Zwiebelkuchen is a specialty food served in wine-growing regions in Germany, typically in the states of Rheinland-Pfalz and Baden-Wuerttemberg, but also in other regions such as the Mosel river valley in North Rhein Westfalia. It is normally available in September and October and is traditionally served with Federweisser or Neuer Wein.

The word zwiebelkuchen directly translates to "onion cake" in English. There are a couple of ways of making zwiebelkuchen: one way uses dough with yeast, hence the cakey or bready feeling of the dish. I prefer the deeper-dish, pie-like version presented here. All measurements are in metric and I have made an attempt at converting them to Imperial (please use your own expertise to refine the Imperial measurements).

Dough

Make your own dough using this simple recipe:

250 grams flour (about 2 1/2 cups)
100 grams cold butter (7 tbs or almost 1/4 pound)
5 grams salt (1 tsp or less)
100 ml water (about 3 1/2 ounces)

Mix the ingredients together to make the dough. If the dough is too sticky, add more flour. Set aside and chill while making the rest of the recipe.

Onion mixture

500 grams sliced or diced onions (1.1 lbs or almost 4 cups) - Spanish, sweet Vidalia or similar
75 grams butter or healthy cooking oil (1/3 of cup more or less)
100 grams finely diced bacon or strongly flavoured ham (about 1/2 cup)

Lightly cook the bacon or ham. Set aside 1 tbs if desired to sprinkle on top of the pie later for presentation purposes.

Add the onions to the frying pan and saute until soft. Set aside and drain if necessary.

Note that the other traditional option is to use caraway seeds rather than bacon, which is great for vegetarians. Be careful with the amount of caraway seeds used as they add a very strong flavour.

Sauce

I made my own sauce (similar to Bechamel but a bit thicker in this recipe) using these ingredients:

500 ml milk (2 cups)
60 grams flour (10 tbs or aobut 1/2 of a cup)
50 grams butter (3 1/2 tbs or just less than 1/4 cup)
2 egg yolks
pinch each of salt, pepper and nutmeg

On medium-low heat, melt the butter and add the flour. Stir and cook the flour for a minute or two, being careful not to burn it. Slowly add the milk. Use a whisk to minimize lumps. Cook for 10 minutes stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Cool sauce (I put it out on my balcony). Add salt, pepper and nutmeg. Whisk in egg yolks one at a time. The sauce should now have a yellowish colour and be shiny and thick.

Putting the pie together

Choose a pie plate that is about 28 cm or 11 inches in diameter and about 2 cm or 1 inch deep. You really can't go wrong here: A narrower pan will result in a deeper pie and vice versa.

Roll out the dough and place in a pie plate that has been lightly greased or the bottom lined with parchment paper. The dough can be about 3 mm or 1/8 of an inch thick.

Add the sauce to the onion mixture. Stir until well mixed. Then pour everything into the pie plate.

Cook at 200 degrees Celsius or 375 degrees Fahrenheit for about a half hour. The edges of the dough should be brown and the onion mixture should be firm. Let sit for about 15 minutes... the pie will firm up even more.

Pour yourself a glass of federweisser or other sweet German wine and enjoy!

Recipe yields six servings. Zwiebelkuchen can be served hot or at room temperature. Add a colourful fall salad to make it a meal.