Spinach Pissaladière

Pissaladière is the ancestor of the modern pizza. It’s Mediterranean, originally made with nothing but onions, black olives, and anchovies on a thin pastry crust. This is a fresh spinach spin-off. The toasted pine nuts and Gruyère are fabulous, but crumbled feta would be just as good. Be sure to put the cheese under the spinach so it won’t burn. SAM

4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 medium sweet onions, thinly sliced
2 ounces pine nuts
10 ounces fresh spinach
2 ounces Gruyère cheese, finely grated
2 (10-inch) rounds flatbread dough [Yesterday’s recipe without rosemary]
Freshly grated nutmeg

Place a large pizza stone on the middle shelf of the oven and preheat to 550 degrees F.

In a covered chef’s pan over low heat, sweat the onions in 1 tablespoon oil until translucent, about 30 minutes.

In a small, heavy skillet over very low heat, toast the pine nuts, shaking frequently to prevent burning.

Wash the spinach, place it still wet in a large chef’s pan over medium high heat. Cover and steam until wilted, rearranging frequently with tongs, about 4 or 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate to cool and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon oil.

Place the dough on two 12-inch rounds of parchment paper on two pizza peels or heavy baking sheets. Spread evenly with the remaining 2 tablespoons oil, the Gruyère, onions, pine nuts, and spinach. Sprinkle with nutmeg. One at a time, slide pissaladières and parchment paper onto the stone and bake for 10 minutes or until browned. Slice with a pizza cutter.
Makes two 10-inch pissaladières.