Pissala Recipe

Pissala (a Provençal name) is a Niçois salt-fish paste, used especially for pissaladière.

Preparation: 1 month
Used with: fish, cold meats, appetizers (on toast), pissaladière.

Note: The classic recipe calls for blanchaille [palaïa], which are tiny fish from the Mediterranean. A common substitute is the salty anchovy, easier to obtain and to work with.

Ingredients:

1. Gut and clean the blanchaille.

2. Put the ingredients in layers in an earthenware jar (terrine), as follows:

• a layer of fish (2-3 cm), a layer of salt, a few nails of clove, thyme, laurel and some pepper grains.
• another layer of fish and the corresponding layers of spices and herbs.
• repeat the layers to the top of the jar, finishing with a layer of salt and herbs on top.

3. Put the jar away in a cool place for a week.

4. Days 8-30: Remove the surface oil with a ladle. Use a wooden spatula to stir the mixture thouroughly to the bottom of the jar, let sit for another day.

5. Day 30: Force the sauce through a sieve into a deep bowl, removing all the lumpy bits of fish and herbs. Pour a thin covering of olive oil over the surface of the purée mixture.

Pâte à Pissaladière recipe.

Pissaladière recipe.