Pissaladière


Pissaladière is a dish of flatbread with toppings from the region of Provence and the French city of Nice. It is often compared to pizza. The dough is usually a bread dough thicker than that of the classic pizza Margherita, and the traditional topping in Nice usually consists of caramelised onions, black olives and anchovies.

Etymology and history

The etymology of the word seems to originate from the Latin piscis "fish", which in turn originated pissalat, the name of an anchovy paste.
The first written recipe was found in a document of the year 879 in Provence. This old recipe included onions and pissalat, confirming that the name derives from this anchovy puré.

Description

The dough is usually a bread dough thicker than that of the classic pizza margherita, and the traditional topping usually consists of caramelised onions, black olives, and anchovies. In the version of Menton the dough is enriched with tomatoes.
Some other variants exist in France:
  • The pichade, typical from Menton, is a pissaladière with a tomato base.
  • The tarte de Menton is a pissaladière without anchovies.