Serves6 (light main course) or 12 (hors d’oeuvre)
- Active time:40 min
- Start to finish:3 1/4 hr
December 2008
A take on the Provençal tart known as pissaladière, this galette can be served as an hors d’oeuvre or, with a salad, as a light lunch. It gets fullness of flavor from a tangle of sweet caramelized onions that tops a smear of tomato paste enlivened with garlic and anchovies (left over from Mediterranean Eggplant Relish). A flaky homemade pastry crust ups the richness even more.
For pastry
-
1 1/4
cups
all-purpose flour
-
1
stick cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
-
1/4
teaspoon
salt
-
3 to 5
tablespoons
ice water
For filling
-
2
large onions (2 lb total), sliced
-
2
tablespoons
olive oil
-
2
tablespoons
unsalted butter
-
5 to 6
anchovy fillets
-
1
garlic clove
-
2
tablespoons
tomato paste
-
1/2
teaspoon
dried thyme, crumbled
Make dough:
-
Blend together flour, butter, and salt in a bowl with your fingertips or a pastry blender (or pulse in a food processor) just until most of mixture resembles coarse meal with some roughly pea-size butter lumps.
-
Drizzle 3 Tbsp ice water evenly over mixture and gently stir with a fork (or pulse in processor) until incorporated.
-
Squeeze a small handful: If it doesnt hold together, add more ice water, 1/2 Tbsp at a time, stirring (or pulsing) until incorporated, then test again. (Do not overwork mixture or pastry will be tough.)
-
Turn out mixture onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 4 portions. With heel of your hand, smear each portion once or twice in a forward motion to help distribute fat. Gather dough together, with a pastry or bench scraper if you have one, and press into a ball, then flatten into a 5-inch disk. Chill, wrapped in plastic wrap, until firm, at least 1 hour.
Caramelize onions while dough chills:
-
Cook onions in oil and butter in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until softened and golden, about 30 minutes.
Fill and bake galette:
-
Preheat oven to 375°F with rack in middle.
-
Finely chop anchovies and garlic together. Stir together with tomato paste and thyme.
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Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin into a 13-inch round. Transfer to a parchment-lined large baking sheet.
-
Spread tomato-anchovy mixture over dough, leaving a 2-inch border along edge, then arrange onions on top. Fold edges of dough inward. Bake until pastry is golden, 45 to 50 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.
-
Cooks’ notes: - Dough can be chilled up to 3 days.
- Onions can be caramelized 1 day ahead and chilled.
