A savoury tart of caramelised onions beneath a latticework of salted anchovies and black olives, pissaladière may be the perfect late-summer dish. “Have it with a glass of rosé and you’re instantly in the south of France,” says food writer Sudi Pigott.
“You’ve got sweetness from the onions, saltiness from anchovies, acidity from olives and fat from pastry. The perfect harmony,” says chef Adam Byatt of Michelin-starred Trinity in Clapham, where the dish has been on the menu every summer for 20 years. “Once you’ve got the ingredients, all you’re doing is constructing and letting the oven do its work.”
Chef Adam Byatt of Trinity in London © Mike Sim
Though the dish originates from Genoa and is often called “French pizza”, pissaladière’s name derives from peis salat, the Old Provençal name for salted fish. This was mixed with olive oil, herbs and spices to produce a sauce called pissalat, which was spread over bread, before adding onions, then baked.
A pastry base is now more common. In his forthcoming book Trinity: The Cookbook, Byatt suggests using rough puff pastry “as it doesn’t rise as much”. In the south of France you also find the dish made with fougasse (similar to Italian focaccia) or other yeasted doughs. “Lighter puff pastry works better if you’re having pissaladière as a snack,” says French Classics author and chef Matthew Ryle. “For lunch or dinner, I prefer a more substantial bread.”
