How To Make Pissaladière

Smothered with caramelized onions and layered with tomatoes, anchovies, olives, and garlic, pissaladière is irresistible! The no-knead dough, focaccia, combined with the toppings, is truly a delicacy, like pasta Puttanesca in bread form: sweet, salty, oily, briny, bold, and aromatic. Heaven!

Pissaladière is a Provençal tart smothered with caramelized onions, anchovies, and olives. According to this Saveur article , pissaladière gets its name from pissalat , a pungent anchovy paste made by layering baby anchovies and sardines with salt, spices, and herbs and fermenting the mixture for 45 days. Early versions of pissaladière called for spreading the fish paste over the dough before layering onions on top.

Today, the tart is characterized by an iconic arrangement of anchovies over the dough in a crisscross diamond motif, with olives either marking the anchovies’ intersections or the centers of the diamonds they form. I’ve never loved this geometric pattern, so I make an anchovy-and-olive paste instead, similar, I suppose, to the pissalat . I like this approach for a few reasons, namely that it more evenly disperses the intense (umami!) flavor throughout the dough, and, in some ways, because it disguises it: those who think they dislike anchovies won’t know they’re there.

In the summer, I like to add tomatoes to mine, too, and truly, to me, there are few combinations more delicious than this one: it’s like pasta Puttanesca in bread form, all sweet and salty, oily and briny, bold and aromatic.

How to Make Pissaladière, Step by Step

First, make the focaccia dough, whichever recipe you prefer, until it completes its bulk fermentation. Pictured below is sourdough focaccia , but most often I make this yeast-leavened focaccia :

Transfer the dough to a buttered and olive-oiled pan. If you are certain your dough will not stick to the pan you are using, you can get away with olive oil alone; if there is any question, butter the pan first—it will ensure your dough releases without issue. Let the dough rise for 3 to 5 hours or until it looks like …

… this.

In the meantime, gather your ingredients for the topping: garlic, anchovies, olives, capers, olive oil, tomatoes, and onions.

Make a coarse purée with the olives, garlic, capers, anchovies, and olive oil.

Sauté the onions until lightly golden, about 15-20 minutes over medium to low heat.

Then layer the toppings over the dough as follows: onions, olive purée, and tomatoes.

Dimple one last time; then transfer to the oven immediately. Bake until evenly golden, about 25 minutes.

Cut into squares; serve warm or at room temperature.

Description

Smothered with caramelized onions and layered with tomatoes, anchovies, olives, and garlic, pissaladière is irresistible! The no-knead dough, focaccia, combined with the toppings, is truly a delicacy, like pasta Puttanesca in bread form: sweet, salty, oily, briny, bold, and aromatic. Heaven!

Notes:

Adapted from my cookbook, Bread Toast Crumbs . In my cookbook, I make the pissaladière start to finish in just about 3 hours. In this updated version, I call for either an overnight, refrigerated focaccia (yeasted) or a sourdough focaccia, both of which were adapted from the BTC focaccia recipe.

The pan: Any standard half-sheet pan will work here. I love this Lloyd “Gramma” style pan for pissaladière.

The Dough:

• yeasted focaccia, made through step 1
• sourdough focaccia, made through step 3

For assembly:

• 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for greasing
• 3 cups sliced onions (about 3 medium onions, halved and thinly sliced)
• pinch of kosher salt
• 2 garlic cloves
• 4 anchovies
• 1 tablespoon capers
• ½ cup coarsely chopped pitted kalamata or niçoise olives
• 1 cup diced tomatoes

1. Make your focaccia dough through step 1 for the overnight refrigerator focaccia and through step 3 for the sourdough focaccia.
2. For the pissaladière toppings : In a large sauté pan, heat 2 tablespoon olive oil over high heat. When it begins to shimmer, add the onions and a pinch of salt. Cover; then immediately reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring every few minutes, until the onions are lightly golden, about 15 to 20 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, in a food processor, mince the garlic and anchovies together. Add 2 tablespoons of oil and blend until smooth. Add the capers and pulse to coarsely chop. Add the olives and pulse again to coarsely chop. Set aside.
4. Line a rimmed sheet pan with parchment paper or coat with butter or nonstick cooking spray. Pour the remaining 2 tablespoons oil on the sheet pan. Using lightly greased hands, deflate the dough by releasing it from the sides of the bowl. Again, using your hands, shape the dough into a rough ball or rectangle; then transfer it to the prepared sheet pan. Roll the dough ball in the oil to coat it all over. Let it rest without touching it for 3 to 5 hours or until the dough has puffed considerably and is filling the pan.
5. Set a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat it to 425°F.
6. With lightly greased hands, press down on the dough, using all 10 fingers to dimple and stretch the dough outward. Pull gently on the ends and stretch them toward the corners of the sheet pan. When the dough begins to resist being stretched, let it rest for 5 minutes, then stretch it again, continuing until it fits most of the sheet pan.
7. Spread the sautéed onions over the dough. Top with the anchovy puree. Finally, scatter the tomatoes over top. Use all 10 fingers again to dimple the dough and gently stretch it.
8. Transfer the sheet pan to the oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the underside is golden and crisp. Remove the pissaladière from the oven and transfer it to a cutting board. Let it cool for 10 minutes before cutting it into squares.

