Repurposing Dough Scraps into a Flavorful Caramelised Onion Tart – Quick Method

This recipe offers a quick version on pissaladière, transforming a handful of pastry scraps into a quick snack. Keep and collect any scraps into a ball and roll out again as and when required. Pastry keeps well in the icebox, and by skipping two lengthy procedures in the classic recipe – creating the dough and cooking slowly the onions – this version comes together about an hour faster. Alternatively, the onions are cooked inverted, softening and caramelizing beneath a blanket of pastry with small fish and black olives for a speedy, enjoyable take on a French classic. Should you have a smaller amount of dough, you can always halve the method.

Fast Inverted Pissaladière Tarts

The recent popularity of upside-down tarts, which spread quickly on social media and Instagram a recently, may have started with a tasty and simple peach and honey puff pastry or an inspirational pastry dish that even led to a whole book on inverted recipes. Personally, I’ve been enjoying myself with inverted baking lately, from an extra-long leek tart to these fast pissaladière tartlets. It’s a easy, creative approach to create something that feels particularly unique.

Produces 4 individual tarts

  • 1 purple onion
  • 2 tbsp extra virgin oil
  • 1 tbsp agave nectar
  • Salt and peppercorns
  • 8 salted fish (or 4, for a milder taste profile)
  • Dark pitted olives, to taste
  • 120g dough – light or buttery can be used also

Heat the stove to 410F/210C. Peel and trim the onion, then slice into four large, circular pieces. Prepare a hob-appropriate cookie sheet with parchment, then plan where you will place each piece of onion. Sprinkle those spots with olive oil and syrup, then season. Lay two anchovies on top of each prepared area and layer them with a slice of onion. Tuck a few olives in and around the onions, then sprinkle with a extra fat, honey, salt and pepper.

Turn on two side-by-side hob rings to a warm setting, place the sheet on top of the elements and let the onions to simmer without moving for five minutes.

At the same time, on a sprinkled with flour surface, roll out the sheets and trim it into four squares just large enough to top each slice of onion. Carefully lay one dough piece on top of each piece of onion, press down along the sides with the back of a utensil, then heat for a short while, until the pastry is browned. Set a plate on top of the baking sheet, then flip to turn the tarts on to the board. Carefully lift off the lining and present.

Stephen Gordon
Stephen Gordon

A passionate traveler and writer dedicated to uncovering the world's hidden treasures and sharing authentic local experiences.