Make Ahead

Pissaladière à la Rabe

by:
August 31, 2011
5
1 Ratings
  • Prep time 1 hour
  • Cook time 30 minutes
  • Makes one 14-inch pizza
Author Notes

My family and friends are so enamored of Pissaladière Niçoise that I’ve started to make riffs on the pizza on rough puff pastry. Everyone also loves Broccoli Rabe so much we make sandwiches of it. This led to my decision to pile rabe on the pastry the other evening. Cut into squares, it can become a passed hors d'oeuvre.
Feel free to make this even easier by using your favorite frozen puff pastry.
We’ll be doing this one again! —ChefJune

Test Kitchen Notes

In addition to teaching me how to spell "pissaladiere" and how to make a wonderful pastry for pizza, Chef June's riff on broccoli rabe pizza has plugged a huge gap in the what-to-bring-for-lunch conundrum. Anchovies, olives and chiffonaded broccoli rabe come together beautifully in this dish, which is as yummy at room temperature as it is straight from the oven. Don't be afraid the olive oil from the anchovies will make this taste "fishy" -- it doesn't, it just makes it taste more complex. Very good, and very different. —wssmom

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Ingredients
  • Rough Puff Pastry for Pizza
  • 3 1/2 cups organic unbleached flour
  • Teaspoon sea salt
  • 3 sticks unsalted butter, chilled and cut in 1/2-tablespoon pieces
  • ice water
  • Pissaladière Topping
  • 1 large red onion, coarsely chopped
  • 2 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
  • 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (plus the olive oil from the anchovy tin)
  • 1 large bunch Broccoli Rabe, chiffonaded (discard the woody stems at the bottom)
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried Herbes de Provence
  • 1/4 teaspoon each freshly ground white and black peppers
  • 1/4 cup dry Vermouth (I use Dolin Dry)
  • 1 tin anchovies, well drained and patted dry (you’ll need 8 for symmetry)
  • • ripe olives (preferably whole tiny Niçoise, or Nyons, Gaeta or Kalamata, pitted and sliced)
  • 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
  • • additional olive oil for drizzling
Directions
  1. Rough Puff Pastry for Pizza
  2. Mix flour and salt in a bowl. Add the butter and rapidly work it into the flour with your fingertips until it has been uniformly broken into still-visible almond-sized slicks. (You can do this step in the Cuisinart, but be careful to pulse in very short bursts, as you don't want to over-process the dough. It should still have big slicks of butter showing.) Sprinkle about 1/2-cup ice water over the pastry and mix it in rapidly. Continue to add spoonfuls of water to the pastry and mix it in rapidly. Continue to add spoonfuls of water until the dough can be pulled together into a neat ball. Give one or 2 quick kneads (the butter needs to look unincorporated at this point), wrap the mass in foil and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
  3. On a floured surface, roll out the dough to a rectangle about 9 x 12 inches. Square the corners as much as possible, and sprinkle any sticking slicks of butter with a bit of flour. Fold the dough over into thirds. Turn the dough on the table so its length is perpendicular to you and roll again into a large rectangle. Fold into thirds. You have now given the pastry two turns. Wrap in foil or plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
  4. Roll the pastry out again and give it 2 more turns as in the previous step. Rewrap and let rest for 30 minutes to overnight.
  5. You can refine this pastry a bit by giving 2 more turns to the pastry, but 4 is enough for pizza. Roll the dough as thinly as possible (aim for 1/8-inch). Fold the pastry into quarters, or roll it on your rolling pin to transfer it to a flat pizza pan (or large baking tin) and cut a 14-or 15-inch round. (Or, you can make a rectangular pizza.) Let the dough rest for 15 minutes before adding the toppings.
  6. It goes without saying that this pastry dough can be made several days ahead and stored, well wrapped, in your refrigerator. Note: This recipe makes enough rough puff pastry for 3 pizzas, so save the rest for later.
  1. Pissaladière Topping
  2. Heat oven to 425 degrees F.
  3. Over medium-low heat, warm the olive oil, then add onions and garlic. Cook until very soft and translucent. Add the rabe, herbs and peppers. Stir well to combine. Add the vermouth. Cover and cook for 12 minutes. Take off the lid and raise the heat to evaporate any remaining liquid.
  4. Arrange the vegetables all over the pissaladière. Make a design with anchovy fillets and olives. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan, and drizzle with additional olive oil.
  5. Bake for 25-30 minutes. You want the crust around the edges to be nicely browned.
  6. Cut into squares and serve. It’s just as good at room temperature as it is hot, which makes it great "take-along" food.
  7. FWIW: DuFour's frozen puff pastry (all butter) works just fine if you've neither the time nor the inclination to make even the Rough Puff. ;) Champagne (or your favorite sparkling wine) goes wonderfully with this.

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2 Reviews

ChefJune March 18, 2012
Champagne is perfect with this! And we're toasting its Community Pick!
lapadia February 29, 2012
Yum, ChefJune! And I'll take Champagne :)