Sunday, June 16, 2013

Provencal Style Pissaladiere with Tomatoes




















I didn't know what to call this recipe because it is an amalgamation of different things I like to eat in the South of France and Mediterranean Italy. I came home from my birthday visit to Nice with a bag of really wonderful Herbes de Provence and felt like making something with it that reminded me of that fabulous trip. And, I was invited to a friend's birthday party and needed to bring an appetizer. So, I created this variation of a Pissaladiere which is a Southern French Flatbread with Caramelized Onions and Anchovies, but is is also a lot like a pizza minus the cheese. I decided to take a little shortcut and used puff pastry instead of a raised yeast dough. Also, I didn't have quite enough onions so that's why I decided to add some tomatoes along with just a bit of anchovy paste along with those wonderful herbs to make little appetizer bites for the party. They were a huge hit!  And, since the recipe was requested many times, I decided to post it for all of you too. It's a simple recipe as most of my recipes are and can be served whole and cut like a pizza or cut up in little bite sized pieces. Because there were a number of Pescatarians there - vegetarians who also eat fish - I didn't put on ham, but I thought about it and I am sure that it wold be really good addition. Nicoise Olives would be a good garnish too and I will remember to put on both those next time.

Provencal Style Pissaladiere with Tomatoes

4 Tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 large onions chopped
1 large canned tomatoes
1 clove minced garlic
1 teaspoon Anchovy Paste or 1 salted Anchovy
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon Herbes de Provence
1/8 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
1 package  (17 1/4 oz) frozen Puff Pastry

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  In a large frying pan, put in 2 Tablespoons of olive oil and onions. Cook until onions are lightly browned, stirring occasionally.  Put on a plate to reserve until later.

Heat remaining 2 Tablespoons of oil in the pan, add the tomatoes and break them up into smaller pieces with the spatula (or squeeze them through your fingers).  Add in the sugar and Herbes de Provence and cook stirring until the mixture becomes thick.  Return the onions to the pan and turn off heat. 

Toll out the two sheets of puff pastry into about 12 inch squares. Fold over the edges to create a rim and put half of the tomato mixture on the puff pastry, spreading to the edges.  Bake until the edges (and underside of the pastry) are golden brown - about 20 - 25 minutes. Cut into bite sized pieces for a party or into squares if serving as part of a meal.  

Five Element Analysis

Puff Pastry is made of wheat and that belongs to the Wood Element so that element is covered.  Tomatoes and the the Cayenne Pepper bring in the Fire Element.  The Earth Element is represented by the caramelized onions.  There is just a hint of the Water Element with the Anchovy Paste and the Metal Element is also barely there with the Herbes de Provence and the garlic.  But the Water and Metal Elements need enhancing so be sure to serve this appetizer with some other foods that contain a lot of the Water and Metal Elements.  This was served with a lot of other appetizers that had cream cheese and sour cream and there was also some roasted



I didn't know what to call this recipe because it is an amalgamation of different things I like to eat in the South of France and Mediterranean Italy. I came home from my birthday visit to Nice with a bag of really wonderful Herbes de Provence and felt like making something with it that reminded me of that fabulous trip. And, I was invited to a friend's birthday party and needed to bring an appetizer. So, I created this variation of a Pissaladiere which is a Southern French Flatbread with Caramelized Onions and Anchovies, but is is also a lot like a pizza minus the cheese. I decided to take a little shortcut and used puff pastry instead of a raised yeast dough. Also, I didn't have quite enough onions so that's why I decided to add some tomatoes along with just a bit of anchovy paste along with those wonderful herbs to make little appetizer bites for the party. They were a huge hit!  And, since the recipe was requested many times, I decided to post it for all of you too. It's a simple recipe as most of my recipes are and can be served whole and cut like a pizza or cut up in little bite sized pieces. Because there were a number of Pescatarians there - vegetarians who also eat fish - I didn't put on ham, but I thought about it and I am sure that it wold be really good addition. Nicoise Olives would be a good garnish too and I will remember to put on both those next time.

Provencal Style Pissaladiere with Tomatoes

4 Tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 large onions chopped
1 large canned tomatoes
1 clove minced garlic
1 teaspoon Anchovy Paste or 1 salted Anchovy
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon Herbes de Provence
1/8 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
1 package  (17 1/4 oz) frozen Puff Pastry

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  In a large frying pan, put in 2 Tablespoons of olive oil and onions. Cook until onions are lightly browned, stirring occasionally.  Put on a plate to reserve until later.

Heat remaining 2 Tablespoons of oil in the pan, add the tomatoes and break them up into smaller pieces with the spatula (or squeeze them through your fingers).  Add in the sugar and Herbes de Provence and cook stirring until the mixture becomes thick.  Return the onions to the pan and turn off heat. 

Toll out the two sheets of puff pastry into about 12 inch squares. Fold over the edges to create a rim and put half of the tomato mixture on the puff pastry, spreading to the edges.  Bake until the edges (and underside of the pastry) are golden brown - about 20 - 25 minutes. Cut into bite sized pieces for a party or into squares if serving as part of a meal.  

Five Element Analysis

Puff Pastry is made of wheat and that belongs to the Wood Element so that element is covered.  Tomatoes and the the Cayenne Pepper bring in the Fire Element.  The Earth Element is represented by the caramelized onions.  There is just a hint of the Water Element with the Anchovy Paste and the Metal Element is also barely there with the Herbes de Provence and the garlic.  But the Water and Metal Elements need enhancing so be sure to serve this appetizer with some other foods that contain a lot of the Water and Metal Elements.  This was served with a lot of other appetizers that had cream cheese and sour cream and there was also some roasted fish for the main course and Fennel Salad - fennel is quite aromatic and therefore metallic, so the entire meal became quite balanced.  


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