Niçoise French Bread Pizza Recipes

NIçOISE FRENCH BREAD PIZZA

Steps:

• Heat oven to 450°. Line jelly roll pan, 15 1/2x10 1/2x1 inch, with aluminum foil. Spread tomatoes, bell pepper and onion on foil. Brush both sides of vegetables with about half of the dressing. Bake uncovered 12 to 15 minutes or until onion is crisp-tender.
• Reduce oven temperature to 375°. Remove vegetables and foil from pan. Place bread halves, cut sides up, in pan. Brush with remaining dressing. Top evenly with roasted vegetables, eggs, olives and cheese.
• Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until cheese is melted. Cut into 2-inch slices.

CLASSIC NICOISE SALAD

Steps:

• Put the potatoes in a medium saucepan; cover with cold water and season with salt. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat and cook until fork-tender, about 5 minutes. Drain and transfer to a medium bowl; drizzle with the wine and let cool. Reserve the saucepan.
• Meanwhile, bring a separate saucepan of salted water to a boil. Fill a bowl with salted ice water. Add the haricots verts to the boiling water; cook until crisp-tender and bright green, 2 to 4 minutes. Drain and immediately plunge into the ice water to cool; drain and pat dry.
• Place the eggs in the reserved saucepan and cover with cold water by about 1 inch. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, then cover, remove from the heat and let stand, 10 to 12 minutes. Drain, then run under cold water to cool. Peel under cold running water.
• Make the dressing: Whisk the vinegar, shallot, mustard, thyme, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and pepper to taste in a bowl. Whisk in the olive oil in a slow, steady stream until emulsified.
• Toss the tomatoes ian a small bowl with salt and pepper to taste. Add about 1/4 cup dressing to the potatoes and toss. Quarter the hard-cooked eggs.
• Divide the lettuce among 4 plates. Arrange the potatoes, haricots verts, radishes, hard-cooked eggs and tuna on top. Pour any juices from the tomatoes into the dressing, then add the tomatoes to the plates. Drizzle with the dressing and top with the olives.

FRENCH BREAD PIZZAS

Steps:

• For the pizza base: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Lay the rolls cut-side up on a large baking sheet. Top each half with marinara sauce (or pesto for the tomato basil pizzas), followed by the mozzarella. Then add your toppings of choice. See below for directions for assembling specific pizzas.
• Once the pizzas are assembled, put the baking sheet on the lowest rack for 8 to 10 minutes. Then turn up the heat to 425 degrees F and put the sheet on the highest rack until the cheese starts to bubble a bit and turns golden. Remove and serve immediately! Cut the pizzas in half right across the middle so there are mini French bread pizzas for everyone.
• Pizza Varieties:
• For the Canadian bacon and pineapple pizzas: Top with the Canadian bacon slices and pineapple and bake according to the directions above.
• For the Greek salad pizzas: Leave off the sauce and brush the sliced rolls with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Top with the mozzarella and bake according to the directions above.
• While the pizzas are baking, toss together the olives, feta, tomatoes, cucumbers, parsley, the remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil and salt and pepper to taste in a medium bowl. Top the cooked pizzas with the chopped Greek salad.
• For the pepperoni and jalapeno pizzas: Top with the pepperoni and jalapeno slices and bake according to the directions above.
• For the tomato basil pizzas: Use pesto instead of the marinara sauce, and top with the tomato slices. Drizzle with the olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake according to the directions above. Top the cooked pizzas with basil leaves.
• For the hamburger pizzas: Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef, red pepper flakes and salt and pepper and saute until the beef is no longer pink. Top the rolls with the sauteed ground beef and bake according to the directions above.
• For the hamburger taco pizzas: Top with the Cheddar and ground beef and bake according to the directions above. Top the cooked pizzas with the chopped lettuce and tomatoes.

PISSALADIERE RECIPE

Steps:

• 06 - Pour the Olive Oil into a large skillet over low heat, and toss in the Onions, Garlic, Thyme, and Bay Leaf. Cook for about 30 - 45 minutes, or until the Onions are translucent, soft, and golden. 07 - While the Onions are cooking, chop the Anchovies ( about 6 ). 08 - Once the Onions are ready, remove the pan from the heat, stir in the Anchovies, and taste with Salt and Black Pepper. Set aside. 09 - Center the oven-tray and preheat the oven to 220C / 425F. 10 - By now the Dough should have doubled in size. Deflate it by pressing down on the Dough, turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface, cover it with a clean kitchen towel, and let it rest for an extra 15 minutes. 11 - Roll the dough out on a floured surface and pull it to shape it. Transfer the Dough on to the oven-tray and top it with the Onion Mixture, leaving an inch of Plain Dough around the edges. 12 - Bake the Pissaladière for about 20 minutes, or until the Dough is golden. 13 - Pull the Pissaladière out of the oven, and decorate with the Olives and Anchovies. 14 - Bake again for 5 minutes. 15 - Serve hot, warm, or at room temperature.

