Pissaladière
I went to Nice for a long weekend and the first bite of pissaladière I had, I feel in love.
So… here’s my version, It’s not authentic at all. I was inspired by my love for olive bread (that I haven’t had in yearsssss!) so instead of adding the olives on top, I’ve scattered them onto the dough. The caramelised onion tops the dough and anchovies and fresh thyme are the last things on. I realised every time I had a slice of pissaladière, they were all so different from the texture and consistency of dough, and how the anchovies were added etc.. but the one thing that kept on coming up was… I just wanted more anchovies.
Tip: If you don’t want as many anchovies on your slice, reduce the amount.
Serves: 4-8
Ingredients
For the dough:
3g Instant Yeast
165g Water
15ml Olive Oil
250g Plain Flour
4g Sea Salt
For the toppings
3 Brown Onions, peeled and thinly sliced
50g Pitted Black Olives, drained and thinly sliced
10-20 anchovy fillets, drained
10g Fresh Thyme
Method:
1. Add all the ingredients for the dough into the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix together and knead for 4-5 minutes, until combined and smooth. If kneading by hand, it’ll take double the amount of time.
2. Drizzle a generous amount of olive oil into a 40x25cm baking tray, spread it across the bottom and sides of the tray. Coat the dough in the oil and stretch it out as much as possible to the shape of the tray. Cover and let proof for 1.5-3hrs, until doubled in size.
3. Meanwhile, place a frying pan on medium heat with a drizzle of oil. Once hot, add the sliced onions, season with salt and cook covered until caramelised and brown, 30-40 minutes. Stir every few minutes so they don’t catch on the bottom of the pan. If they’re browning too quickly, turn the heat down or add a splash of water. Let cool down fully once caramelised.
4. Once the dough has proofed, oil your hands and dimple the dough starting from the centre until the dough fits the tray properly, be careful to not overpress the dough. Push the olive slices into the dough, and spread the caramelised onions all over. Cover and let proof for 15-30 minutes until fluffy.
5. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to fan 200°C.
6. Once the oven is hot, bake the pissaladière until lightly golden, 15-20 minutes. Remove it from the tray and slide it directly onto the oven shelf for 5-10 minutes until golden all over.
7. Let cool down a little. Slice the pissaladière into squares and top each with 1 or 2 anchovy fillets and some fresh thyme.