Pissala Recipe

Food > Recipes > Pissala       - by Provence Beyond

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.

Recipe

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.