Pastry (always welcome). Pissaladière and pecan tussies.

Pissaladière is a tricky word for English speakers to say without sounding rude. Just own it with confidence. It is a speciality of Genoa, in Northwestern Italy - a rich, oily, comforting dish as sweet and salty as the wee fishing towns that litter the Ligurian coast where it comes from.

It may be Italian but the French too have tried to claim it as their own. I’m not getting involved. Sounds like a pavlova issue to me.

Don’t be afraid by the apparent abundance of anchovy; it is a wonderful foil to the sweet onion; just be careful not to over season the onion as the anchovies will be salty enough.

Now this recipe is a special one, from early childhood. It comes from my aunt Sooze, who lived in Vancouver for years, returned with this recipe and left us all obsessed. Pecan tussies, we all called them. They never lasted long. Further investigation reveals that they’re actually called tassies, and they’ve been a big thing in North America since the 50’s. Martha Stewart does a good one. And you can bet your bottom dollar Paula Deen does too (she loads hers up with toffee too, obviously).

Since pecans are in abundance down in the south of the US (pecan pie, etc), it’s likely that’s where they originated from.

I’m very much into the cream cheese pastry. It’s rich, soft and delicious, wonderfully short and flaky. I will use it for a number of treats in the near future, I’ve decided. A mix of ricotta, lemon zest and walnut, sweetened a little but not too much with honey or brown sugar.

And if in case you were wondering, a tassie is a Scottish word meaning a wee cup or a wee glass. So have a wee tussie with a wee tassie of something comforting. They’re ridiculously good. Don’t expect them to last.

Hope you’re all having a lovely weekend.

S xx

PECAN TUSSIES

Pastry:

220g soft butter