Pissaladière

I first made this when we were away in France this summer, mainly because we needed to use up lots of onions before we left. We ate it on the train, somewhere between Bordeaux and Lille - the ticket inspector looked very jealous as he walked past.

Essentially pissaladière is a flat, open tart with lots of onions, anchovies and olives. I've tried making it with shortcrust pastry but it's a bit rich - a doughier option is what you're after. This scone-type base comes from your Grandma - it's also the base of her fishy pizza, which you'll get the recipe for at some point.

This makes enough for four people.

For the base you'll need: (I'm sorry it's all in ounces, but I can't bake as well in metric...)

8oz self-raising flour
a pinch of salt
a teaspoon of baking powder
2oz butter
4fl oz milk

Mix the flour, salt and baking powder in a bowl. Rub in the butter, and add the milk, until it forms a stiff, firm dough. Roll it out - this should be enough for an A4-sized baking tray.

(Don't forget to either line the baking tray with a silicon sheet, or brush with a little oil first - otherwise the base will probably stick).

For the topping you'll need:

lots of onions - at least 5 or 6 medium ones
a little garlic - a clove or two
a tin of anchovies (you'll probably use half)
some black olives

Slice the onions and garlic, and fry in some olive oil over a low heat for 20 minutes or so, until they're translucent and slightly gooey. Bung on top of the base. Criss cross the top with the anchovies in whatever design takes your fancy. Stud the top with the olives.

Bake in the oven around 180 degrees C for about 20-30 minutes. Keep an eye on it - you don't want the onion to burn.

UPDATE, June '10: It's also good made with puff pastry - see the picture at the top.