Monday, July 23, 2012

Pissaladiere: Caramelized Onion Tart | Secret Recipe Club



It is amazing how quickly time passes us by. It is hard to believe that is has already been a month since the last Secret Recipe Club reveal. Have you heard of the Secret Recipe Club? If not, it is a group of talented food bloggers who are paired together once a month with another blogger. The catch is, neither food blogger knows who they are paired with until the secret reveal. If you are interested in learning more, please visit the Secret Recipe Club and learn what all the fun is all about.

This month I was paired with Jane from Jane’s Adventures in Dinner – further adventures in eating and parenting. Jane wears many hats from being a mom, wife, sister, daughter, teacher, reader, cook, enthusiastic environmentalist, recovering overspender and proud Canadian. Jane and I share a common love for Pinterest. She highlights weekly her “Pin’inspiration”. After browsing through her many lovely recipes, one stood out for me the post entitled – “A taste of France”.


It featured the Pissaladiere, which is something that has been on my recipe to make bucket list for sometime. The fancy word translates to Caramelized Onion Tart in my world. No time like the present to make this southern france delight. It is a pizza like dish made in Southern France, around Nice, Marseilles, Toulon and the Var District. This dish is also made in the Italian region of Liguria. The classic preparation is caramelized, almost pureed onions, olives, garlic and anchovies. In France it is made without cheese where in Italy it has mozzarella added. Today it is often served as an appetizer, back in the day it was traditionally cooked and sold early each morning.


It seems like yesterday that hubby and enjoyed our honeymoon almost 14 years ago; we took a two week vacation to six european countries with France as one on the list. We visited Nice along with Saint Paul de Vence. We especially adored Saint Paul de Vence which is a commune in the Alpes Maritimes department in the southeastern part of France. It is one of the oldest medieval towns and well known for its modern and contemporary art museums and galleries. I especially loved the authentic croque monsieur that was sold at various stops along the cobblestone streets. One store we visited had an open air window at the back of the store that looked down at the town of Nice – it was breathtaking.


With anchovies not being a favorite on my list, along with a desire to always put my own twist on a recipe, I have created my version of the Pissaladiere. The ease of frozen puff pastry along with salty kalamata olives and fresh figs adorn the caramelized onion base of my version. A light sprinkle of fresh thyme leaves finished the appetizer. I cut the puff pastry into six even portions but you could also divide into more portions and make bite sized appetizers. Dividing into six makes a perfect starter to a meal.

Thank you Jane for the inspiration and sparking beautiful memories of my honeymoon. I need to break out the photo album of our honeymoon, especially since we celebrate 14 years in September.


Pissaladiere: Caramelized Onion Tart

Makes 6 small tarts

2 Large white onions, thinly sliced
4 T. Butter
2 t. sugar
Salt
Pepper
1 sheet puff pastry
1 egg yolk
12 Kalamata olives, sliced thin
5 fresh figs, quartered
Fresh thyme

In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium. Add the thinly sliced onions and toss until all onions are covered with the butter. Add the sugar and mix. Season with salt and pepper. Cook over medium heat for 30 to 45 minutes, stirring frequently until fully caramelized and sweet. Let cool.

Lightly roll the defrosted puff pasty on a board that is lightly floured to prevent sticking. Cut into 6 even rectangles. Lightly run a sharp knife around each square of puff pastry about ½ inch inside the rectangle but don’t go all the way to the bottom. This will help to form the border for your tart.

Break the egg into a small bowl and beat until all pale yellow. Using a pastry brush, lightly coat each of the puff pastry rectangles all over.

Divide the onion mixture among the six rectangles and spread to the ½ inch mark that you cut previously. Add about a 2 of the slicedolives and 3 quarters of the fig to the top of the onion mixture. Sprinkle a bit of the fresh thyme leaves.

In a pre-heated oven at 400 degrees, cook the tarts for 15 to 20 minutes or until the sides are puffy and golden brown. Remove and sprinkle a bit of fresh thyme leaves for flavor and color.







29 comments:

  1. I've made a pissaladiere, but the family was NOT impressed. I think the addition of figs would make all the difference...and certainly makes for a beautiful presentation!

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  2. What a beautiful tart, Lisa! The caramelized onions with the figs sound like a perfect pairing. Have a great week! :)

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  3. Yum! I love figs and this looks amazing! Great SRC pick!

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  4. Absolutely awesome-looking! I also like the idea of adding figs on the tart! Yum! When I'm not so busy with an infant anymore, I think I would like to join the SRC. Sounds like it's really fun!

