The French learned to make pizza from the Italians, but put their own twist on it, naturally
In Provence in South France, pissalladiere is a sauceless, cheeseless pie on a medium crust. Topped with caramelized onions, olives, garlic, anchovies, and herbs, the pissaladiere is a perfect balance of sweet and saltiness. Here’s my recipe for a grilled twist on cooking this classic French style pizza. I make it in a lightweight metal pan that I can coat with oil to make sure the bottom is stiff and crispy.
Before you start, I recommend you read my article The Science of Grilled Pizza (Pizza alla Griglia).
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Caramelized Onion Pizza Recipe
Rate this RecipeA French twist on traditional Italian pizza, the pissaladiere packs a ton of flavor in the form of caramelized onions, olives, garlic, anchovies, and herbs. Taking it one step further, this recipe for the classic sauce and cheese free pissaladiere is cooked on the grill, rendering it perfectly crisp and smoky.
Special Tools
Ingredients
Method
- Prep. Make the dough the day before. Either Roman or Neapolitan will work fine (I prefer Roman). The caramelized onions can also be made a day ahead. Remove the pits from the olives and chop them in large chunks. Drain the anchovies and chop them into large chunks.
- Fire up. Preheat the grill to high. Shoot for 450 to 500°F (232.2 to 260°C). Preheat a pizza stone if you're using one. Otherwise a metal pizza pan or even a sheet pan works fine.
- Shape the dough. Use a pizza stone or coat a lightweight metal pan with oil. Toss the flour on your work surface and spread it thin. Place the dough in the center and begin working it outward and roll it thin, less than 1/4" (6.4 mm). Move the dough to a peel if you are cooking on a pizza stone or to the oiled pan. Don't worry if it is not perfectly round. With a pastry brush or spray bottle, lightly coat the top with olive oil.
- Add the toppings. Sprinkle the herbs on the dough first. This is important so the moist onions keep them from burning. Then add the olives, anchovies, caramelized onions, salt, and pepper. I know you want to, but don't skip the anchovies.
- Cook. Bake until the crust is nicely crisped.
- Serve. Slice and serve hot.
Notes
About the anchovies. You can skip them if you want, but they will never taste better than in the company of caramelized onions.
Optional. Add 1/4 cup chopped sundried tomatoes or 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper. Add some garlic to the onions for the last 5 minutes of the time you cook them.
