Thursday, October 18, 2012

Puff the Magic Pastry

Puff Pastry is one of those magical ingredients that levels the playing field, presenting everyone with an equal opportunity to be master chef. Pull out a package from the freezer, roll it out a couple of times, slap on a baking sheet and prick with a fork all over, and in 20-30 minutes you get buttery sheets of crispy paper-thin dough. It's that simple. 

Available at any grocery store for just a few bucks, puff pastry can take up residence in the freezer for 6 months. And the list of possibilities is overwhelming. With puff pastry, you can make fruit tarts, savory pies and pizzas, cheese straws, apple turnovers, palmiers, strudels, and mini quiches. 

Pictured here is an improvised provençal pizza called pissaladière. If you're like me, one of those weirdos who can't get enough anchovies, this dish offers delicious contrasts: juicy, sugary-sweet caramelized onions, briny fish, salty olives, and bright notes of fresh thyme. Recipe follows.
Pissaladière
  • 1 sheet puff pastry (I usually use this kind) defrosted in refrigerator
  • 2 Tbs. olive oil
  • 2 Tbs. butter
  • 4 yellow onions
  • salt and freshly ground pepper
  • 3.5 oz jar of good quality anchovies 
  • 15-20 pitted olives 
  • 5 sprigs fresh thyme
  • 1/4 cup grated parmesan
  • 1 egg, beaten until foamy

First, chop onions. (This is a bit tedious but onions do not have to be finely chopped.) 

Heat olive oil and butter in large skillet over medium heat. Add onions. Let onions cook    
approximately 40-45 minutes, until completely soft and light brown in color. You only need to stir a couple of times, just to ensure that onions aren't sticking to bottom of skillet. Onions will release juices and caramelize. Remove from heat when finished. Season with salt and pepper.

In the meantime, preheat oven to 400 degrees.  

Next, remove puff pastry from fridge. Get a rolling pin and saran wrap. I like to place pastry between 2 sheets of plastic wrap for easy clean up. Roll out pastry sheet. This entails just 2 minutes of rolling. Goal is simply to make pastry sheet into a larger rectangle. 

Move puff pastry to large baking sheet. Prick with a fork all over (this helps puffing process). Make border by trimming the sides of the pastry sheet with a sharp knife to create a nice, even rectangle. Fold over each edge to create a border that is approximately 1 inch. Dip a finger in water and run over inner edge of border to ensure that folded-over pastry sticks.

Place baking sheet in the refrigerator. Puff pastry has a high butter content and melts rapidly while working with it.

Drain anchovies and slice in half, lengthwise. 

Mix parmesan cheese in a small bowl with thyme leaves. 

Remove puff pastry from refrigerator. Spread onions in an even layer over pastry. Then, lay anchovies on top (photo shows diamond "X" pattern) and add olives. Sprinkle with parmesan-thyme mixture. 

Brush pastry border with egg wash.

Bake for 10 minutes at 400 degrees, then lower heat to 350 for 15 minutes. Crust will be golden brown and nice and flaky when done. 

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