Last Updated on November 17, 2022 by Leyla Kazim
The easy tart recipe you’ll keep returning to
When thinking of a French tart recipe, something sweet and glorious is often the first thing that comes to mind. Tarte tatain? All day every day please.
But France – specifically Nice in the south – also has a ludicrously easy tart recipe that’s savoury and with just four main ingredients!
It’s perfect eaten straight from the oven, or at room temperature. And it’s so simple it’s pretty much child’s play.
Is this the easiest French tart recipe of all time?
Traditionally, pissaladière is made with a base of bread dough that’s a bit thicker than a pizza.
But for the purposes of making this the easiest tart recipe of all time, I’ve replaced the dough with ready-rolled puff pastry for my take on this glorious French onion tart.
Then it’s really just a case of softening some onions, assembling the onions, anchovies and olives onto the pastry, then baking in an oven. And hey presto, your easy tart recipe is complete to the raucous applause of your dining companions.
When it comes to French ingredients, I’ve used beautiful pink onions from Roscoff in Brittany in northwest France, celebrated for their colour and unique mild flavour. Along with French Cailletier olives from Cote D’Azur, which are the ones you’ll find in niçoise salads.
WATCH: NORMANDY FOOD | The Great Eats Of Normandy France
This is the fifth French recipe in my series showcasing easy French cooking and ways to use beautiful French products and ingredients, in collaboration with France Bon Appétit.
Don’t forget to also take a look at the first four recipes:
- Confit Duck with the Best Ever Lentil Recipe
- The Ultimate French Blue Cheese Recipe
- French Cooking: The Best Summer Tomato Recipe Is Basque Piperade
- The Best Waffles Recipe For A Delicious French Breakfast Spread
And keep an eye out for future ones where I’ll be taking us through the year via the medium of French cooking. I’ll be creating a French recipe each month and there’ll be nine in total making a nice little repertoire to keep referring back to.
Pissaladiere, a very easy French tart recipe
The quantities for this French onion tart will serve about 6-8 people one slice.
Pissaladiere ingredients
- Olive oil
- 3 large or 6 small onions, finely sliced (such as French pink Roscoff onions)
- Small bunch of thyme (optional)
- 365g ready rolled puff pastry sheet
- A good jar of anchovies, around 150g
- Appx. half a jar of black olives (such as French Cailletier or Niçoise olives), around 90g
- A few sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil (optional)
Method for this fantastic French onion tart
Cook the onions long and slow in a deep pan with a little olive oil and the thyme leaves. You want them soft and sweet which will take at least 20 minutes, stirring frequently.
Take the sheet of puff pasty and lay it on non-stick baking paper. Score a border with a sharp knife at around 2cm from the edge all the way round, ensuring not to cut right through the pastry.
Place the baking paper and pastry onto a baking tray. When the onions are ready, spread them over the pastry up to the score of the border.
Use the anchovies to create a lattice effect across the onions. If they’re in oil, lightly pat them on some kitchen paper before placing them on the onions. If the anchovies are salted, drain them first.
Place a black olive at the centre of each diamond shape. Then scatter with some roughly chopped sun-dried tomatoes if using.
Bake for around 20-30 minutes at 180C / gas mark 4 unti lthe pastry has risen and is deep golden.
Do you like the sound of this easy tart recipe? Had you ever heard of pissaladière before reading this post? Have you ever made a French onion tart before? Do you prefer a sweet or savoury type of French tart? Anyone been to Nice?! Let me know in the comments below!
Hungry for more recipes? Check out the cooking section of my blog or go direct to some recipes below.
- The Ultimate French Blue Cheese Recipe
- Confit Duck with the Best Ever Lentil Recipe
- French Cooking: The Best Summer Tomato Recipe Is Basque Piperade
- The Best Waffles Recipe For A Delicious French Breakfast Spread
- Pomegranate slow-cooked lamb shoulder
- Pasta with chestnuts, mushrooms and a parsley pesto
- Mumbai’s vada pav with chutneys and a fried egg
- Vegetarian vine leaf dolma stuffed with rice and herbs
- Almond and thyme-crusted macaroni cheese muffins
- Chicken and spinach curry with coriander chapatis
- Roast red pepper, spinach and goats cheese tart
- Gordon Ramsay’s sticky ribs with spiced marinade
