Pissaladiere
Another fast and snack like food from the Riviera is Pissaladiere. Just like Socca, Pissaladiere is meant to be eaten quickly and while standing up. The dish is also super simple, it is a dough like bread, a bit similar to pizza, although the dough of Pissaladiere is rather flaky and more buttery than a pizza dough. The topping is a generous amount of onion along with anchovies and black olives. It is usually cut in big rectangles and then cut into squares.
Ingredients:
Topping
¼ cup (½ stick) butter
6 pounds onions, thinly sliced
6 fresh thyme sprigs
4 fresh rosemary sprigs
2 bay leaves
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Crust
1 cup warm water (105°F to 115°F)
1 tablespoon dry yeast (from 2 envelopes)
1 teaspoon sugar
2 ¾ cups (or more) all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Yellow ornmeal
20 drained anchovy fillets
20 oil-cured black olives, pitted
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
Preparation:
Topping:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Place butter on heavy large rimmed baking sheet; place in oven until butter melts, about 5 minutes.
Spread half of onions on baking sheet; top with 3 thyme sprigs, 2 rosemary sprigs and 1 bay leaf. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Drizzle with 3 tablespoons oil. Top with remaining onions, 3 thyme sprigs, 2 rosemary sprigs, and 1 bay leaf. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Drizzle with 3 tablespoons oil (onion layer will be about 2 ½ inches thick but will settle during baking).
Bake until onions are very tender and golden, stirring and turning every 30 minutes, about 2 hours total.
Cool. Discard herb sprigs and bay leaves. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover; chill. Bring to room temperature before using.)
For crust:
Pour 1 cup warm water into small bowl; sprinkle yeast and sugar over. Stir to blend. Let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes.
Blend 2 ¾ cups flour and salt in processor. Add yeast mixture and 2 tablespoons oil; process until dough clumps together, adding more flour by tablespoonfuls if dough is sticky. Process until shiny ball forms, about 1 minute.
Turn dough out onto floured work surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Coat large bowl with remaining 1 tablespoon oil. Add dough to bowl; turn to coat with oil. Cover with plastic wrap, then kitchen towel. Let rise in warm draft-free area until doubled in volume, about 1½ hours.
Punch down dough; cover and let rise until puffed and almost doubled, about 1 hour.
Sprinkle baking sheet with cornmeal. Roll out dough on lightly floured surface to 18x12-inch rectangle. Transfer to prepared baking sheet; press edges of dough up along sides and corners of sheet. Cover with dry kitchen towel; let rise until slightly puffed, 1 hour.
Assemble and Bake:
Preheat oven to 475°F. Spread onions over top of dough. Arrange anchovies and olives atop. Bake until crust is golden, about 15 minutes. Sprinkle with thyme. Cut into 3-inch squares. Serve warm or at room temperature. (Can be made 4 hours ahead; let stand at room temperature.)