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  5. Yum!! I just bought figs from Trader Joes too

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  6. I had something very similar for dinner last night--pissaladiere was my inspiration since I had about 20 pounds of walla walla onions to use. Caramelizing onions was the first thing that came to mind. I cheated and used Traders Joe's pizza dough--hey, it's good! :) I did have anchovies in my pizza but you always put such a nice twist on things. I love your addition of figs. I'd be happy to eat this any night! Have a great week, Lisa. :)

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  7. Wow, this tart looks incredible! I love the idea of combining caramelized onions with figs in a tart - bet the flavors go really well together!

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  8. This recipe is so inspiring!!! I absolutely adore your pics :)

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  9. What a beautiful dish. I had Jane's site last month and somehow missed this recipe! I am pinning this!

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  10. Dropping by to show some SRC love. My goodness but this looks good. Who would have thought onions would be good on a tart, but this recipe has certainly proven it can be done.

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  11. So good to see fresh figs! I like your interpretation of this wonderful recipe and think this would make a scrumptious appetizer;-) I hope your week is off to a good start;-)

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  12. Wow! Your photography is amazing - that food is just jumping right off the page. Beautiful!

    Thanks for being a part of SRC

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  13. What a gorgeous presentation! This looks delicious!

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  14. Wow! These look fabulous! Great SRC pick!

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  15. These are one of my favorite types of tarts...and your flavors here are incredible! I must try this out!

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  16. Lisa, the tarts look beautiful. I can imagine they tasted fantastic too!

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  17. Oh! Thanks so much for choosing this recipe. It's one of my favourites too C:

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  18. I have always wanted to make this tart but have never gotten round to it. Your beautiful photos are the inspiration I need to do it. And I love the fresh figs on top.

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  19. We love caramelized onion and every time I make pizza or a tart hubby asks if it has caramelized onions. And I love the fig addition, definitely a must try

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  20. Really enjoyed reading this -- and I think I just may need to get involved in SRC. My blogging mojo has been lacking lately and I love the idea of the surprise at the end. I've had a pissaladiere on my bucket list for years too. Yours turned out beautifully! I'm smiling at your mention of your travels through Europe because we have a tendency to take in quite a bit in a two-week span as well, but nothing like six countries. Wow!

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  21. I love caramelized onions. This tart looks incredible, and I love all the memories of France. I was there when I was 17, and would LOVE to go back!

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  22. This is a neat looking tart...Little pizzas that look and taste awesome are a delight to everyone. Thanks for sharing the recipe!

    Myfudo here...Normally we'd never put a shameless plug back to us, but we just launched our new site and we would love for you to be a part of it. I'd love to share our newest launch with you, I hope you don't mind? Now that we are getting a new look...Myfudo is moving to a new domain http://www.yumgoggle.com This has been a project we have been working on for almost a year now. We just launched our new gallery submission site, and we are just thrilled. We’d be proud to have your work as part of our growing collection to continue to have a larger reach and further inspire all fellow food lovers out there! Please sign up and check us out (it's free) http://www.yumgoggle.com/gallery
    We look forward to seeing your wonderful pictures, as always.
    p.s. We are hosting a Kitchen Aid Mixer Giveaway to celebrate our new Yumgoggle site, we hope you'll participate =)
    http://www.yumgoggle.com/cupcakes-cakes-very-moist-chocolate-chocolate-cake-a-kitchenaid-mixer-giveaway/

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  23. Mmmm, this was one of my favorite appetizers that we made in school. It's been on my list to make for the blog but I never seem to get around to it! I really love the addition of figs, I bet they're perfect.

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  24. It really is amazing how time flies by. What a wonderful way to relive your honeymoon memories, Lisa! I LOVE the topping on this onion tart :) Perfect!

    Have a wonderful Saturday! xo

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  25. It's a shame that I didn't even eat any pissaladiere while in that area of France. But it's not a problem because yours seems so good! Thanks for the recipe. I can try making it too at home!

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  26. Oh Lisa, those tarts look and sound so delicious! I love the addition of figs...very creative recipe!
    Thank you sharing and wishing you wonderful week ahead!

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  27. I always love caramelized onion over fresh onions but I'm more excited that you match up with figs!!! Ohhh I'm so excited to see this post. And with puff pastry sheet, I can even bake this. :D I love love love this recipe!!!

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  28. Caramelized onion and figs are perfect together! And, like Nami - the puff pastry saves us non-bakers :)

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