Pissaladière

Pissaladière is Nice's answer to pizza, yet entirely its own creation — a thick, pillowy focaccia-style bread base buried under an improbable quantity of slow-caramelised onions, laid with a lattice of anchovies and studded with Niçoise olives. The name derives from pissalat, a fermented anchovy paste that was the original topping. It is sold in wedges from bakeries along the Cours Saleya market and eaten standing up, at room temperature, as a midday snack or light lunch.

Serves: 6

Ingredients

For the dough:

• 300g (2¼ cups) bread flour
• 7g (1 sachet) instant yeast
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar
• 180ml (¾ cup) warm water
• 2 tbsp olive oil

For the topping:

• 1.2kg (2⅔ lb) onions (about 6 large), very thinly sliced
• 60ml (4 tbsp) olive oil
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tsp sugar
• Salt and black pepper
• 50g (1¾ oz) anchovy fillets in oil (about 20 fillets), drained
• 80g (3 oz) small black Niçoise or Kalamata olives

Instructions

1. Make the dough: combine flour, yeast, salt, sugar, water, and oil. Knead for 8–10 minutes until smooth and elastic. Place in an oiled bowl, cover, and rise for 1 hour until doubled.
2. Meanwhile, cook onions: heat olive oil in a wide, heavy pan over low heat. Add onions, thyme, bay leaves, sugar, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 40–50 minutes until meltingly soft, sweet, and pale gold — not brown. Remove thyme and bay.
3. Preheat oven to 220°C (425°F). Stretch dough to fill an oiled 30×40cm (12×16 inch) baking tray. Rest 15 minutes.
4. Spread the caramelised onions evenly over the dough, reaching to the edges.
5. Lay anchovy fillets in a diagonal lattice pattern across the onions. Place an olive in each diamond of the lattice.
6. Bake for 20–25 minutes until the edges are golden and the base sounds hollow when tapped. Cool to room temperature before cutting.

Cook's Notes: Pissaladière is best eaten at room temperature — the flavours knit together as it cools. The onions must be genuinely sweet and soft, not browned and bitter. Leftovers keep well at room temperature for a day, wrapped in cloth.