Pissaladière is a caramelized onion pizza from Nice eaten as an appetizer or snack. It is often sold in individual portions by bakery shops and from tiny stands on your way to the beach along the Côte d'Azur.
The dough in this tart is similar in preparation to a foccacia due to the amount of oil it contains, and its final shape resembles a pizza, minus the cheese. Once baked, the focaccia should be slightly crisp on the base but quite soft and just cooked on the top. When caramelizing the onions, try to keep the onions slightly sweet.
1 1/2
cups flour2
tsp active dry yeast1
tsp salt3/4
cup milk1/2
cup olive oil
6
onions, sliced1
clove garlic1/4
tbsp olive oil4
tsp pissala (A fermented paste of salt cod or anchovies, thyme, cloves, bay leave, pepper)10
anchovies1
cup black olives, pitted
Add all the ingredients for the dough to a large bowl. With a wooden spoon, stir until a sticky dough forms.
Turn out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead the dough until it becomes soft and elastic. Your dough will be quite wet. Refrain from adding too much extra flour so that it stays that way. Form the dough into a ball, cover it with a cloth and leave it in a warm place for two hours until it doubles in volume.
Peel and halve the onions. Chop each onion half into thin half rings. Mince the garlic. Place a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic and olive oil and saute for 20-30 minutes until the onions have softened and taken on a rich golden brown color. While caramelizing, stir them constantly so that they brown evenly with no overly burnt bits. If the base of the frying pan starts to blacken with onion juice, deglaze the pan by adding 1/4 cup of water and scraping off the browned bits from the base of the pan with a wooden spoon.
Pre-heat the oven to 450°F230°C
When the dough is ready, roll it out into a large flat circle, about 1/4 inch thick. Transfer the dough to a baking tray large enough to hold it. Spread the pissala evenly across the dough followed by the onions. Sprinkle with the olives and lay the anchovies out evenly across the top in a geometric window pattern.
Put the pissaladière in the pre-heated oven. Bake for about 20 minutes until the top is barely cooked and the base is slightly crispy. Allow to cool a little and serve while still warm.