Ingredients

serves 6

　　

The Pastry

14 tablespoons sweet butter, lightly softened, plus 1 teaspoon for the pan

　　1 large egg, lightly beaten

　　6 tablespoons dry white wine

　　2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour

　　1/2 teaspoon sugar

　　1 teaspoon fine sea salt

　　1/3 cup fine polenta meal

　　Flour

　　

The Filling

4 ounces anchovies, preserved under salt

　　1 pound baccalà or stoccafisso, prepared (page 10)

　　1/3 cup heavy cream

　　1/3 cup plus 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

　　3 large yellow onions, peeled and thinly sliced

　　4 ounces large black Greek or Sicilian olives, stones removed by lightly crushing them with a mallet, coarsely chopped

　　2 tablespoons capers preserved under salt, rinsed and dried

　　1 large egg yolk

　　

The Pastry

Step 1

In a large bowl with a wooden spoon, beat the 14 tablespoons of the butter until it is soft and creamy. Add the egg and the wine and beat to blend. Add the remaining components except for 1 teaspoon butter, blending them lightly. Turn the mixture out onto a lightly floured surface, gently pressing it into a rough dough and rolling it into a ball. Flatten the ball into a disk and wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap, permitting it to rest in the refrigerator for 1 hour or even overnight if it’s more convenient.

　　

Step 2

With 1 teaspoon of butter, grease the surface of a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Roll two-thirds of the dough—rewrapping the remaining one-third and returning it to the refrigerator—into a circle about 11 inches in diameter and transfer it to the tart pan, fitting it in snugly, permitting the excess to drape over the sides. Cover the pan tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate it for 1 hour. Meanwhile, make the filling.

　　

The Filling

Step 3

Rinse the anchovies. Remove their heads and bones, dry them on paper towels, and crush lightly with a fork. Set aside.

　　

Step 4

Place the soaked, rinsed, poached, drained, rinsed, skinned, and boned baccalà into a bowl and, with two forks, finely shred the fish. Add the cream and blend the components well. Set the bowl aside.

　　

Step 5

In a large sauté pan over a medium flame, warm 1/3 cup of the olive oil and soften the onions to transparency, taking care not to color them. Add the anchovies, the olives, and the capers and toss them about with the onions for a minute or two. Add the mixture to the bowl with the baccalà and blend the components well.

　　

Step 6

Turn out the mixture into the pastry-lined tin. Roll out the remaining one-third of the dough into a 9 1/2-inch circle and place it over the filling. Turn down the edges of the pastry lining to meet the top crust, crimping them together to encase the filling. Beat 2 teaspoons of the oil into the egg yolk and, with a pastry brush, paint the surface of the tart, conserving a spoonful of it for later.

　　

Step 7

Bake the tart for 45 to 50 minutes or until the crust is deeply golden. Paint the hot, hot surface of the tart with another coat of the glaze and permit the tart to cool on a rack for 20 minutes before removing its sides and letting it cool thoroughly.

　　

Step 8

Present the tart at room temperature in generous wedges as a first course. Serve it, too, as a main course with jugs of cold white wine and a salad of bitter greens dressed in good oil and lemon juice. Also, it makes a handsome and most portable pie to accompany one on some after-dark adventure.

　　A Taste of Southern Italy