Pissaladière

I keep seeing this classic French pizza type recipe on cooking shows but I haven't tried it yet so I figured I'd make it myself as a treat. It combines bread, caramelised onions, olives and anchovies - sounds like my idea of heaven!

I found the recipe on channel 4's website.

Pissaladière Recipe

Source: Channel 4

Ingredients

• 250g strong bread flour, plus extra for dusting
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp easy-blend dried yeast
• 1 tsp sugar
• 4 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for greasing
• 1kg onions, thinly sliced
• 1 fat garlic clove, crushed
• 2 tsp chopped fresh thyme leaves, plus a few extra sprigs
• 10-12 black olives, pitted
• 50g can anchovies in olive oil, drained

1. Sift the bread flour, salt, dried yeast and sugar into a large bowl, make a well in the centre and stir in 150ml hand-hot water.

2. Bring the mixture together with your hands, adding a little extra water if necessary and work to make a soft dough. Tip out and knead on a clean, lightly floured work surface for about 10 minutes or until smooth and elastic. Place the dough in a clean bowl, cover with cling film and set aside in a warm place for 45 minutes-1 hour or until it has doubled in size.

3. Meanwhile, make the pissaladière topping. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over a low heat. Add the sliced onions and stir to coat well in the oil. Cover the saucepan with a tight-fitting lid and cook very gently for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally (so the onions don't catch), until tender. Remove the lid and continue to cook for a further 10 minutes. Stir in the garlic and chopped thyme leaves and cook for a further 15 minutes, until very soft and lightly golden. Remove the pan from the heat. Season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper, then set aside to cool slightly.

4. Punch back the risen dough to knock out the air, tip out onto a clean, lightly floured work surface and knead briefly. Using a rolling pin, roll out to a rectangle measuring about 35 x 30cm and place the dough on a large, lightly oiled baking sheet. Set aside in a warm place for about 30 minutes or until doubled in size. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 220°C/fan200°C/gas 7.

5. Spread the cooked onions over the dough, then top with the olives, anchovies and extra thyme sprigs. Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes or until the base is cooked through and pale golden around the edges.

6. Garnish the pissaladière with the thyme sprigs, then cut into squares. Serve while it's hot.

It was very tasty indeed :-)