Chez Pipo ★ 4.5
Chez Pipo on Rue Bavastro fires socca in wood burning ovens since 1923, the cheapest meal in Nice at EUR 3-5 a slice between Place Garibaldi and Port Lympia.
Try: Socca slice
History
Pissaladiere comes from the Nicois word pissalat, the salt-cured anchovy paste that sat at the base of the dish before the modern whole-anchovy lattice took over. The Liguria-Provence influence shows in the dough and the slow onion cooking. The dish remains a staple at Chez Pipo, Le Safari and Cave de la Tour and travels well on the Cours Saleya morning market.
Common allergens: Gluten, Fish
Make it at home
Ingredients
- 500g pizza dough or bread dough
- 1.5kg yellow onions, thinly sliced
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 sprigs thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 12 anchovy fillets in olive oil
- 100g Nicoise olives
- Salt and pepper
Method
- Sweat the onions with the olive oil, garlic, thyme and bay leaves over very low heat for 90 minutes until completely soft and lightly caramelised. Remove the bay and thyme stems.
- Roll the dough to fit a 30 by 40 cm baking tray and place on parchment.
- Spread the onion confit evenly across the dough leaving a 1cm border. Lay the anchovy fillets in a lattice pattern and dot the olives between the rows.
- Bake at 220C for 18 to 22 minutes until the base is dark golden and the edges crisp. Rest 5 minutes and slice into squares to serve.
Tip from the editors. The onions must reduce by half their volume; if you rush the cook the pissaladiere will taste raw rather than mellow.
This is the TableJourney editorial recipe, modelled on the canonical bistro / counter version. The first place to try the dish in its city of origin is below.
Where to eat pissaladiere
Pissaladiere in Nice
Le Safari ★ 4.2
Le Safari on Cours Saleya offers the canonical Nicois lunch since 1972, the Cuisine Nissarde label and pissaladiere on the terrace facing the daily market in Vieux Nice.
Try: Pissaladiere terrace plate
Cave de la Tour ★ 4.4
Why locals love it: Bellet wine bar with the world petits farcis championship, four generations of Gazan family running the Vieux Nice room since 1947.
Tip: Champ runs every autumn at the granite counter; book a stool the same morning.
Rene Socca ★ 4.3
Rene Socca on Rue Miralheti in Vieux Nice runs a self service Nicois counter with socca, pissaladiere and beignets de fleurs de courgette under EUR 8 a plate on terrace tables.
Try: Socca slice and pissaladiere
More cities are in research. Want pissaladiere covered somewhere specific? Tell us where you want to eat.