Transforming Dough Leftovers into a Flavorful Caramelised Onion Tart – Simple Recipe
This technique provides a speedy interpretation on pissaladière, turning a small amount of pastry scraps into a quick treat. Store and gather any leftovers into a lump and re-roll as the need arises. Dough freezes beautifully in the freezer compartment, and by omitting two laborious procedures in the classic method – creating the pastry and cooking slowly the onions – this version is ready about an hour faster. Instead, the onions are heated inverted, steaming and caramelizing under a layer of dough with small fish and dark olives for a fast, playful take on a French classic. And if you have less pastry, you can always cut down the method.
Fast Inverted Pissaladière Tarts
The recent wave of upside-down tarts, which became popular on video platforms and photo-sharing apps a recently, may have begun with a delicious and straightforward sweet pastry creation or an inspirational savory tart that even resulted in a whole book on flipped dishes. Personally, I’ve been enjoying myself with inverted baking recently, from an elongated savory tart to these speedy mini French tarts. It’s a easy, creative approach to make something that appears extra-special.
Yields 4 single servings
- 1 red onion
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tbsp agave nectar
- Sea salt and black pepper
- 8 anchovies (or 4, for a milder taste profile)
- Pitted black olives, to taste
- 120g pastry sheets – flaky or firm is suitable as well
Preheat the stove to 210C (190C fan)/410F/gas 6½. Strip and trim the onion, then chop into four thick, cross-sections. Line a heat-resistant baking tray with baking paper, then plan where you will place each round of onion. Drizzle those areas with olive oil and sweetener, then season. Put two small fish on top of each flavored area and top them with a slice of onion. Tuck a few black olives among the onions, then sprinkle with a additional fat, nectar, salt and spice.
Switch on two adjacent hob rings to a warm setting, set the sheet on top of the burners and allow the onions to cook untouched for five minutes.
Meanwhile, on a lightly floured counter, spread the dough and slice it into four squares sufficiently sized to cover each slice of onion. Carefully place one pastry rectangle on top of each round of onion, seal on the perimeter with the flat side of a tool, then heat for 20 minutes, until the pastry is browned. Lay a plate on top of the baking sheet, then turn over to invert the tarts on to the plate. Carefully remove the paper and present.
