An anchovy and onion tart may not be every body’s tasse de thé but it is a truly revelationary combination that certainly warrants a taste. The dish, which is part flat bread - part tart - part pizza, is native to the French Riviera and can be found in towns along the coast such as Nice and Cannes. Although it is possible to find such regional dishes in Parisian restaurants, especially those focussing on southern, french food, you are not always guaranteed to find regional french cuisine outside of its home. Besides, it provides the perfect excuse to take the train south and enjoy your pissaladière how it was supposed to be eaten - with the sun on your face and the ocean air in your lungs.
The contents of the dish - a flat, bread-like pastry topped with anchovies disintegrated into caramelised onions - reveals its history, mouthful by mouthful, in a region settled first by Greeks and then Romans.
The rustic chewiness of the pastry and salted fish is like taking a trip through history. Firstly, it conjures images of the fishermen eeking out a tough existence in the Mediterranean in the 16th Century catching, salting and transporting fish to mainland France and beyond. Then one thinks of the cooks, taking those salty fish from the shelf, frying up big plates of onions, and cooking dough in blazing hot, woodfire ovens. And finally, the mind wanders to the Mediterranean today - sitting in a bar or restaurant on the beachfront promenade in Cannes, enjoying a slice of pissaladière with an ice cold beer or chilled glass of Sancerre after an exhausting morning of swimming, sunbathing and shopping for colourful t-shirts at Lacoste.
A pissaladière is equally easily made at home and will instantly transport you on a winter’s evening to the sunny and warm French Riviera as quickly and effectively as reading a chapter from F Scott Fitzgerald’s Tender is the Night. Some seasonally obsessed les francais may disapprove of such an idea, but it is far healthier and more economical than a trip to the solarium. Here is my recipe. Bonnes Vacances!
Ingredients
1kg of brown onions, chopped
3 tbsp olive oil
150g anchovies plus extra for decoration
2tbsp sugar
pepper
pastry - either short crust recipe or pate brisée recipe. Pre-prepared and purchased from the supermarket also works
Method
Cook onions in oil on a medium heat. Once they start to brown, add anchovies until they disintegrate. Once anchovies are mixed in, add sugar and cook for further 5 minutes. Season with pepper, but no salt - mixture should be salty enough from the anchovies.
Spread pastry into baking tray and cover with onion mixture. Add anchovies for decoration. Cook in high oven 220 degrees C for 15 minutes. Serve warm dressed leaves and a cold glass of rosé or Sancerre. And prepare to be transported...
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