Pissaladière (Niçoise Caramelized Onion and Anchovy Tart)

My husband spent a summer working in Nice long before I met him, and he still brings up pissaladière the way some people bring up an old girlfriend, unprompted and a little wistfully. I finally made it for him a few years back and understood immediately why it stuck with him. It’s humble, just bread dough, onions, and anchovies, but the onions do so much work that the whole thing tastes far richer than its ingredient list suggests.

This is Niçoise cooking at its most patient. A mountain of onions cooks low and slow until they collapse into a sweet, jammy spread, which then gets pressed onto a thin sheet of bread dough, topped with anchovy fillets in a lattice, and studded with olives. It bakes fast once the onions are done, which makes it a good make-ahead project: caramelize the onions the day before, then assemble and bake when you’re ready.

If your table already has a soft spot for the south of France, this fits right alongside our Socca (recipe on the site), Salade Niçoise (recipe on the site), and Ratatouille Niçoise (recipe on the site).

Pissaladière Recipe

Prep time: 25 minutes, plus 1.5 hours dough rising · Cook time: 1 hour 20 minutes · Total: 3 hours 15 minutes · Servings: 8 · Calories: ~260 per serving

Ingredients

• For the dough:
• 2 1/4 teaspoons (1 packet) active dry yeast
• 3/4 cup warm water
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• For the topping:
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 3 lbs yellow onions, thinly sliced (about 6 large onions)
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme, or 1/2 teaspoon dried
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• Salt and black pepper, to taste
• 2 oz canned oil-packed anchovy fillets (about 16 to 20), drained
• 1/3 cup Niçoise or oil-cured black olives, pitted

Instructions

1. Make the dough: dissolve yeast in warm water and let sit 5 minutes until foamy. Stir in flour, salt, and olive oil until a shaggy dough forms. Knead on a floured surface 5 to 7 minutes until smooth and elastic.
2. Place the dough in an oiled bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm spot until doubled, about 1 1/2 hours.
3. Meanwhile, make the topping: heat olive oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-low heat. Add onions, thyme, and bay leaf. Cook low and slow, stirring occasionally, until deeply golden and jammy, 45 to 60 minutes, stirring in the sugar about halfway through to help caramelization. Season lightly with salt, keeping in mind the anchovies add plenty. Discard the bay leaf and thyme sprigs and let cool slightly.
4. Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet or 9×13-inch pan with parchment.
5. Punch down the dough and stretch or roll it out to fit the pan, pressing it into the corners. Let rest 10 minutes.
6. Spread the caramelized onions evenly over the dough. Arrange the anchovy fillets in a crisscross lattice on top and place an olive in the center of each diamond.
7. Bake 18 to 22 minutes, until the crust is golden brown at the edges.
8. Let cool slightly, cut into squares or strips, and serve warm or at room temperature.

Recipe Notes

• The onions are the whole point here. Don’t rush them or raise the heat to speed things along, or they’ll scorch instead of caramelize.
• Not an anchovy fan? Use fewer fillets, or chop them and stir them into the onions instead of laying them on top; the flavor mellows into something more savory than fishy.
• Find oil-packed anchovy fillets and Niçoise olives near the olives and capers at most well-stocked grocery stores, or at a Mediterranean market.
• This freezes well unbaked. Assemble, freeze on the tray, then wrap and bake straight from frozen, adding a few extra minutes.