Pissaladière is a savory, Provencal onion tart layered with olives, anchovies, and herbs. Serve it cut into little rectangles for a fabulous appetizer.
Cook’s note: Be very careful to cook the onions gently. One bit of burned onion will give the whole recipe a bitter flavor.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 6 yellow onions, chopped
- 2 teaspoons demerara sugar (raw sugar)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
- 1 sheet puff pastry, thawed
- 20 anchovy fillets
- 20 black olives in oil, drained
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and demerara sugar and sauté, stirring frequently, until the onions become tender and start to turn golden. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and thyme. Stir the mixture and transfer the skillet to the preheated oven. Cook for 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are wilted, very soft, and are a medium gold throughout.
Add the vinegar during the last 5 minutes of cooking. Remove from the onions from the oven and set them aside while preparing the pastry for the pissaladiere. until they reach room temperature, and then serve.
Raise the oven temperature to 425F. Press the thawed pastry into a rectangle on a 12-inch by 18-inch baking sheet, building it up a bit around the edges. Spread the pastry with the onion confit, leaving 1 inch of dough uncovered around the edges of the pastry. Arrange the anchovy filets and olives on the pissaladière. Bake it for 15 to 25 minutes, until the pastry has puffed up, turned golden, and crisped.
Remove the pissaladière from the oven and sprinkle the olive oil and fresh thyme across the hot surface of the tart. Cut it into rectangles and serve very warm or at room temperature.
This pissaladière recipe makes 10 servings.
