Upcycling Dough Scraps into a Flavorful Caramelized Onion Tart – Quick Guide

This method presents a fast version on pissaladière, transforming a handful of dough trimmings into a quick snack. Store and collect any trimmings into a ball and use again as the need arises. Dough stores nicely in the icebox, and by skipping two laborious procedures in the traditional recipe – preparing the pastry and caramelizing the onions – this version assembles much more quickly. In its place, the onions are prepared inverted, softening and caramelising below a covering of pastry with anchovies and brined olives for a quick, fun twist on a French classic. And if you have less pastry, you can always reduce the recipe.

Quick Flipped Pissaladière Tarts

The recent popularity of inverted pastries, which went viral on video platforms and Instagram a couple of years ago, may have originated with a delicious and easy sweet pastry creation or an creative savory tart that even inspired a entire publication on inverted recipes. Personally, I’ve been experimenting with inverted baking lately, from an lengthy vegetable pastry to these quick pissaladière tartlets. It’s a straightforward, playful method to prepare something that seems particularly unique.

Yields 4 individual tarts

• 1 red onion
• 2 tbsp extra virgin oil
• 1 tbsp honey
• Sea salt and peppercorns
• 8 small fillets (or 4, for a less intense taste)
• Dark pitted olives, to taste
• 120g dough – flaky or firm can be used too

Heat the stove to 410F/210C. Remove the skin and prepare the onion, then chop into four large, cross-sections. Line a stovetop-safe cookie sheet with parchment, then visualize where you will put each round of onion. Sprinkle those spots with cooking oil and honey, then flavor. Place two anchovies on top of each seasoned spot and top them with a round of onion. Nestle a few olives in and around the onions, then season with a extra fat, nectar, seasoning and black pepper.

Turn on two adjacent burners to a medium heat, put the tray on top of the rings and let the onions to cook undisturbed for five minutes.

At the same time, on a lightly floured surface, spread the pastry and trim it into four pieces just large enough to cover each round of onion. Gently put one pastry rectangle on top of each piece of onion, flatten around the edges with the flat side of a tool, then bake for twenty minutes, until the dough is browned. Lay a serving platter on top of the hot pan, then invert to invert the tarts on to the plate. Slowly remove the parchment and present.