are on our way from Pennsylvania to Indiana for our final goodbyes with Paul's family before we leave for Haiti. Cooking and eating in our kitchen for the past few weeks has been a bit of an awkward experience with many frustrated sighs and the frequent realization, '...oh right, we packed that already, didn't we!?' One of the last dishes we made when our kitchen was still in full swing was this tasty Flammkuchen, a comfort pizza-like-classic from the Alsatian and South German regions, with many variations and names. We modeled ours after the classic version, a thin crusted flatbread pizza with a creamy, slightly tangy sauce, smoky bacon, a smattering of cheese, and the succulent sweetness of caramelized onions. This recipe is adapted from Smitten Kitchen.

Yield: 1 medium flatbread

Ingredients:

• 1 recipe flatbread dough (try our spelt flatbread)
• 6 strips thick cut bacon
• 1 onion, thinly sliced
•  1/2 cup grated Gruyere cheese

White Sauce

• 1/2 cup ricotta cheese
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme

Steps:

1. Heat the oven to 450.
2. In a large cast iron skillet, cook the bacon over medium heat until cooked and crispy. Remove the bacon from the heat, and allow to drain. Cut the bacon into thin strips when cool enough to handle.  Set aside.
3. Add the onion to the cast iron skillet and cook in the leftover bacon fat on medium high until it is turns a deep caramel color, about 8-10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste, remove from skillet and set aside.
4. For the White Sauce: To a blender or food processor add the ricotta, sour cream, flour, salt, pepper and chopped thyme. Puree until it is a smooth texture. Set aside.
5. To prepare the flatbread: On a floured surface use a rolling pin to roll out the dough into a rough rectangle, it should be about 1/4 inch thick. Lay the dough on a baking sheet with a parchment or a silicon baking mat to prevent sticking.
6. Spread the white sauce on the flatbread leaving a border around the edges. Evenly distribute the bacon, onion and grated cheese on top. 
7. Bake the flatbread for 12-15 minutes, until the crust is cooked through and the cheese just melts. Serve immediately.