Tomato & anchovy pissaladière flamiche

Ingredients

• 30g butter
• 2 large or 3 medium onions, sliced into half moons
• A pinch of sugar
• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1 sheet of ready rolled puff pastry (320g)
• 2 flat cloves of garlic, crushed
• 100ml creme fraiche
• 100g gruyère, grated
• 50g parmesan, grated
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp finely chopped fresh thyme
• 3 large tomatoes, sliced into thin discs
• 3 x 90g tins of anchovies
• 20 pitted black olives
• Olive oil, to drizzle

Method

Melt the butter in a deep pan together with a splash of olive oil, then add the sliced onions with a pinch of fine salt. Cook over medium heat for 10-12 mins until soft and starting to take on a little colour.

Add a pinch of sugar and the red wine vinegar. Continue to cook for 2-3 mins until the liquid has been fully absorbed. Empty the cooked onions into a mixing bowl and leave to cool.

Heat the oven to 220C. Roll out the puff pastry onto a baking sheet, keeping its paper on underneath. Use a knife to score a 1cm border around the perimeter of the pastry.

To the bowl of cooled onions, add the crushed garlic and creme fraiche, mixing well. Next add the grated gruyère, parmesan, thyme and egg. Mix again, then spread the onion mix onto the puff pastry, ensuring it stays inside the scored border.

Fan out slices of tomato over the top, then criss-cross with anchovies all over the top, creating a diamond pattern. Place a black olive in the middle of each diamond, drizzle with olive oil, then sprinkle over a little more thyme.

Bake in the oven for 30-35 mins, turning the tray halfway through so it bakes evenly. When golden brown on top and a little puffed up in the middle, remove from the oven and leave for 5 mins before slicing. Enjoy either hot or cold, with a dressed green salad.

Image: Stuart Ovenden