This meat and dairy free, French style pizza is easy to make and tastes good either hot or cold. If you’re in a hurry, use a ready-made pizza base and pre-sliced onions and mushrooms. It will taste much better than a mass produced one and no one will guess that you have taken a few shortcuts!

This recipe was inspired by the Pissaladière Nicoise which is similar to Italian pizza, but is made without any tomato sauce or cheese. It is therefore a good alternative if you, or any of your family, are vegan or lactose intolerant.

The traditional recipe gets its name from the cooked anchovy paste (known as “peis salat” (salty fish) which was spread onto the base and then topped by a layer of onions, which had been slow cooked in olive oil, garlic and herbs. To create a vegan-friendly version, I used chestnut mushrooms instead of anchovies and also added some black olives and semi-dried tomatoes for added flavour and colour.

RECIPE

INGREDIENTS

Prep to table: 40-50 minutes (including cooking time).

Serves 2 (or 4 as a snack)

• I large ready made pizza base*
• 300g mushrooms, sliced
• 2 large red onions, sliced
• 2 tbspns of roughly chopped semi dried tomatoes (optional)
• 2 tbspns of sliced black olives
• 2 garlic clothes, minced
• 2 tbspns of thyme
• 2 tbspns red wine or balsamic vinegar
• 1 tbspn sugar
• Olive oil

METHOD

Stage 1-For the topping

1. Heat around 2 tbspns of oil in a frying pan and fry the sliced onions over a moderate heat for about 10 minutes or until they soften.
2. Add thyme and continue cooking for several more minutes, then add the vinegar and sugar and continue to cook gently for around another 5-6 minutes until the onions have caramelised and become very soft. Remove from pan and set aside.
3. Heat around another two tbspns of oil in the pan and cook the mushrooms and garlic (for around 5 minutes). Remove from heat and set aside.

Stage 2- Baking stage

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C Fan/Gas Mark 6. Lightly oil a non-stick baking tray and place the dough directly onto the tray.
2. Spread the cooked onions evenly onto the pizza base then add the mushrooms, olives and semi -dried tomatoes. Drizzle a little of the oil from the tomatoes over the pizza.
3. Place the pizza on the middle shelf of the oven and bake for 14-16 minutes, or until golden brown.
4. Enjoy!

© (Suzette McDaniel Don’t Burn The Onions) Unauthorized use and /or duplication of this material without express written consent from this blog’s author/and or owner is strictly prohibited