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This particular recipe presents a speedy version on the French onion tart, converting a small amount of pastry scraps into a quick snack. Store and collect any leftovers into a round mass and re-roll as and when required. Pastry stores nicely in the freezer, and by avoiding two time-consuming steps in the standard preparation – creating the pastry and cooking slowly the onions – this dish assembles in nearly half the time. In its place, the onions are cooked upside down, steaming and browning below a layer of dough with salted fish and brined olives for a fast, fun take on a traditional French dish. And if you have less pastry, you can always cut down the ingredients.

Quick Upside-Down Pissaladière Tarts

The current wave of flipped tarts, which spread quickly on TikTok and photo-sharing apps a couple of years ago, may have originated with a tasty and straightforward fruit and honey pastry or an inspirational pastry dish that even inspired a entire publication on flipped dishes. Additionally, I have been experimenting with inverted baking recently, from an lengthy vegetable pastry to these speedy pissaladière tartlets. It’s a easy, creative method to create something that appears especially impressive.

Yields 4 personal pastries

• 1 red onion
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• Sea salt and peppercorns
• 8 salted fish (or 4, for a milder taste profile)
• Brined olives, to taste
• 120g pastry sheets – puff or firm is suitable as well

Preheat the oven to 410F/210C. Peel and trim the onion, then slice into four sizable, cross-sections. Line a heat-resistant cookie sheet with non-stick paper, then plan where you will position each piece of onion. Sprinkle those areas with cooking oil and sweetener, then season. Lay two anchovies on top of each flavored spot and top them with a slice of onion. Nestle a few olives among the onions, then add with a extra oil, honey, seasoning and black pepper.

Switch on two neighboring burners to a medium heat, put the tray on top of the rings and leave the onions to heat without moving for 5 minutes.

At the same time, on a dusted counter, flatten the pastry and slice it into four pieces sufficiently sized to top each round of onion. Carefully lay one pastry rectangle on top of each piece of onion, flatten on the perimeter with the flat side of a utensil, then heat for a short while, until the crust is browned. Place a board on top of the pastry tray, then invert to flip the tarts on to the plate. Carefully lift off the paper and serve.