Gut Food? Flammkuchen with white asparagus and Black Forest ham

My mouth waters just looking at this photo. Must get more Flammkuchen dough. Stat.

I’ve not been terribly efficient at writing up my German culinary explorations, which have continued with varying levels of success (high point: eggs in mustard sauce; low point: spinach Spätzle; point of Benny Hill-style hilarity: Frankfurter Green Sauce) since my semi-triumphant Lentils with Spätzle and Sausage.  If I'm honest, part of the reason that I've not blogged my adventures is that I can no longer stand writing 'Gut Food': what started out as a "hilarious" play on words now just makes me cringe so badly I just can't bear to even think about it.  Last weekend, however, I produced such a simple little dazzler of a Sunday evening hangover snack – and a cheat’s version at that - that I can't help but post it regardless.  In the meantime, I've had a couple of brilliant ideas for a new name for my recipe series on Twitter, and would love to hear any further suggestions here!

But on with the food.  Introducing Germany’s answer to a very thin-crust pizza: Flammkuchen - or Tarte Flambée, as it’s known in Alsace.  Actually, Flammkuchen is really only really like a pizza in the sense that it’s a flat bread that goes in the oven topped with whatever you fancy: that's where the similarity ends.  Instead of cheese, the dough is smeared with crème fraîche or its German sort-of-equivalent, Schmand, and the whole effect is of something a little more elegant than our everyday equivalent of its Italian relative, though I’m sure you could bring it down a peg or two by covering it in pre-grated cheddar and some chunks of ham and pineapple.  The most popular version of Flammkuchen in this region is the Badischer Flammkuchen, which is sprinkled with finely-cubed bacon and slices of white onion and good grief, it's heaven.

I mention this recipe is the cheat's version: I had cunningly planned ahead to take into account that I might potentially have a small headache following my birthday party last Saturday night and had nipped out and bought a roll of readymade Flammkuchen dough in preparation. Topping-wise, I went ultra seasonal with a bunch of locally-grown, fresh-out-of-the-ground, very fine-looking white asparagus; as ever, I couldn’t resist a bit of Black Forest ham; and decided to mix the crème fraîche with a little cream and an egg yolk, as recommended by Essen und Trinken magazine (link in German).  The whole thing was extremely straightforward to put together and it took just about half an hour to chop things, assemble things, and get things hot and crispy in the oven.  I’d like to try making my own dough from scratch at some point, but in the meantime I'd recommend this quick and easy version very highly indeed.

Extreme close-up: look at all that creamy, eggy goodness.

Ingredients (serves 2)

1 roll of Flammkuchen dough (found in the cold bit of the supermarket)

1 egg yolk

50g Crème fraîche

1 tablespoon double cream (Schlagsahne)

Salt and pepper

2 spring onions, white and pale green part finely sliced

A bunch of white asparagus - I suppose I used 5-6 stalks

Black Forest Ham (Schwarzwälder Schinken) - or some other cured meat such as Parma ham or Prosciutto

Method and serving suggestion

1. Roll out the dough out flat on a baking tray lined with baking paper – mine came wrapped in baking parchment that it told me to keep it on, which was useful
2. Mix together the whisked egg yolk, crème fraîche, cream and pepper and spread two thirds of it evenly across the base
3. Split the asparagus lengthwise down the middle and chop into pieces 4-5cm long, placing them all over the dough cut side down
4. Sprinkle the spring onion on top, drizzle over the remaining cream mix, season with salt and pepper and put your Flammkuchen in the oven for 15 minutes at 220˚ (or as per the packet instructions).  Your kitchen will smell INCREDIBLE
5. Cut the ham into strips and, once the Flammkuchen is out of the oven, drape it artistically all over the top.

Enjoy with a green salad and, in an ideal world, a large glass of white wine.