Sardenaira or pissalandrea or pissaladière is a speciality of West Ligurian cuisine, soft inside but crunchy round the outside. It is dressed with tomato and, depending on the version, with capers, oregano, Taggiasca olives, salt-cured sardines or anchovies, garlic (with its skin on) and extra virgin olive oil.
The name sardenaira derives from the ingredient which most characterizes the flavour, the sardine, which over the centuries has been replaced by the anchovy. The recipe is very old and nowadays is local to the province of Imperia, the Principality of Monaco and the city of Nice.
It has many names, however, because there are at least two versions of its origin. The first states that it was prepared for the first time around the end of the 15th century in honour of Admiral Andrea Doria (and therefore called Pizza all’Andrea or pissalandrea). But this etymology is opposed by another which traces the name to the pissaladière (from peis salat, salted fish) of Provence.
Try it yourselves, perhaps cut into large squares for an aperitif with friends, together with West Ligurian green pie, fràndura and the turtun of Castelvittorio. You will make a great impression! And thanks to Claudia and Luca for their kindness and for having given me this recipe.
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Ingredients
Tools
Steps
The traditional version and the gluten-free one are the same. Except in the type of flour used and in the leavening and cooking process.
Dissolve the brewer’s yeast in 25 ml of warm water.
Mix the flour with the oil and 225 ml of water; add a pinch of sugar, the salt and then the yeast and knead the mixture until it is homogenous and elastic. Put the dough to rise in a bowl covered with a cloth for an hour and a half.
Note: without gluten the leavening process takes longer: 4 hours.
Meanwhile, put the chopped tomatoes, sugar and salt in a bowl. Mix well.
Lay out the dough in a baking tin greased with extra virgin olive oil.
Brush the focaccia dough with oil before putting the tomato on to create a sort of waterproofing. Add the tomato and the capers and olives. Those who want to can add anchovies and a whole clove of garlic with its skin on.
Leave to rise for about half an hour away from draughts.
Sprinkle with a little dried oregano and cook in a preheated conventional oven at 200° C for 25/30 minutes.
The gluten-free version needs a longer cooking time, 40/45 minutes at 210°.
The last secret is to grease the edges of the sardenaira with a trickle of oil while it is still boiling. You will hear a sizzling sound and the focaccia will become soft and crunchy at the same time.
Serve cut into large pieces.
Advice
If you have a steam oven you can let it rise at 32° for about an hour.
To accelerate the leavening process, you can also put the pizza in an electric oven heated to 50° and then turned off. Half an hour will be enough and you can put it in the oven to bake.
Finally, if you want to have it ready in the morning and you don’t want to get up early, you can prepare it the evening before and put it in the fridge. Take it out half an hour before cooking and bake as described in the recipe.
Varied doses for servings