Pissaladière with a Twist
I had leftover vegetables from preparing a crudités platter and some extra shortcrust pastry dough in the fridge. I was trying to decide what to make for dinner. This was the result: a spin on a pissaladière, a galette topped with caramelized onions, zucchini, Romanesco broccoli and goat cheese. You can use any vegetables for this. Carrots, green onions, mushrooms and squash would also work well. It’s a great way to use all the bits and pieces in one’s fridge. Serve with a light salad and lunch or dinner is done.
Pissaladière with a Twist
Ingredients
For the Dough
- 9 ounces all-purpose flour, unbleached (2 cups)
- 5 ounces butter, chilled, cut into small pieces
- 1 large egg
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 1 pinch salt
For the Vegetables
- Olive oil
- 4 large yellow onions, peeled, halved and finely sliced
- Coarse sea salt
- Black pepper
- 1 cup Romanesco broccoli, sliced
- 1 small zucchini, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
- 1 small yellow squash, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
- 2 ounces soft goat cheese, chilled and sliced
- Basil flowers, or small basil leaves for decoration
Instructions
- Place all the dough ingredients into the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Pulse until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs, then use longer pulses until the dough forms a ball. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20–30 minutes.
- While the dough is resting, prepare the vegetables. Pour 2 tablespoons of olive oil into a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions, a large pinch of salt and 5–6 grinds of black pepper, stirring frequently, and cook until the onions are completely soft and golden. This will take at least 20 minutes. Add the Romanesco broccoli, zucchini, yellow squash, a pinch of salt, 4–5 grinds of pepper and 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, for another 10 minutes. Remove from the heat but leave the vegetables in the pan while you roll out the dough.
- Preheat oven to 400°.
- Cut ⅔ of the dough and place it on a lightly floured work surface. Refrigerate or freeze the balance of the dough for future use. Roll out the dough to a 9-inch square, 1/4-inch thick. If the edges are a little ragged, square them off with a knife. Place the dough onto a parchment-lined sheet pan.
- Spoon the cooked onions and vegetables onto the dough, covering it entirely. Insert the goat cheese slices into the vegetables. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes, or until the pastry is golden brown. Dot the surface with the basil flowers or leaves. Serve at room temperature.
Nutrition
Pascale Beale
Chef, teacher and food writer, Pascale Beale, owner of Pascale’s Kitchen, grew up in an eccentric European family who cherish food, wine and the arts. She is the author of 10 Mediterranean-style cookbooks, including the best sellers Salade and Salade II. Her food memoir, 9’ x 12’: Adventures in a Small Kitchen, a multi-media book, is hosted on Substack. Her latest cookbook is Flavour: Savouring the Seasons.
