French Pissaladière is a savory pie from Provence and the French city of Nice in southern France. The base is a dough similar to pizza dough, but the topping is different. Instead of tomato sauce and cheese, stewed onions, anchovies, and olives are used. This delicious combination of sweet and savory is one that you simply cannot avoid.
French Pizza with Anchovies and Onions
This Sunday, with this beautiful weather, I made a pissaladière —a kind of pizza topped with onion, anchovies, and olives. The onions are stewed for quite a long time with thyme and bay leaf, which gives them a sweet taste. It was a delicious dish. It looked beautiful and smelled superb, too.
The taste of French pizza with anchovies and onion is unique and very special. The caramelized onions give the dish a sweet, soft taste. The salty anchovies and savory olives complete the dish.
This dish is often served as a snack or lunch but can also be enjoyed as a main course with a nice fresh cucumber salad. Pissaladière is perfect for bringing a piece of France to your kitchen.
The recipe is an adaptation of the French onion tart described in Dorie Greenspan's cookbook French Fridays with Dorie.
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📖 Recipe
RECIPE CARD
Ingredients
For the dough
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 2⅔ teaspoons yeast, instant
- ⅓ cup water, tepid
- 1⅓ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 egg, L
For the onion topping
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 6 onions, thinly sliced
- 1 sprig fresh thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- ⅛ teaspoon sea salt
- ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper, freshly ground
- 6 anchovies
- 12 green olives, pitted
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Instructions
Prepare the dough
- Mix the yeast and sugar in the water. Set aside for 5 minutes. After that, you should see little bubbles (if you don't, your yeast isn't working very well, and you should use a new package).1 teaspoon sugar, 2⅔ teaspoons yeast, ⅓ cup water
- Mix the flour, salt, and olive oil well in a bowl. Then, add the yeast mixture and egg. Mix everything thoroughly until the flour is incorporated. Then, put the dough on your surface and start kneading. Knead until the dough feels soft and elastic (about 10 minutes).1⅓ cup all-purpose flour, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 egg
- Brush a bowl with olive oil and add the dough. Cover with a towel and set aside for 1 hour.
Prepare the topping
- Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large skillet on low heat. Add the onions, thyme, and bay leaves and stir to coat everything. Then cook the onions, stirring often, for 40 minutes until translucent and golden.2 tablespoons olive oil, 6 onions, 1 sprig fresh thyme, 1 bay leaf
- Get the pan off the heat, remove the thyme and bay leaf, and then season with salt and pepper. Set aside until needed.⅛ teaspoon sea salt, ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper
Baking the Pissaladière
- Preheat the oven to
430 °F or 400 °F. Line a baking sheet with baking paper. - Take the dough out of the bowl and deflate it. Place it on a floured surface and roll it out until it is 10 × 12 inches (25 × 30 cm). Place the dough on the baking plate.
- Top with the onion mixture and bake the pissaladière for about 20 minutes, or until the dough is golden.
- Take the baking plate from the oven and top with the anchovies and olives. Put it in the oven again and bake for another 5 minutes.6 anchovies, 12 green olives
Notes
- Refrigerator: Store the pissaladière in an airtight refrigerator for two days.
- Freezer: Cut into portions and wrap all portions in plastic wrap. Then, wrap everything in a second layer. This will stay good for up to 2 months. Let thaw in the refrigerator.
- Reheating: Reheat the French onion tart in the oven covered at 350 °F (180 °C) for 6–7 minutes, or until warm.
Nutrition
Cher says
I think there are going to a lot of mixed feelings amongst the group on this one.
Nice pictures!
yummychunklet says
Great photos! I had to add tomatoes myself because I'm not fond of anchovies.
Foodiva says
Whatever your feelings about this pissaladiere, it certainly looks great in your shots! Love the green olives too!
Trix says
That's funny, I thought this was a perfect fall recipe! I can't bear to turn the oven to 425 in the summer! You are right about the refreshing drink for sure.
gaaarp says
Love your photos! I really liked this recicpe. I didn't even try feeding it to the kids, although after watching them tear into smoked salmon and caviar blinis, I think they might just have liked this one, too.
Kathy says
Loved this but I couldn't eat the anchovies. Yours looks wonderfully delicious, even if it wasn't a huge hit! Have a nice weekend!
acookingmizer says
I loved this one! Its easily something we would make for a light lunch or something, even in the winter! /god knows we make enough soups or piping hot dishes in the dead of summer! 🙂 Glad you enjoyed it too!
Confessions of a Culinary Diva says
I loved it, but agree this is more of a spring/summer recipe. Makes me think of the French Riviera for some reason! Happy French Friday!
Adriana says
Your pissaladiere looks wonderful, Anja. Great job!
Elaine says
I can see small children not liking this with the carmelized onions and anchovies, but your pissaladiere looks so pretty.
onewetfoot.com says
Beautiful photos!
Betsy says
Looks delicious, Anja. I thought this was perfect for the current cooler weather, though I agree the flavors would be nice in the summer too.
tastymayhem says
I went for the refreshing drink, despite the chilly weather (we broke out the sweaters and heat this week). I agree on the anchovies. It looks great in your photos and I love the green olives!
Ei says
I can see where you're coming from regarding this being warm-weather food. I'd agree with that. I hope you enjoyed it anyway!
Frankly Entertaining says
Yours looks beautiful! My kids weren't too fond of this one... come to think of, neither was my husband!
Sis. Boom. says
I love those charred bits of onions! Those are always my favorite part wherever they show up!
tricia s. says
As everyone else is saying - your photos are just lovely ! I was struck by the first ones in that this was the most "fresh" looking (or Spring-ish) pissaladiere that I recall seeing. And I love those little dark onion bits - they are my favorite part. Great job !!