One of my true loves in the kitchen is making pastries, specifically, savory French tarts that begin with butter pastry dough.
Caramelized onions, gruyere, mushrooms in springtime, chocolate — the possibilities for filling a well-made tart shell are endless.
And because the French Open is being played this week, I want to share the “love.”
Enjoy this recipe for pissaladiere, an onion, anchovy and olive tart that makes a great appetizer or indulgent snack, as you watch. What makes this tart so delish are the layers of flavor: buttery pastry topped with gently sweet onions that melt in your mouth before a briny and salty finish. Yum. Pair it with a wine, French, of course and enjoy some good tennis. -alyce eyster
For the latest on the French Open, click here.
Photo: Ralph Smith. Styling by Julie Hettiger.
- Pastry:
- 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp salt
- 10 Tblsp cold unsalted butter, diced
- 4 Tblsp cold water, or more
- Topping:
- 4 Tblsp olive oil
- 2 lbs. sweet onions (1015, Vidalia or Walla Walla), sliced very thin
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 4 oz anchovy fillets in oil
- 1 cup Nicoise olives, pitted
- Place the flour and salt in the work bowl of a food processor, fitted with the metal blade.
- Add the cold, diced butter and pulse on and off , until the mixture looks like coarse sand.
- Transfer to a mixing bowl and add water by tablespoons, until the mixture hold together.
- Form into 2 flat disks, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate.
- Warm 4 tablespoons olive oil in a heavy skillet, add the sliced onions and salt and cook, covered, over very low heat, stirring occasionally, for an hour or more, or until they have almost melted into a puree.
- Remove the lid and continue to cook until much of the liquid has evaporated. (The onions should not brown.)
- Season to taste with freshly ground black pepper.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- Roll out the pastry on a floured surface, or between two sheets of plastic wrap, to a rectangle 14 x 5 inches.
- Carefully transfer the pastry to the baking pan, by rolling it up on the rolling pin and unrolling it over the baking pan, or turning the plastic wrap over and releasing it. Press the edges against the side of the baking pan and trim off any excess. Spread the onion puree evenly over the pastry.
- Make a lattice work design with the anchovy fillets and place an olive in the center of each lattice or at the corners where the anchovies meet.
- Press the anchovies and olives gently into the puree.
- Bake for about 30 minutes, or until the edges of the pastry are golden and crisp. Serve hot or lukewarm.
- Cut into small squares or wedges to serve as an appetizer with drinks, or into large pieces to serve as a first course.
Thanks for stopping by. Here's to great food and good thymes! -