Flatbread Around The World: French Pissaladière

Forget the cronut: The pissaladière is a focaccia-pizza hybrid that has been enchanting foodies in Provence for years (and you won't find around-the-block lines to taste one). Thicker than classical Italian pizza, this flatbread is almost always topped with rustic, caramelized onions (and sometimes olives, garlic and anchovies are tossed on for good measure).

The toppings for this French dish are traditionally caramelized onions, anchovies, and black niçoise olives. Sometimes a little grated Parmesan or Gruyere cheese brings all the rich flavors together.

But it's the incredible crust that's really the distinguishing feature of a pissaladière. Unlike the crunchy, bread-like crust on Italian pizzas, this is closer to a tart crust. A generous amount of butter gets worked into the dough, which may or may not include yeast for leavening. It's usually thicker and chewier than a pie crust – a cross between puff pastry and Chicago deep-dish pizza, if you can imagine that!

If you've never had pissaladière before, it's a dish that's definitely worth trying. It makes a fantastic light dinner on its own, especially with a tossed salad along side. We also like cutting it into small squares and serving it as an appetizer.

Want to know more about how flatbread is made in other countries? Click here to see 11 Incredible Flatbreads From Around the World