English 
French Pissaladière
One of my favorite starters to which I added more crispiness and umami flavors.This dish consists of a crispy olive oil crust, caramelized onions, an anchovy and caper sauce, and a mixed salad, perfect for a spring day!
⏱️ Time: 1h10
🔪 Difficulty: Level 2/5
⚠️ Allergens: gluten
⚙️ Options:
Required Ingredients
| Ingredient | Quantity | Unit |
|---|---|---|
| Preparation 1: Crispy Dough | ||
| Flour | 240 | g |
| Water | 130 | g |
| Oil | 20 | g |
| Provence Herbs | 5 | g |
| Thyme | 10 | g |
| Baking Powder | 4 | g |
| Preparation 2: Caramelized Onions | ||
| Onions | 2 | pieces |
| Sugar | 10 | g |
| Thyme | 5 | g |
| Salt/Pepper | 1 | g |
| Butter | 15 | g |
| Water | 50 | g |
| Preparation 3: Anchovy Sauce | ||
| Onion | 1 | piece |
| Radishes | 20 | g |
| Capers | 5 | g |
| Anchovies | 5 | g |
| Salt/Pepper | 1 | g |
| Olive Oil | 5 | g |
| Lemon Zest | 2 | g |
| Lemon Juice | 5 | g |
| Preparation 4: Mixed Salad | ||
| Green Salad | 20 | g |
| Radishes | 15 | g |
| Green Olives | 5 | g |
| Black Olives | 5 | g |
| Thyme | 1 | g |
| Preparation 5: Sardines | ||
| Sardines | 2 | pieces |
| Green/Black Olives | 10 | g |
| Lemon Zest | 2 | g |
| Edible Flowers | 3 | pieces |
Step 1: Crispy dough
- Mix the ingredients with room temperature water. Mix for 4 minutes at medium speed.
- Let your dough rest at room temperature. In the meantime, carry out the other steps of the recipe.
- Once the other elements are prepared, preheat your oven to 185°C.
- Roll out your dough as thinly as possible on a baking mat and cut out the desired shape.
Chef Vico's tip:
This dough is very easy to work with as long as it is at room temperature thanks to the olive oil. I do not recommend adding too much flour to roll it out, it should be unnecessary.
Congratulations, step 1 is completed ! Let’s continue !
Step 2: Caramelized Onions
- Chop your onions finely.
- Put all the ingredients in a saucepan, except the pepper.
- Caramelize your onions.
- Pour into a container and re-season.
Chef Vico's tip:
Water is used to speed up the caramelization. As soon as your onions start to brown, I advise you to stay in front of the fire and stir often. Personally, I re-season with Espelette pepper to spice up the dish.
Step 3: Anchovy sauce
- Juice your onion and radishes.
- Reduce this juice over low heat for a few minutes.
- Skim off any impurities.
- Add the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil.
- Mix and pass through a sieve. Your sauce is ready! 🙂
Chef Vico's tip:
This sauce is there to counteract the sweetness of the caramelized onions and bring balance to the dish. Personally, I make sure it is a little acidic with the lemon juice.
Preparation 4: Mixed salad
- Cut your elements finely in a salad bowl.
- Season with olive oil, salt, pepper, and a few thyme leaves.
Chef Vico's tip:
This base can also be enhanced with other elements. However, I advise you to be careful not to put herbs that are too strong so as not to mix with the taste of thyme 🙂
Step 5: Sardines and Finishing
- Prepare your sardines. Cut them in half widthwise.
- Place your caramelized onions in the center of your dough and close the dough by half a centimeter, flatten to form a thin crust.
- Arrange rings of olives, use a circle to help you make your tart nice and round. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes.
- 3 minutes before the end of your cooking, place your sardines on your tarts and put back in the oven.
- Before serving, zest your lemon and decorate with edible flowers and thyme.
Chef Vico's tip:
The traditional recipe is made with anchovies, but I find that sardines bring a more interesting texture and a more subtle salty touch.
I prefer to avoid putting the lemon zest in the oven to feel all the freshness and aromas. We just want to reheat the sardine; putting it in during the whole cooking process could dry it out. To know when your tart base is cooked, simply try to lift your tart: when it slides out on its own, it's ready! 🙂 Personally, I leave it a little longer in the oven so that the pastry is nice and crispy.
Plating Suggestion
- For the plating, I arrange my salad in a ring and put my sauce in the center. Once everything is ready, I take out my pissaliedere and place it on my plate.
I’d like to congratulate you and thank you for trying to reproduce this recipe. I hope you are satisfied with the result 🙂
Chef Vico