• Prep Time: 24 hours
• Cook Time: 25 minutes
• Category: Bread
• Method: Oven
• Cuisine: American, French

Description

Smothered with caramelized onions and layered with tomatoes, anchovies, olives, and garlic, pissaladière is irresistible! The no-knead dough, focaccia, combined with the toppings, is truly a delicacy, like pasta Puttanesca in bread form: sweet, salty, oily, briny, bold, and aromatic. Heaven!

Notes:

Adapted from my cookbook, Bread Toast Crumbs . In my cookbook, I make the pissaladière start to finish in just about 3 hours. In this updated version, I call for either an overnight, refrigerated focaccia (yeasted) or a sourdough focaccia, both of which were adapted from the BTC focaccia recipe.

The pan: Any standard half-sheet pan will work here. I love this Lloyd “Gramma” style pan for pissaladière.

The Dough:

• yeasted focaccia, made through step 1
• sourdough focaccia, made through step 3

For assembly:

• 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for greasing
• 3 cups sliced onions (about 3 medium onions, halved and thinly sliced)
• pinch of kosher salt
• 2 garlic cloves
• 4 anchovies
• 1 tablespoon capers
• ½ cup coarsely chopped pitted kalamata or niçoise olives
• 1 cup diced tomatoes

1. Make your focaccia dough through step 1 for the overnight refrigerator focaccia and through step 3 for the sourdough focaccia.
2. For the pissaladière toppings : In a large sauté pan, heat 2 tablespoon olive oil over high heat. When it begins to shimmer, add the onions and a pinch of salt. Cover; then immediately reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring every few minutes, until the onions are lightly golden, about 15 to 20 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, in a food processor, mince the garlic and anchovies together. Add 2 tablespoons of oil and blend until smooth. Add the capers and pulse to coarsely chop. Add the olives and pulse again to coarsely chop. Set aside.
4. Line a rimmed sheet pan with parchment paper or coat with butter or nonstick cooking spray. Pour the remaining 2 tablespoons oil on the sheet pan. Using lightly greased hands, deflate the dough by releasing it from the sides of the bowl. Again, using your hands, shape the dough into a rough ball or rectangle; then transfer it to the prepared sheet pan. Roll the dough ball in the oil to coat it all over. Let it rest without touching it for 3 to 5 hours or until the dough has puffed considerably and is filling the pan.
5. Set a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat it to 425°F.
6. With lightly greased hands, press down on the dough, using all 10 fingers to dimple and stretch the dough outward. Pull gently on the ends and stretch them toward the corners of the sheet pan. When the dough begins to resist being stretched, let it rest for 5 minutes, then stretch it again, continuing until it fits most of the sheet pan.
7. Spread the sautéed onions over the dough. Top with the anchovy puree. Finally, scatter the tomatoes over top. Use all 10 fingers again to dimple the dough and gently stretch it.
8. Transfer the sheet pan to the oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the underside is golden and crisp. Remove the pissaladière from the oven and transfer it to a cutting board. Let it cool for 10 minutes before cutting it into squares.

• Prep Time: 24 hours
• Cook Time: 25 minutes
• Category: Bread
• Method: Oven
• Cuisine: American, French

Find it online : https://alexandracooks.com/2021/10/03/pissaldiere-the-original-focaccia-garden/

This is a very simple and very tasty recipe for classic potato and leek soup. Because this is a puréed soup, it’s nice to serve it with some sort of garnish, like toasted breadcrumbs. It’s a simple but very tasty touch — I like eating my soup with a spoonful of the crumbs in every bite.

Nearly every time I pick up the weekly farmshare, I am reminded of the saying, “What grows together, goes together.”

At the height of the summer, each produce box looks designed to make ratatouille . When the basil is exploding, so are the tomatoes, giving us no reason not to make Caprese salads every night for dinner. When the cilantro is abounding, so are the chilies, leaving us no choice but to make large vats of pico de gallo and sit around the bowl with a heap of chips. There’s a reason the hardy herbs like sage, rosemary, and thyme pair so well with the hardy squashes, potatoes, and root vegetables of all kinds.

The past few weeks, potatoes and leeks have been snuggling in the produce share, and though I often separate the two — leeks go into this pasta carbonara , potatoes become oven fries — it was time to unite them. I would be lying, too, if I didn’t admit the influence of one of you (hey, Kathleen 👋 ), who emailed me last weekend with questions about focaccia but also to say: “I was looking for a potato leek soup recipe (CSA this week) & was shocked one did not exist on your site!”

That IS shocking.

I referenced a few recipes from a few favorite old books ( Love Soup and A New Way to Cook ) and decided to keep it very simple: sweat leeks covered for about 10 minutes until they begin to melt, add peeled and diced potatoes along with vegetable stock , simmer till the potatoes collapse, purée until smooth, add a splash of cream, and crack lots of fresh pepper over top.

