But a little dark humor can help at a time like this. So can cooking. I won't romanticize the act of getting food on the table. It is labor, albeit often enjoyable labor. But I have been surprised, since we entered this era of anxiety and unknowns, at just how much of a true and genuine comfort the act of cooking is right now. I pull my heavy orange Dutch oven down from its shelf, peel and chop an onion, listen to the click-click-click of the burner as it whooshes on.
These are the small moments and actions of everyday life. They help things feel normal for a minute. They help me focus on something tangible, useful, and nourishing. No matter. We are sheltering apart, but we can all still cook together. This newsletter is for you, whoever you may be. And it is for me, because I need someone to talk to. We all do. Got questions about something I wrote? The name Cooking From Home plays on a phrase newly relevant in our lexicon: working from home, as many now are doing.
Many people are losing jobs and businesses, and the closure of restaurants — which sends us into the kitchen whether we like it or not — is an economic and cultural blow. More than ever, we are multitasking and worrying about finances, two great American sports. At least some of the content here will be geared toward dishes that are inexpensive and quick to prepare. And some of the content will ignore those things altogether.
Set the oven at degrees. Have on hand 2 rimmed baking sheets and 4 ovenproof soup bowls. On 1 baking sheet, spread the onion slices. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of the oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper. Toss with your hands to coat the onions. Transfer to the oven and roast for 15 minutes. Stir the onions and return to the upper oven rack. Continue to roast for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring every 8 minutes or so, or until soft and golden. Total baking time is 30 to 35 minutes.
While the onions are roasting, toast the bread. On the other baking sheet, spread the bread slices. Brush both sides with 2 tablespoons of the oil. Bake in the middle of the oven for 4 minutes, or until the edges are golden.
Turn the toasts over and bake 2 more minutes; set aside. Leave the oven on. Use a large pair of kitchen scissors to snip the tomatoes right in the can, digging the scissors all the way into the bottom of the can until most of the large pieces are snipped.
In a soup pot over medium-high heat, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil. As the flatbread evolved, the anchovies turned into a garnish, though some cooks also melt anchovies in the onions, too. This is a pie for aficionados of the briny, pungent fish. The most common base for pissaladiere is a yeast dough if you buy commercially prepared pizza dough, it makes quick work of that component. Yeast dough has enough heft to hold the onion topping. Some recipes call for puff pastry, even regular pie dough, but that seems too rich for this.
Onions need a very long time in the skillet; there are no shortcuts here. You hardly need to pay any attention to them at this point.
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