Quick focaccia pissaladière

One of those happy accidents I'd repeat again

I was going to include the recipe for this in the Friday 5 but as I’d posted it on insta already I decided to share it with all of you. (Though if it inspires you to sign up, which you can do from just £4.50 a month that would make me very happy!)

It was frankly a bit of an accident. I had a big chunk of focaccia to use up and it suddenly struck me it would make a great pizza or pissaladière base, (pissaladière being the French, rather than the Italian version).

It’s a lot less faff than making a bread dough from scratch too. and focaccia, being slightly oily, works brilliantly

Serves 2-4

For the topping

Olive oil

2 large or 3 medium sized onions, chopped

1 large clove garlic, finely chopped

1 rounded tbsp tomato paste

1/2 a 400g tin of chopped tomatoes 

Some fresh basil if you’ve got some. Otherwise parsley 

A splash of white wine (optional)

Anchovies (essential)

Olives (also mandatory)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

A big chunk of focaccia, ideally a day or so old

First make the topping. Heat about 3 tbsp of oil in a frying pan, add the chopped onions, season with salt, stir and leave over a low to medium heat until they soften and begin to colour (at least 20 minutes, preferably a bit longer).

Add the garlic, stir and cook for a couple of minutes then stir in the tomato paste, cook that through for a minute or so too then add the tomatoes and some ripped basil or chopped parsley. A splash of white wine is good too. Cook for another 10 minutes or so until you have a nice jammy consistency

Switch on the grill, split the focaccia in half widthways and flatten out each piece with the heel of your hand. Lightly toast both sides under the grill. Lay the pieces on the grill, cut side upwards and divide the topping between them. Arrange the anchovy fillets over the top and dot with black olives. 

Replace the pissaladière under the grill for about 4/5 minutes - not too close - then serve it warm or at room temperature.

What to drink

A juicy French red like a Côtes du Rhône might seem the obvious choice but a dry white wine like a picpoul would be good too. Or even a rosé. This is a fridge-foraged snack so practically anything you’ve got open will do quite frankly. (OK, maybe not an oaky chardonnay …)

Have you ever come up with a good recipe by accident? Sure you have so do share!