Because it is such a simple soup, its success lies in the details. If you are up for it, I encourage you to make the vegetable stock from scratch, which requires all of about 5 minutes of hands-on work. It simmers for 45 minutes, and when it’s done, you’ll have two quarts of highly seasoned earthy liquid to use in any soup , stew, or risotto your heart desires.

Also, because this is a puréed soup (i.e. it will lack textural variety), it’s nice to serve it with some sort of garnish. Here I’ve toasted fresh bread crumbs with a few tablespoons of olive oil; then mixed them with fresh chives and lemon zest. It’s a simple but very tasty touch — I like eating my soup with a spoonful of the crumbs in every bite.

Of course, a slice of toasty bread for dunking will do.

5 More Soups To Make Right Now

• Lighter, Better Broccoli-Cheddar Soup
• Favorite Lentil Soup
• Curried Carrot-Ginger Soup
• Simple Chicken Noodle Soup
• Favorite Cabbage Soup

How to Make Potato-Leek Soup

Gather your ingredients:

Slice the leeks and soak them:

Drain them by scooping them out:

Sauté them in a few tablespoons of olive oil:

After 10 minutes covered, they’ll look like this:

Peel and dice two pounds of potatoes:

Add them to the pot along with…

… vegetable stock, chicken stock, or water:

Bring it to a simmer:

Then simmer till the potatoes are soft, about 20 minutes.

Purée until smooth; then add a little bit of cream…

… and return to the stovetop to simmer for a few minutes more:

To serve, toast up some b r ead or make some toasty, herby bread crumbs: purée some stale bread in the food processor and chop up some chives or parsley.

Toast the bread crumbs stovetop in a few tablespoons of olive oil:

Then add the herbs and lemon zest:

Description

This is a very simple and very tasty recipe for classic potato and leek soup. Because this is a puréed soup, it’s nice to serve it with some sort of garnish, like toasted breadcrumbs. It’s a simple but very tasty touch — I like eating my soup with a spoonful of the crumbs in every bite.

If you are up for it, I encourage you to make the vegetable stock from scratch, which requires all of about 5 minutes of hands-on work. I used to make homemade chicken stock for nearly every soup I made, but now, more often than not, I use vegetable stock, which is just as tasty and takes a fraction of the time. If you don’t have time to make vegetable or chicken stock, I would use water, and if you have a bay leaf on hand, add it to the pot along with the water.

For the soup:

• 4 leeks, thinly sliced, to yield 4 to 6 cups
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Kosher salt
• 2 lbs. Potatoes, such as Yukon Gold or whatever variety you have on hand, peeled and cut into 1 -inch pieces
• 8 cups vegetable stock , chicken stock , or water, see notes above
• Freshly cracked black pepper
• ½ cup heavy cream

For the herby bread crumbs (optional):

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1.5 cups fresh bread crumbs
• Pinch sea salt
• A few tablespoons of minced chives or parsley
• Zest of 1 lemon

1. Place the leeks in a large bowl and cover with cold water. Let stand for 5-10 minutes to allow any dirt to settle. After the 5-10 minutes, scoop the leeks from the bowl of water and transfer them to a sieve. The leeks do not need to be completely dry.
2. In a large pot, heat the oil with the leeks over high heat. Add a pinch of salt. When you hear the leeks begin to sizzle, give them a stir, cover the pot, and immediately turn the heat to low. Cook covered for 10 minutes. Remove the lid, allowing any water trapped in the lid to drip back down into the pot. Give the leeks a stir.
3. Add the potatoes and enough of the stock to cover the potatoes completely. Crack pepper over top. Season with a big pinch of salt. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, and cook at a gentle simmer until the potatoes are knife tender and beginning to fall apart, about 20 to 30 minutes. Add more stock or water as needed if the liquid level reduces too much.
4. When the potatoes are done, use an immersion blender to purée the soup until smooth or transfer the soup to a food processor or blender and purée until smooth — if using a blender, be sure to allow the soup to cool somewhat before blending to avoid exploding lids. Add water or more stock as needed to thin the soup to the right consistency.
5. Return the soup to the pot and add the cream. Stir to combine. Again, if the soup is too thick, add water or stock until it is the right consistency. Simmer for just a few minutes more. Taste and adjust with more salt and pepper to taste. To serve ladle the soup into bowls and sprinkle some of the herby bread crumbs over top (see below).
6. To make the bread crumbs: In a large skillet, toast the bread crumbs with the olive oil and a pinch of salt over medium heat stirring frequently, until the crumbs are evenly golden, 5 to 10 minutes. Taste the crumbs for seasoning. Add more salt if you wish and pepper to taste. Add the herbs and the lemon zest, if using, and stir to combine. Toast for another minute; then remove from the heat and transfer to a serving bowl.

• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 30 minutes
• Category: Soup
• Method: Stovetop
• Cuisine: American