Blog Archives
French Fridays with Dorie: Pissaladière
I love caramelized onions, so when I saw this onion, anchovy, and olive tart on the French Fridays schedule, I was excited.
Dorie said not to rush the onions. Fortunately, I was making the onions the day before, not for the next meal, so I could let them take as long as then needed. She said they could take 45 minutes or more. My onions didn’t really show any “action” for over an hour. It took them two full hours to get golden.
8:00 pm
8:30 pm
9:15 pm
10:00 pm
As much as love caramelized onions, the downside is that everything in proximity to the kitchen, like the air, and including my coat, now has that residual skunky odor of onions. I don’t know how long it will take to wear off. It is fading, but I cooked the onions on Tuesday night…
I took a shortcut with the crust. I was trying to pull this together during the week and the timing on the yeast dough just wasn’t going to work. Dorie mentioned that some people, chefs included, will make pissaladière with puff pastry. I had some in the freezer, so I went that route. I let it thaw in the refrigerator while I was at work. Then, I rolled it out to a larger rectangle to top and bake.
I also didn’t read the recipe very carefully. I spread the onions all over the top of the crust. Then I decorated it with anchovies and strewed green Picholine olives on top. Then I baked. While the tart was baking, I noticed that the recipe said to bake the onions on the crust and to add the anchovies and olives at the end, giving those ingredients just a brief visit to the oven to warm them up. Oh, well. It might have changed the texture a little, but I definitely didn’t ruin it by my lack of attention to the details.
Before Baking
The pissaladière made a nice light dinner and, as leftovers, a nice lunch too. I loved the contrast of the sweet onions to the salty anchovies and olives.
My only disappointment was the crust, and that was my own doing. I want to try this again with the yeasty dough. While it was easy to use the puff pastry, it seems that the brand I used (a butter-based puff pastry from Trader Joe’s) isn’t meant for further rolling. It didn’t puff and was more like pastry crust. I used the second sheet for something else last night, without rolling it, and it puffed just beautifully.
Because of the anchovies, I suspect there will be varied comments from other Doristas. You can check out what they have to say about their pissaladières at French Fridays with Dorie. If you’d like to make this yourself, I can’t give you the recipe, but you can find it in Dorie Greenspan’s bookAround My French Table. And you can play along any Friday.
Two Thoughts
I have to completely different and unrelated things on my mind today…
First thing: Yesterday, we went into Boston to see the last of this year’s Huntington Theatre Company’s productions. We saw The Comedy of Errors, performed by the Propeller Theatre Company from England, which is being performed in repertory with Richard III, which we didn’t see. Propeller Theatre Company is an all-male troupe, just like Shakespeare was performed back in the day. All I can say is that it was HILARIOUS!
Listening to Elizabethean English takes a while to get used to. It’s like listening to a foreign language. About halfway through the first act, the rhythm started to connect in my brain. But, the physical comedy made up for the words.
The basic plot centers on a case of mistaken identity, actually confusion of two sets of identical twins, a pair of masters and a pair of slaves. Everyone is getting the twins confused, the wife, the sister-in-law, the merchants, even the masters and the slaves. Two hours of belly laughter.
If you live in the Boston area and have some free time between now and June 19, you must try to see this show.
Second thing: Of course, it has to be food related. I picked up a huge bag of beet greens at the farmstand in Maine and was inclined to make a quiche. A tour of the fridge indicated something Greek inspired was the way to go. I combined sauteed greens with feta cheese and olives. I baked the crust in a springform pan, making the sides higher than the typical removable-bottom quiche pan. It made a nice, solid, tart; perfect for lunch with a salad. It had a funny pink tinge from the beet greens, but the flavors were delicious. I can’t wait to make it again.
Beet Green Quiche
Makes a 10-inch tart
Serves 6-8
Pastry dough for a 10-inch single crust (use your favorite recipe or mine)
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 onions, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 generous pound of beet greens, rinsed well but not dried
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup milk
1/4 lb feta cheese, crumbled
1/2 cup pitted Kalamata olives, quartered lengthwise
1/4 cup pine nuts
On a well-floured surface, roll out the pastry crust to a 14-inch circle. Transfer to a 10-inch springform pan. The sides should be about 2 inches high. Prick the dough all over, including up the sides, with a fork. Chill the dough in the pan for at least 30 minutes.
Partially bake the crust. Preheat oven to XXXF. Place a piece of parchment paper on the crust and fill completely with dried beans or pie weights. (I use a jar of small white beans, 1 to 2 pounds, which I can use for about a year before needing to replace.) Place pan on a baking sheet. Bake for 12 minutes, until set. Carefully remove the parchment and beans. Return to the oven for another 5 minutes or so until it just starts to brown.
Make filling: In a large skillet, heat the olive oil. Saute the onions and garlic until soft. Add the beet greens and cook until wilted and most of the liquid as evaporated, about 8 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board and coarsely chop. In a large bowl, lightly beat the eggs. Add the milk. Stir in the beet greens, feta cheese, and olives to combine well.
Pour the filling into the crust. Sprinkle with pine nuts. Bake for 40-50 minutes, until center is set. Transfer pan to a wire rack to cool.
A Plateful of Happiness 