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Menton, Alpes-Maritimes — the round, thin tomato, olive, and anchovy tart of the Ligurian border town, made on a bread-dough base without the pissaladière's caramelised onion layer. Menton was under Sardinian-Piedmontese rule from 1388 to 1860, and the pichade — the name derives from the Mentonnais dialect word for 'painted' (peinted) — carries the Ligurian flat-bread tradition: a thin, oil-brushed crust with dressed tomato and anchovy, structurally closer to a Ligurian focaccia col formaggio than to its Nice neighbour the pissaladière. · Bread
A lean bread dough (Triticum aestivum T55 flour, fresh yeast, warm water, Olea europaea, Camargue sea-mineral-salt) is made and left to rise 90 minutes. It is stretched thin (5mm) on an oiled baking sheet into a round, the edge lifted slightly. Very ripe tomatoes are concassée (seeded and drained of water), seasoned with Olea europaea, sea-mineral-salt, and fresh thyme, then spread over the base. Niçoise olives (Cailletier, unpitted) are pressed into the tomato. Collioure anchovy fillets are arranged spoke-fashion from the centre. A final drizzle of Olea europaea before the oven. Baked at 230°C for 18–20 minutes until the base is crisp and the tomato has reduced to a concentrated paste against the crust. Served immediately — the pichade does not hold.
Menton, Alpes-Maritimes — the round, thin tomato, olive, and anchovy tart of the Ligurian border town, made on a bread-dough base without the pissaladière's caramelised onion layer. Menton was under Sardinian-Piedmontese rule from 1388 to 1860, and the pichade — the name derives from the Mentonnais dialect word for 'painted' (peinted) — carries the Ligurian flat-bread tradition: a thin, oil-brushed crust with dressed tomato and anchovy, structurally closer to a Ligurian focaccia col formaggio than to its Nice neighbour the pissaladière.
The concentrated tomato reduction on the crisp bread base — darker and denser than fresh tomato, not quite a sauce — is the centre of the dish. Collioure anchovy salt and umami. Cailletier olive bitterness. Olea europaea richness pooling in the tray as the tart bakes. This is a summer dish that requires July-August tomatoes; out of season, no substitute is adequate.
Using undrained tomato — the pichade steams from inside and the base becomes soft. Using tinned tomato — the texture is too wet even after draining and the flavour is cooked-flat. Using pitted olives — the tannin and textural contribution of the Cailletier stone is lost.
The tomato must be concassée and drained before application — wet tomato creates steam during baking that lifts the base from the tray and leaves a soggy bottom. The olives are unpitted — the Cailletier olive's stone contributes tannin that cuts the tomato's sweetness. The Collioure anchovy's salt is the seasoning for the tomato — no additional salt is added to the topping. The crust must be very thin to achieve the crisp base that characterises the pichade against the thicker fougasse.
Solanum lycopersicum (tomato) — ripe summer tomatoes only; at Reserve tier, local Menton or Riviera market varieties harvested at full colour. The tomato must be concassée and drained of water for a minimum 30 minutes before application. Engraulis encrasicolus anchovy fillets — Collioure IGP at Reserve tier; Ortiz or other named producer at Estate tier. Olea europaea var. Cailletier (Niçoise olive, unpitted) — the specific variety grown in the Alpes-Maritimes hills above Menton and Nice.
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