Pissaladière
Niçoise onion tart with anchovy and olives. · France
Niçoise onion tart with anchovy and olives.
About Pissaladière
A bread or pastry base is piled with deeply caramelised onions and topped with a lattice of anchovies and black olives. It is the savoury street snack of Nice.
🏛️ History & Culture
Pissaladière takes its name from "pissala," a pungent salted anchovy paste that was historically spread over the dough, though modern versions typically use whole anchovy fillets. Its origins are tied to the Mediterranean port city of Nice, where the trade in salted fish and olives shaped the local cuisine, though the exact timeline of its evolution is debated.
Regional variations focus on the base—some use a thick bread dough, others a flaky puff pastry—but the classic Niçois version famously omits both tomato and cheese. It remains a beloved street snack and appetizer across the French Riviera, a savory emblem of the region's maritime and Provençal culinary traditions.
🍳 How to make Pissaladière
AI-assisted, not kitchen-testedPissaladière (Caramelised Onion Tart from Nice)
The signature savoury tart of Nice: a yeasted bread base brushed with olive oil, piled high with slowly caramelised onions, and finished with a lattice of salt-cured anchovies and Niçoise olives.
- Prep
- 30 min
- Cook
- 90 min
- Total
- 120 min
- Serves
- 6 to 8 as a starter or snack
- Difficulty
- Medium
Recipe ingredients
- 250 g (8½ oz / ~2 cups) bread flour, plus extra for dusting
- 150 ml (5 fl oz / ⅔ cup) lukewarm water, around 38 °C / 100 °F
- 5 g (1½ tsp) fine sea salt
- 5 g (2 tsp) active dry yeast, or 8 g fresh crumbled
- 15 ml (1 tbsp) extra-virgin olive oil, for the dough, plus more for drizzling
- 1 kg (2¼ lb) yellow or sweet onions, traditionally a mix of mild and a few spring onions; sliced thinly
- 60 ml (¼ cup) extra-virgin olive oil, for cooking the onions
- 5 g (1 tsp) fresh thyme leaves, or 2 g dried
- 1 g (½ tsp) sugar, helps the onions brown
- 120 g (4¼ oz) salt-cured anchovy fillets, true pissaladière uses anchovy paste (pissala); whole fillets in a lattice are the common home-cook version. Rinse if very salty.
- 80 g (⅔ cup) Niçoise or other small black olives, pitted, ideally cured in brine rather than oil
- 2 g (½ tsp) flaky sea salt, for finishing; null
- 1 g (¼ tsp) freshly ground black pepper
Steps
- 1 Make the dough: whisk yeast into the lukewarm water with a pinch of the salt and a teaspoon of the flour; leave 8–10 minutes until foamy. Add the remaining flour, salt and olive oil and mix to a soft, slightly sticky dough.
- 2 Knead 8–10 minutes by hand (or 6 minutes in a stand mixer) until smooth and elastic. Shape into a ball, place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover and rise 1½–2 hours at room temperature until doubled.
- 3 While the dough rises, prepare the onions: toss the sliced onions with the sugar, thyme and a generous pinch of salt. Heat 60 ml olive oil in a wide, heavy pan over medium-low, add the onions and cook gently, stirring every few minutes, for 40–55 minutes until they are deeply golden, jammy and reduced to about a third of their original volume. They should be sweet, not burnt. Cool completely.
- 4 Punch down the dough and roll it on a floured surface into a rough rectangle (about 30 × 38 cm / 12 × 15 in), about 5 mm thick. Transfer to a parchment-lined sheet pan and dimple firmly all over with your fingertips to prevent large bubbles.
- 5 Spread the cooled onions evenly over the dough, leaving a 1 cm / ½ in border. Drizzle with a little olive oil.
- 6 Lay the anchovy fillets in a diamond or crosswise lattice across the onions, then nestle the olives between them so each portion gets an olive.
- 7 Rest 15 minutes so the dough relaxes, then bake on the middle rack of a preheated oven at 230 °C / 450 °F for 18–22 minutes, until the crust is well browned at the edges and the base sounds hollow when tapped.
- 8 Cool 5 minutes, finish with flaky salt, black pepper and a final thread of olive oil. Serve warm or at room temperature — never hot — as is traditional in Nice.
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Pissaladière — frequently asked questions
What is Pissaladière?
A bread or pastry base is piled with deeply caramelised onions and topped with a lattice of anchovies and black olives. It is the savoury street snack of Nice.
What is Pissaladière made of?
Pissaladière is made with dough, onion, anchovy, black olives and olive oil.
Where does Pissaladière come from?
Pissaladière comes from France, and is especially associated with Nice. Pissaladière takes its name from "pissala," a pungent salted anchovy paste that was historically spread over the dough, though modern versions typically use whole anchovy fillets.
Where can I eat Pissaladière?
A Nice bakery, cut into squares and eaten warm.
How do you make Pissaladière?
Making Pissaladière at home takes about 30 minutes of prep and 90 minutes of cooking. The recipe on this page serves 6 to 8 as a starter or snack and is rated medium. Full ingredient list and step-by-step method are in the recipe section above.
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