Caramelized Onion & Anchovy Tart

This is my dead-simple take on the classic Provençal onion tart, pissaladière, which is so uncomplicated in itself that I feel bad about nixing one of the main ingredients in making it palatable for personal consumption. However, I just ... cannot ... do ... olives. It's a major flaw, I know. I get the essential element of brininess from chopped capers, but feel free to be traditional and scatter cured olives about the tart if that's your thing. A slice of this makes for a perfect summer lunch or dinner, paired with crisp greens and a funky Berliner weiss.

In making caramelized onions, I have found the easiest route is to throw a bunch of sliced onions with butter, oil and seasonings in a cast iron pan and caramelize them at 350, stirring every 15, 20 minutes or so, until they're that lovely deep brown and of jammy consistency, about an hour or two. Plan on cutting up more onions than what the recipe calls for - you'll want more of them hanging around, trust me.

Caramelized Onion & Anchovy Tart
Makes 6-8 servings

*1 cup caramelized onions, about 4 onions' worth
*1/2 teaspoon thyme leaves
*1 tin anchovies (use as many as you want, I nearly clear the tin out)
*1 sheet puff pastry, thawed
*1 teaspoon capers, chopped

Preheat the oven to 400. When the puff pastry has thawed, roll it out a few times and put on a lightly cornmeal-dusted baking sheet. Score a thin border around the sheet and spread the onions around inside. Garnish with as many anchovies as you'd like, and rain down some thyme leaves (fresh is preferable but I used dried) over top. Bake for 20-25 minutes until the pastry has risen and is golden brown. Garnish with chopped capers.

Palak Chana

Or, "lazy lady's palak paneer".

I had a hankering today for luscious, spiced spinach and immediately jumped to palak paneer, but examining my afternoon and the errands & chores that splintered it up, I decided I didn't *quite* have enough time to make homemade paneer, even though it's a rather simple process. Instead, I quickly cooked up the greens in my usual way, added a can of chickpeas to the mix, and satiated my spinach craving even without the help of firm cubes of fresh cheese! My palak chana might have been makeshift, but I was pleased enough with the combo of chickpeas and spinach that I'll purpose to make it again!

Palak Chana
Makes 4 servings

Recipe adapted from various influences, but 101Cookbooks' recipe for saag paneer was most helpful in the framework.

*Cooking oil or ghee

*1 bag of baby spinach (8 cups), chopped into fine ribbons
*Kosher salt

*1/2 onion, diced small

*5 cloves garlic, chopped

*Nub of ginger, about an inch, peeled and chopped

*1 serrano chili, seeded

*1/4 teaspoon whole cumin seeds

*1 teaspoon ground cumin

*1 teaspoon ground coriander 

*Heaping 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
*1 15oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

*1/2 teaspoon garam masala

*Dash or two of cayenne
*Spoonful of plain yogurt (optional, but a lovely addition)

*Rice or naan, for serving

Heat some oil or ghee in a heavy pot over medium and add the whole cumin seeds; when they pop, add and saute the onions with a scattering of salt. You can either mince the garlic, ginger & chili and add them too, or do as I do and make a paste of them in a small food processor by adding a touch of water and a spoonful of canned diced tomatoes to help (if you, like I, always have a jar of leftover canned diced tomatoes hanging around in a mason jar in the fridge). Add the mince or paste and saute for about a minute before adding the spices and a pinch of salt. After they aromatize the kitchen add the spinach and stir for a minute until the spinach wilts, then add the chickpeas. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook, stirring often, until spinach is very soft, about 20 minutes. Stir in the yogurt, garam masala, and cayenne. Check for seasoning and serve over rice.