🔗 Share this article

The following recipe offers a fast take on pissaladière, turning a handful of dough trimmings into a quick treat. Store and combine any trimmings into a lump and roll out again whenever needed. Pastry freezes beautifully in the freezer, and by skipping two time-consuming steps in the standard recipe – creating the dough and caramelising the onions – this recipe comes together much more quickly. In its place, the onions are heated flipped, softening and caramelising below a covering of dough with anchovies and black olives for a speedy, playful twist on a iconic French recipe. And if you have a smaller amount of dough, you can always reduce the ingredients.

Quick Upside-Down Pissaladière Tarts

The current wave of upside-down tarts, which went viral on video platforms and social networks a recently, may have originated with a tasty and straightforward peach and honey puff pastry or an motivational savory tart that even inspired a entire publication on inverted recipes. Additionally, I have been enjoying myself with inverted baking these days, from an extra-long leek tart to these quick pissaladière tartlets. It’s a simple, creative approach to create something that seems extra-special.

Yields 4 single servings

• 1 red onion
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 tbsp honey
• Sea salt and peppercorns
• 8 anchovies (or 4, for a subtler flavor)
• Pitted black olives, to taste
• 120g pastry – puff or shortcrust is suitable too

Preheat the oven to a hot oven. Peel and trim the onion, then slice into four sizable, round slices. Line a heat-resistant cookie sheet with baking paper, then visualize where you will put each piece of onion. Sprinkle those areas with oil and syrup, then season. Put two small fish on top of each seasoned spot and cover them with a round of onion. Tuck a few dark olives inside and beside the onions, then add with a extra fat, nectar, seasoning and pepper.

Activate two adjacent stovetop elements to a medium heat, set the pan on top of the elements and leave the onions to simmer untouched for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, on a lightly floured surface, flatten the pastry and slice it into four pieces big enough to cover each slice of onion. Carefully lay one pastry square on top of each slice of onion, seal around the edges with the flat side of a utensil, then cook for twenty minutes, until the crust is golden brown. Set a plate on top of the hot pan, then invert to turn the tarts on to the board. Slowly remove the lining and present.