The post-holiday reset is often an excuse for me to dive into the Mediterranean diet for a healthy start of the year. A traditional pissaladière from the south of France is the ideal way to brighten a cold January day with a simple dish that comforts and evokes images of sunny days in Provence.
Pissaladière is a southern French flatbread (don’t call it a pizza!) originally from Nice that is piled high with wonderfully caramelized onions, anchovies, and black olives. It is rather simple to make, delightful hot or cold, and just the reason you needed to drink rosé all year round…
The base is an olive oil-based yeasted dough similar to a focaccia and very easy to make.
Next comes the pissalat – the anchovy paste that gives the flatbread its pungent, distinctive flavor. Here, canned anchovies are puréed with fennel seeds, crushed red peppers, and black pepper to form the paste. Originally though, pissalat is made by fermenting baby anchovies and sardines with salt and spices for over a month to further develop the flavors which is still done today in the south the France during anchovy season.
Onions are probably the most crucial component of a great pissaladière and that’s where your attention (and time) should be focused on. Low and slow is the name of the game here – you don’t want to rush this step! It might look like it takes forever but it is so worth it to get them just right. Anywhere between 30 minutes to an hour will get them really, really soft and starting to brown and form that sweet and mellow caramelization you’re after.
The assemblage is the fun part. Once your anchovy paste and caramelized onions have been spread all over, it’s time to layer your topping anchovies and olives in an artful design of your taste. If you can find “Boquerones a la vinagre” (silver-skinned fresh anchovies that have been preserved in vinegar) they add a lovely briny tang to the dish but canned anchovies are equally fine here.
Drizzle a bit of olive oil over the top and bake for 15-20 minutes – voila! It’s ready to eat hot or you can let it cool down for a bit.
Slices of pissaladière are a favorite street food and an easy afternoon snack around Nice.
Serve with a side salad and most importantly a chilled glass of rosé for a light and “sunny” lunch any time of year. The sweetness of the melted onions paired with the salty anchovies and briny olives deliver a truly Provencal flavor punch to brighten up any day and tomorrow’s breakfast too if you have leftovers!
| Total Time: | 120 min |
| Category: | Entree |
| Cuisine: | French |
| Yield: | 4-6 servings |
3. Grease the bowl with ½tbsp oil, return the dough, cover with a damp cloth and leave in a warm place for around 45 minutes or until roughly doubled in size.
5. Meanwhile for the topping, heat the oil in a wide, deep pan. Add the onions and cook over a medium-low heat for around 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally until soft and a pale amber colour, adjusting the heat to stop them catching around the edge of the pan. Tip into a dish and leave to get cool.
7. For the pissalat, put all the ingredients in a mini food processor and process to a purée. Add sea salt only if you think it needs it.
9. Preheat the oven to 200C/180C F/Gas 6 and put a large baking sheet in to heat up.
11. Tip the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knead briefly. Grease a 22 x 32cm Swiss roll tin with the remaining ½tbsp oil and put the dough in the middle. Using your fingers, push it out towards the edges until it fills the tin evenly (it will go right to the corners, so persevere). Spread the pissalat over the dough with a knife and leave to prove for around 10 minutes. Arrange the onions evenly over the dough.
13. Slice the boquerones for the topping in half lengthways and arrange on top of the onions in a criss-cross pattern. Add the olives and drizzle all over with a little more oil. Put the tin on the preheated tray and bake for 15-20 minutes until the dough is cooked through. Remove from the tin and serve.
250g white bread flour
1½tsp active dried yeast
½tsp sea salt crystals
3tbsp extra virgin olive oil
For the topping:
8tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra to serve
1.25kg onions, halved, then thinly sliced
4 thyme sprigs, leaves picked
2 x 100g cans Boquerones a la Vinagreta, or regular anchovies in olive oil
approx. 24 stone-in black olives
For the pissalat:
1x 100g can Anchoas Ahumadas en Aceite de Oliva, or regular anchovies in olive oil, plus ½ x 50-80g can or jar anchovies in olive oil
½tsp fennel seeds, finely ground
1tsp pul biber
¼tsp freshly ground black pepper
