Now stay with me, I know half of your turned off your lights when you saw the addition of anchovies. But believe me when I say that this particular recipe is not strongly fishy. In fact the anchovies provide the salt and the caramelised onion provide the sweet. Onions are one of those vegetables that I dislike in the raw format but adore in the cooked format.
The onion take quite a while to caramelise, about an hour in fact, but you don’t have to stand over them stirring. For the first 5 minutes you might want to push them around the saucepan just to make sure that all of the slices get enough heat and butter but for the next 30 minutes after that you can pretty much leave it alone and get away with stirring it two or three times. That doesn’t mean that I’d recommend you leave and do the shopping, I wouldn’t go that far, although a spot of online shopping is most definitely recommended and isn’t that why god invented online shopping?
For some reason whenever I make this in Summer, I need to ensure that the windows are all closed. Flies love the sweet smell of caramelising onions.The caramelised onions can be made ahead of time and stored in an airtight container for 2-3 days so all you need to do before you have guests coming over is to assemble it which takes about 10 minutes and can be done while the oven is preheating.
The taste of the Pissaladière is certainly something delicious and a force to be reckoned with. Even those who normally shun onions, olives and anchovies find themselves ditching their prejudices with every delicious, crunchy bite.
Pissaladière
An original recipe by Not Quite Nigella
- 4 onions, thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 sheet of ready made puff pastry (approximately 25×25cms)
- 60g/2oz tin or jar Anchovies sliced in half lengthwise (Spanish Ortiz anchovies if they are available)
- Pitted Black Olives
- A little milk or egg to glaze
1. Firstly make the caramelised onion. In a saucepan, melt butter and oil and fry onions until they are golden and caramelised (about an hour on low-medium heat). Add brown sugar in the last 5 minutes or so and stir to dissolve. Set aside to cool.
2. Preheat the oven to 190C. Place a flat baking sheet in the oven to heat up (which will make sure that the bottom of the tart is crispy). Place the sheet of puff pastry on a large sheet of baking parchment. With a blunt knife, score a 1.5cm border around the puff pastry not too deep, you don’t want to cut through it. Place cooled onion within the border and then in a pattern shown above, place anchovies and then olives. Of course you don’t need to do it in this pattern, it’s my need for order that implies that this step is necessary although you could strew them about.
3. Brush the unadorned edges with milk or egg glaze. With oven gloves, remove the hot baking sheet from the oven and then lift the baking parchment into the very hot baking sheet. Bake in the oven on the top shelf for 15-20 minutes rotating the tray around 15 minutes into baking it.
4. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before cutting up and enjoying blissfully.
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29 Comments | Add your own
I’ve never tried anchovy before – what would you liken the taste to? Is it anything like those tins of salty Chinese fish?
looks really yummy – no wonder you polished it off as quickly as you did
ps) i heart anchovies.
yum…nothing like caramelised onions to make me happy..
Mmm, glorious! I’m a fan of all three ingredients so this is a winner for me!
I like your geometric pattern. It makes sure you’ve spread it evenly and everyone gets all the flavours in their slice.
Anchovies do scare me a bit. But this looks delicious!
I normally don’t like anchovies but will definately be trying this!
Almost swithed off the lights, but something that looks as good as this, pulled me back. It’s fab!!
Mmmm my love for caramelized onions has won over my dislike for whole olives and anchovies mmmm want to try
salty things are one of my vices. you had me at ‘anchovie’
i’m so tempted to throw cheese all over that thing too.
I don’t ever know I’ve had carmelized onions before.
I absolutely adore pissaladiere…with a french mother this is a frequent dish at the dinner table…my mom makes hers with a normal pastry crust though and I’ve sent her the link for yours so she might try the puff pasty as an alternative…yours looks lovely!
I love the use of puff pastry with Pissaladiere. It gives it a whole new texture and flavour to it. Plus it rescues me from those lazy days when making my own pastry is not an option!
Yum…
I love caramelised onions – I am going to have to give this a try!
Is the brown sugar added to the onions? I have had caramelised onions that had sugar added to them in the past and I thought it was a horrible mistake.
They look delish! Can you come live at my house n cook? hehe =)
Ohhh YUM.. I will have to make this for myself, because my dear husband wouldn’t touch it with a ten foot pole.
Bless you, bless you!! I LOVE THIS SITE!!!
