I have been eyeing off Zwiebelkuchen recipes for a while and finally threw together my own version for dinner tonight. It was quite easy to make and the result was delicious. It could be best described as a combination of a quiche and a pizza – having the luscious, eggy texture of quiche, but the easy-to-handle convenience and crisp crust akin to pizza. The onions tasted incredibly sweet and savoury at the same time, providing a full-bodied flavour that you’d expect from something like browned-off chicken. This would be a great thing to make for a picnic or brunch because it’s quite satisfying but not too heavy, and is particularly enjoyable when served with a salad. It’s also handy to know because it can easily be made in bulk and served to many. To read a little background information on the dish, click here. The recipe went something like this…

Ingredients

Pastry

2 cups plain flour
60ml olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons sugar
3/4 cup water
2 teaspoons yeast

Filling

4 medium onions, finely sliced
2 rashers of fatty bacon
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
generous grinding of black pepper
generous grinding of nutmeg
2-3 tablespoons chopped parsley
4 eggs
2 heaped tablespoons sour cream

Salad & dressing

3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
generous grinding of black pepper
1 small clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon American mustard
6 tablespoons olive oil

a few handfuls of lettuce leaves

Method

Pastry

1. Add all ingredients to a bowl and form into a dough. You may need to use additional flour if the mixture is too sticky.
2. Knead the dough for about 5 minutes.
3. Cover and set aside to prove for at least 1 hour.

Filling

1. Fry the bacon in the olive oil on medium to low heat for about 10 minutes, or until slightly crisped.
2. Add the butter, salt, pepper, sugar and onions to the pan, frying for about 10 minutes or until softened and only very lightly coloured.
3. Season with the nutmeg and stir well. Set aside to cool.
4. In a mixing bowl, add eggs, sour cream and parsley, and mix well to break up the eggs.

Assembly

1. Preheat oven to 180C.
2. Roll the dough and place on a pizza tray or general baking tray. We used 2 medium pizza trays, producing two round pizza-shaped tarts (which we later cut in to wedges), but you could certainly use an oblong-shaped baking tray (and cut it in to squares instead). Make sure you form raised ridges at the edges of the pastry, so as to hold the egg mixture in.
3. Evenly spread the bacon and onion mixture over the pastry.
4. Place the tart(s) in to the oven for about 7 minutes or until the pastry has set a little.
5. Remove from the oven. Pour egg mixture in to each tart, making sure it covers the onions evenly.
6. Return to the oven and cook until lightly browned on top and crisp on the bottom.
7. When ready, remove from the oven and let stand for 5 minutes before slicing and serving.

We served our Zwiebelkuchen with a simple green salad of lettuce leaves, with a red wine vinaigrette. To make the vinaigrette, add all ingredients (listed above) to a jar, top with a lid, and shake well. Drizzle over leaves and serve.

Enjoy!