Catalan recipes: Coca de recapte

Coca is a type of pastry from Catalonia. The salty version of the coca looks very similar to a pizza, except that it is rectangular instead of round and is seldom prepared using cheese.

There are four main types of coca: the savory coca, the sweet coca, the closed coca, and the open coca. The sweet cocas are prepared with dough that has, among other ingredients, eggs and sugar. But if the coca is savory, yeast and salt will be added to the dough.

The most popular savory coca in Catalonia is the one with fish and vegetables on top, while the most popular sweet coca has fruits and nuts on top. There are also coques (plural of coca) that mix both sweet and savory toppings like meat and fruit.

The coca is a very popular dish that is usually prepared during holidays like Easter, St. John’s Eve and Christmas. There are even special coques prepared on national holidays like La Mercè and La Diada de Cataluña.

Some of the most popular coques in Catalonia are the coca de xulla, prepared with bacon and other varieties of meat, coca de San Joan, and coca de recapte, a savory coca prepared with a variety of vegetables and sometimes fish.

Today we are gonna learn how prepare coca de recapte.

Here is the list of ingredients you are going to need to prepare the coca de recapte:

For the bottom

500g of bread flour

30g of baker’s yeast

Salt

1 glass of water

1dl of olive oil

 For the top

3 ripe tomatoes

3 onions

3 eggplants

3 red bell peppers

Parsley

Salt

Olive Oil

Let’s start by preparing the bottom part of the coca. Mix all the ingredients except the olive oil and work the dough until it gains the adequate consistency. Let the dough rest for three hours so that it can ferment.

Now let’s prepare the ingredients for the top. Cook each of the vegetables either in the oven or using a frying pan, seasoning them to your taste. When the vegetables are ready, remove the seeds and cut them in slices.

Now it’s time to add the olive oil to the dough. Mix it and then let it rest for about thirty minutes.

When enough time has gone by, stretch the dough over the oven tray, placing the sliced onion, tomatoes, eggplants, and bell peppers. Throw some parsley on top and place the tray in the oven.

Cook the coca for about thirty minutes at 180^o.

Some people like to eat the coca hot from the oven while others like to eat it cold. Try both and choose.

Enjoy!