NIçOISE SALAD

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Bring a pot of salted water to boil. Boil the potatoes for about 4 minutes.
• Remove with a slotted spoon, drain, then slice them in half. (Leave the water in the pot, though; you'll use it for blanching the green beans in a few moments.)
• Heat a skillet over medium-high heat, with a bit of olive oil until it's quite hot, then place the sliced potatoes in the pan, cut-side down.
• Sear for a minute or two until the potatoes are lightly browned, then remove them from the pan and transfer to a bowl. Toss with kosher salt and set aside.
• Bring the water back to a boil, and add the green beans. Blanch for 2 minutes.
• Remove with tongs to a bowl of ice water to shock them and keep them from cooking further. Drain and dry them with paper towels and set aside.
• Combine the oil, vinegar, mustard, garlic, and anchovies in a blender or food processor. Process until smooth. Season to taste with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. (The anchovies are salty, so you might not need much additional salt.)
• Place the salad greens in a bowl. Drizzle 2 tablespoons of the dressing and toss to coat. Arrange the greens on 4 serving plates or 1 large platter. Distribute the potato halves equally, with the browned sides facing up.
• Toss the green beans, olives, and tomatoes with enough additional dressing to lightly coat them, and arrange them on the salad.
• Divide the tuna and place it in the center of plates. Arrange the hard-boiled egg quarters, then garnish with the fresh parsley and serve. Note: Instead of the vinaigrette, you could serve a Niçoise salad with garlic aioli .

PISSALADIèRE

Steps:

• In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the flour and salt. Mix with the paddle attachment on low speed just to combine.
• Gradually drop in cubes of butter, with the mixer beating on medium-low speed. Once the butter clumps are no bigger than the size of peas, stream in cold water one teaspoon at a time until a compact dough forms. The dough should pull away from the sides of the bowl.
• Wrap the dough in plastic wrap, pressing down on the dough to create a disc shape. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• In a medium pan, add the olive oil and warm over medium heat. Add the onion slices and sauté until translucent.
• Sprinkle the sugar all over the onions and cook until the onions have caramelized (about 10 to 15 minutes longer).
• Turn off the heat and stir in the chopped anchovies. Temporarily set this mixture aside.
• Preheat the oven to 400°F.
• Roll the pastry dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough out into an approximate 12" square. Trim off the uneven edges. Take a fork and prick all over the pastry, except for about a 1" border along the edges, which you'll leave bare.
• Spread the onion mixture all over the prepared pastry square, leaving the border bare.
• Bake the pissaladiere for approximately 25 minutes, or until the pastry is golden throughout. Top the pissaladiere with the sliced olives (and extra anchovies, optional) and bake for another minute.

FRENCH IN A FLASH: WHOLE WHEAT PISSALADIèRE PIZZA WITH TAPENADE, PINE NUTS, GOAT CHEESE RECIPE

Steps:

• In a large sauté pan, add the onions to 2 tablespoons of olive oil, sitting over medium-low heat. Season with salt and pepper, and sauté slowly for 45 minutes, until the onions are soft and jammy. Be sure to stir them often, and lower the heat if they burn too quickly.
• Meanwhile, dust the bottom of the pizza dough with just a touch of corn meal, to keep it from sticking. Dust the top of the dough and your rolling pin with a bit of flour for the same reason. You could just use flour for both purposes to keep it simple. Roll the dough out into a 15-inch round, and sit it on a nonstick cookie sheet or pizza pan. Brush the dough with the remaining tablespoon of olive oil, and season with salt and pepper.
• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
• When the onions have finished cooking, spread them out over the pizza dough as you would if you were using tomato sauce. Spoon 8 little quenelles (or mounds) of the tapenade around the middle of the pizza in a wide circle. Alternate the tapenade hills with anchovy valleys, laying an anchovy like a sunray between each mound of olive paste. Scatter the pine nuts all over the pissaladière, then olives. Divide the chèvre into little bits and scatter those all over as well. Place the 3 caper berries in the center of the pissaladière, and scatter fresh thyme leaves over the entire pizza.
• Bake the pissaladière for 15 minutes. Then garnish with extra sprigs of fresh thyme, and maybe a slight drizzle of fresh extra virgin olive oil. Serve warm, or at room temperature.