On a recent trip to southern France, I was delighted to see my friends Franbi and Milan who invited me to a wonderful lunch. The starter was Franbi’s pissaladière, a traditional onion, olive and anchovy tart which originated in Nice.
I don’t have Franbi’s recipe but I hope she approves of this one. To make this tart you can use ready-made puff pastry. Place it in a greased pie dish or oven tray and refrigerate while you prepare the filling. Heat some olive oil in a heavy pan and gently fry 4 large sliced onions until wilted. Add some sprigs of fresh thyme, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and continue to cook until the onions are caramelised. If you want to hurry this along you can also add a little brown sugar at this stage. Spread the onions onto the prepared pastry then lay good quality anchovies over the top in a criss-cross pattern. Place Kalamata olive halves in the spaces between the anchovies. Bake the tart in a moderate oven until the pastry is crisp and golden brown.
michelle picker cooks 