Pissaladiere

Since meeting and getting married to my wife, this recipe has become a staple in our house. With crunchy pastry, a beautiful balance between the sweetness of the caramelized onions and the saltiness of the anchovies. Being so easy to make, Pissaladiere really is hard to beat.

Ingredients

1 quantity of shortcrust pastry
1 quantity of Tapenade
4 onions (we used a mix of white and Spanish onions), thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
A few sprigs of thyme
1 small tbsp of honey
A few anchovies to decorate
A few black olives to decorate
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tbsp of olive oil
10g butter

Directions

Prepare a batch of shortcrust pastry as per our Short Crust Pastry page but do not blind bake it.

Cut the pastry dough in 4 equal pieces. Roll out each piece of pastry dough on a lightly floured surface. Line the pastry on 4 12cm small tins. Alternatively you can use a 23 cm flan tin. Prick the base of the pastry all over.

Chill the pastry cases in the fridge for 15 minutes.

In a large frying pan, heat the oil and butter. Add the garlic, onions and the thyme. Stir to coat the onions with the oil and butter. Leave the onions to cook on low heat until they have become tender.

Once the onions are tender, add the honey and season to taste. Leave to cook for a further 5 minutes or until the onions have become slightly golden.

Spread a thin layer of Tapenade on the pastry cases.

Details on how to make your own fresh tapenade can be found on our How to Make Black Olive Tapenade page

Next, add a layer of the onions. The aim is to have the layer of onions the same thickness as the pastry lining.

Arrange the anchovy fillets in a cross or lattice pattern and place an olive on the top to decorate.

Note: you can add the olive after cooking if you prefer.

In an oven pre heated to 180 degrees Celsius, bake the Pissaladieres for 20 minutes if using the small tins or 30 minutes if using a 23 cm flan tin. Once cooked, stand the Pissaladieres for 10 minutes before removing them from the tins.

Serve the pissaladiere as a starter or as a light meal with a salad.

Total Preperation and Cooking Time: 1 hour 15 min
Yield: 1 20cm Pissaladiere (4 servings)