Pissaladiere

I believe a little while earlier I had commented on the fact that almost if not all countries in the Mediterranean had some sort of national dish that involved slapping something on top of bread or bread dough and then getting baked.

Well here is another one. This time we are in the south of France and the dish we are making is Pissaladiere.

Que? No Pissaladiere is not a convenient fixture found in men’s restrooms with a large white mint floating in the bottom. It is a type of pizza; see how similar the names are now? Pissaladiere-Pizza. Ok, the etymological roots are probably quite different but like Ignatius Donnelly before me I like to find connections in unrelated things. It makes me feel smug and superior. I kid, really.

The main difference between these two similar yet different baked doughy things is the lack of cheese and tomato sauce on the pissaladiere.

It’s still good, just not cheesy. Traditionally this should have a latticework of anchovies on top. I like anchovies, I do, but one can only ever take so much of that sort of thing before one starts thinking: “It’s like eating a warm eyebrow…” OK now that I have made myself rather ill here is the recipe for a vegetarian pissaladiere with a really fast bready crust that I use for foccacia as well.

For the dough:

1 Rounded tablespoon of dry yeast

½ Teaspoon of sugar

½ Cup lukewarm water

½ Teaspoon of salt

3 Cups of flour

1 Tablespoon of cornmeal

For the topping:

Two large red onions sliced very thin

1 Cup of black olives preferably pitted niscoise or kalamata olives

Chopped garlic to taste

3 Tablespoons of olive oil

About an hour before you wish to bake the pissaladiere heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a heavy bottomed skillet over low heat. Add the onions and cook for 45 minutes stirring occasionally till they are nicely caramelized. Remove from heat.

While the onions are caramelizing make the dough. Mix the yeast with the sugar and the warm water and set aside for five minutes. Meanwhile sift or mix with a fork the salt and the flour in a large bowl. Add the yeast mixture and mix well with floured hands (preferably your own), add additional water by the teaspoon mixing after each addition until firm dough has formed. Turn out onto a floured board and knead for just a couple of minutes. Lightly grease a large cookie sheet with a teaspoon of the olive oil and dust with the cornmeal. Place the dough on this and let rest for about 15-20 minutes in a warm place. Press the dough into a rectangle roughly 10 by 16, Brush the dough with the remaining olive oil and top with the onions and the olives, pressing the olives down into the dough at regular intervals. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and bake at 400 degrees for15 minutes till crust is golden.