Hi Kathy-Hmm I’ve never tried the tinned salted fish but they’re a bit “hairy” but don’t let that put you off. They’re extremely salty and fish, like a concentrated taste of fish. So in a whole Caesar you’d only need 1 or 2 to flavour the whole thing. If you’re still not sold, white anchovies are creamier and milder and nowhere near as salty as the saltiness and flavour comes from the curing and white ones aren’t cured in the same way.
Hi shez-I kept asking hubby if he wanted his share. He did
Hi Reemski-I wish they didn’t make me cry when I cut them! I’d always have them on standby then!
Hi Christie-Fantastic, it’s a great picnic dish too!
Hi Arwen-I stopped at getting out the ruler as I didn’t want to be too over the top! I saw it as an edible Argyle sweater
Hi Barbara-I know, they’ve quite strong but believe me, in this they meld right in
Hi DevilishDamsel-Definitely give it a try, the saltiness of the anchovies is lessened by the sweetness of the onions
Hi deeba-Haha thankyou so much!
Hi Ffichiban-Haha try it and you will like it, I’m almost certain!
Hi reddoorred-yes it’s kind of like a pizza isn’t it!? I think the name suggests so too
Hi Blond Duck-Oh you must! They’re sooo good! They go very well with so many things
Hi Alexandra-Oh lucky you! Yes this is the quick version when you can’t be bothered to make a pastry but it’s very good nevertheless
Hi Karen-it does doesn’t it! It’s so earth shatteringly crispy and good. Yes sometimes I cannot be bothered getting out the rolling pin
Hi Renee-Ahh if you’re a fan I think you might like this!
Hi Theresa-No, not a big mistake at all. I don’t know how much you used but a tablespoon is not much for 4 onions. It’s all a matter of balance and crucial the counter the saltiness of the anchovies.
Hi foodie-central-Haha my husband can’t really fend for himself food wise though but thanks for the offer
Hi Lulu-I actually wished I had made this all to myself, it was really moreish!
You’re welcome, thanks for the lovely compliment! 
I didn’t see any anchovies until I realised that the lines were anchovies.
Cooking onion for 1 hour? My friends will think that I’m crazy, ha ha… usually we cook onion until it wilted and browned a little for stir fry or BBQ. Is that really sweet after one hour cooking and brown sugar?
I’ve made this before and it’s really delicious! Love all of the ingredients together. yum yum! I should make this again!
Lorraine, I have never tried pissaladiere! This is exquisite, my dear. I love anchovies and, like you, only like cooked/roasted onions. What a delicious idea for a lazy lunch!
here we have yet another fabulous use for puff pastry. it’s gorgeous.
Great, authentic pizza. We’re coming around when it comes to anchovies…Prefer them ground into a sauce, but we trust you if you say they’re tasty whole!
I love this idea, but can you believe I’ve never had anything similar to this recipe before? That has to change.
So when would you serve this? As an appetizer? Light lunch? Suggestions?
I can’t believe you are posting this today – planned to make the same thing myself tonight. Great minds etc etc….
I love caramelised onions. This looks really delicious & u have taken a lot of effort to do such a symmetrical work. I have never tasted anchovies.. only heard about them:-), so i have nothing to say in that respect.
Hi Lila-Haha they’re sneaky little anchovies aren’t they!
Hi pigpigscorner-Definitely, it’s been a while since I made but it having it at La Gerbe D’or reminded me of how good it was
Hi Patricia-Oh you must try it if you have the chance. It’s heavenly, really
Great lunch idea!
Hi grace-haha I love using pre bought. I think I am too lazy to make my own
Hi The Duo Dishes-At the risk of sounding like Jack Bauer, Trust Me
The anchovies are really mild on this with the sweet onions 
Hi Sandie-Oh really? If you do try it let me know what you think of it
I think you could serve this as a light lunch, snack, much like you would a savoury tart.
Hi Suzie-Haha great minds indeed!
Hi Soma-I am one of those people that have to make things symmetrical although to me it looks a bit messy
If you are unsure, this is a great entry level dish to try anchovies 
Never tried anything like this,,,,,guess its worth a shot,,,it looks nice. Gracias
Ive treid it and it was great,,thanks. or well it was,,,It still iss. Way to much for one time. But thats good,can enjoy it for a week
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