Pissaladière
============ 2025-11-22 *


Comment: Originating from the Nice region in the south of France, pissaladière is essentially a caramelized onion tart. Traditionally made with pissalat, a salted fish paste, seasoned with spices and olive oil, in this recipe the spices are added to the onion confit, and the salt is replaced with anchovy fillets. Pissalat can be approximated with a paste made from sardines and anchovies. For the olives, do not use canned olives, as these are not ripe but artificially blackened. If they have pits, simply inform your guests. Traditionally, the pastry is similar to bread dough or a bit like focaccia dough. Here I use commercial puff pastry. For the anchovies, choose good quality ones; excellent ones can be found in small glass jars from Spain.

Inspired by: My Pissaladière

For a 25 x 42 cm square of pastry, serving 2 to 3 people

Ingredients:
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1 sheet of puff pastry (in my case - see text)
600 g onions
4 cloves of garlic
30 ml extra virgin olive oil
4 sprigs of thyme
2 bay leaves
2 cans of anchovy fillets
1 can of good-quality sardines in oil
~20 black olives
Salt and pepper

Preparation:
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Slice the onions thinly and place them in a pot with the olive oil, two pinches of salt, the sliced garlic, and the herbs. Cook over low heat for 45 to 90 minutes, partially covered, stirring occasionally until the onions are completely softened but not browned. Remove the herbs at the end of cooking.

For the pissalat, mash the sardines (remove the bones) and mix with 6 to 8 chopped anchovy fillets and a little (1 to 2 teaspoons) of the anchovy oil or extra virgin olive oil to make a spreadable paste.

Preheat the oven to 220°C (200°CT).

Place the pastry on a baking sheet and prick it with a fork.

Spread a layer of pissalat, then the onions, and decorate with anchovies and olives.

Bake the pissaladière for 20 to 30 minutes. Keep an eye on it, as bubbles may form under the pastry. Season with pepper and serve warm or cold.