FRENCH ONION, ANCHOVIES, AND OLIVES TART
⏲ Prep time ⏲ Cooking time Difficulty level Portions
25 min 55 min ★★★☆☆ 8 = 1 tray tart
Ingredients
Pastry base
(Use ready‑rolled puff pastry for ease)
• Puff pastry sheet — 350–375 g
• Egg wash — 30 g (1 small egg beaten)
Onion topping
• Onions, thinly sliced — 1,000 g
• Olive oil — 60 g
• Unsalted butter — 40 g
• Garlic, minced — 10 g
• Fresh thyme — 4 g
• Fine salt — 10 g
• Black pepper — 2 g
• White wine — 60 g (optional but excellent)
• Sugar — 6 g (helps caramelisation)
Anchovies & olives
• Anchovy fillets in oil — 60 g
• Black olives (Niçoise or Kalamata), pitted — 80 g
• Extra thyme or rosemary — 2 g
Cooking instructions
1. Caramelise the onions
Heat olive oil and butter in a wide pan.
Add onions, salt, sugar, and thyme.
Cook slowly over medium‑low heat for 25–30 minutes, stirring often, until golden and jammy.
Add garlic and cook 1 minute.
Deglaze with white wine and reduce until dry.
Cool slightly.
2. Prepare the pastry
Preheat oven to 200°C.
Lay pastry on a lined tray; score a 1.5 cm border without cutting through.
Brush the border with egg wash.
Prick the centre with a fork to prevent puffing.
3. Assemble
Spread the caramelised onions evenly inside the border.
Arrange anchovy fillets in a lattice or scattered pattern.
Add olives evenly across the tart.
Sprinkle with extra thyme or rosemary.
4. Bake
Bake 25–30 minutes until the pastry is crisp and golden and the onions are bubbling.
Chef ’s Notes
• Low and slow onions are the soul of this tart — rushing them gives sharpness instead of sweetness.
• Balance the salt: anchovies + olives are salty, so keep seasoning in the onions modest.
• Use good anchovies (Ortiz, Agostino Recca): they melt into the tart rather than tasting harsh.
• Add a touch of lemon zest (1–2 g) to the onions for a brighter, more modern flavour.
• Serve warm or room temperature — the flavours settle beautifully as it cools.
• Pair with a green salad with mustard vinaigrette or roasted peppers.
