1. For the filling, start with a more onions than you can imagine, here six pounds.
2. Place onions and thyme in a large, large heavy-bottomed pot. Note that the onions will cook down to about 1/8 of their original volumes, or about 1/6 of their original weight so ½ pound.
3. In a large, heavy-bottomed pot, cook the onions, thyme, allspice, and salt and pepper (keeping in mind that the olives and anchovies are salty), in the olive oil and butter.
4. Cook 30 to 40 minutes, or until the onions are evenly browned to a deep golden in color and soft, and the liquid has mostly evaporated. Continue cooking until the onions are evenly brown stirring often to scrape any browned bits off the bottom. Cool the filling to room temperature.
5. Meanwhile make the Savory Tart Pastry and chill.
6. When ready to finish, preheat the oven to 350°F.
7. Roll out the Savory Tart Pastry into a (10- by 15-inch) carbon steel jelly roll pan, an (11- or 12-inch) French tart pan, or a (12- to 14-inch) round pizza pan and follow the directions below to assemble and bake.
Savory Tart Pastry
This seasoned dough is easy to make in a food processor and is a bit sturdier because of the added egg, making it well suited to use for savory tarts and quiches that have a moist filling. It freezes perfectly (up to six months) wrapped tightly or placed in a zipper lock plastic bag with all the air removed. Omit the cayenne pepper if using for a sweet tart.
Yield: 1½ pounds dough, enough for 1 (10- by 15-inch) tart or two smaller tarts
¾ pound (2¾ cups plus 1 tablespoon) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into bits and chilled
2 large eggs
¼ cup ice water
Place the dry ingredients: flour, salt, nutmeg, and cayenne in a metal bowl and whisk together to combine. Add the butter bits and freeze in the bowl for about 30 minutes or until the mixture is quite cold but the butter is still malleable. Transfer to the bowl of a food processor and pulse until the mixture resembles oatmeal.
In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs and ice water. With the food processor running, pour in the egg mixture and pulse until the dough just comes together. Take a small handful of dough into your hands and press it together. If it is crumbly, add 1 tablespoon additional water and pulse quickly to blend together.
Remove from the processor and knead briefly until the dough comes together into a smooth ball. Transfer to a plastic bag, flatten to form a fairly uniform rectangle, and refrigerate to relax the dough, for at least 1 hour, or until firm before rolling out.
Assembling and Baking the Pissaladière
1. Generously dust the work surface and rolling pin generously with flour. Roll out the dough, dust again with flour and roll up onto the rolling pin. (I assembled the scraps at the left of the photo like a jigsaw arranged in a single layer. I then folded the dough over like an envelope and rolled it out lightly. After wrapping and chilling or freezing, the dough scraps are ready to use. Though not quite as tender as the first rolling, this is the best way to handle scraps.)
2. Unroll the dough onto the baking pan.
3. Trim the edges using scissors to just beyond the edge of the pan. (It was a very hot day when I made this tart, so that even with air conditioning, the dough quickly got soft. I could have refrigerated it for 30 minutes to firm it up and make it easier to work with, but I was out of time.)
4. Fold over the edges to make a slightly thicker edge, cutting away and discarding any excess dough especially at the corners, and then prick the bottom all over to make air holes.
5. Cover with plastic wrap and chill the pastry about 1 hour to relax the gluten in the dough. When firm, use a fork to prick the edges to crimp.
6. Spread the onion filling on the dough, smoothing out the surface. Arrange the anchovies in a diagonal crisscross pattern. At every X, place an olive half. Press the olives down so they don’t protrude (to prevent burning).
7. Bake 30 to 40 minutes, or until the dough is lightly browned and the top is bubbling and browned. Remove from oven, cool slightly, sprinkle with the parsley, cut into serving pieces, and serve.
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