Coca de verduras (Valencian vegetable coca)

A typical Valencian savoury open pastry made with beer, and topped with stewed veg and black olives.


Hola!

Today I bring you my plant-based version of a typical Valencian savoury open pastry: Valencian vegetable coca. The pastry is very similar to a pizza base or flat bread, and it is made with beer instead of yeast, which provides its characteristic flavour. The toppings are vegetables, vegan tuna, pine nuts and black olives. You could say the topping is a pisto or titaina. The tomato and pepper combination marries up perfectly for some umami rave against the thin pastry bite.

BACKGROUND

Known in Spanish as coca de tomate y pimiento, coca de pisto or coca de verduras, the common denominator is coca, which amongst other meanings, in Spanish means cocaine. Nothing to do with drugs, though! In this context the term coca comes from the Dutch, sharing the same roots as the English “cake”. There are plenty of kinds of (food) cocas and this is a common name to find in the Mediterranean coast for sweet and savoury cakes, open or closed pastries. Empanadas are a type of closed coca pastries (think of Cornish pasties). Another example of a different coca is my sweet walnuts and raisins cake or coca de pasas y nueces.

The origin seems to be the use of bread dough that hadn’t proved well. How many times have I linked Spaniards and the zero waste movement before that was a thing? When there was not enough food, nothing went to waste! The dough was then baked, generally with sugar on top, and served as a sweet flat bread for dessert.

You may see a few types of cocas in Valencian bakeries, but the Valencian vegetable coca is probably the most common savoury treat, for merienda (afternoon snack) or whenever you fancy.

PLANT POWER, MAKE UP!

I already veganised the toppings on my previous post. You can use pisto (onion, bell peppers and chopped tomatoes) or titaina (adding vegan tuna, pine nuts and olives). I used titaina. You could also use any other veg, but make sure the mixture is dry or soggy bottoms are coming your way (Mary Berry, we all miss you).

The dough is originally vegan, but it has a lot of oil and white flour, which I always try to avoid. I knew that there are ways to replace the oil, so I decided to use sweet potato, since it would give a nice orange tone. I used wholewheat spelt flour that I had in the cupboard from the other coca I had baked, which at least has more fibre than white flour. I was happy with those changes and the results are as nice as the original, but healthier and less oily/shiny. I only sprayed and brushed a bit of oil on the edges.


COCA DE VERDURAS (VALENCIAN VEGETABLE COCA)

Makes: 8 portions
Prep: 20 min
Bake: 25 min


INGREDIENTS

Dough
1/3 cup sweet potato (2-3 inches of a medium sweet potato), cooked
1/2 heaped cup beer
2 cups wholewheat spelt flour
1/2 tsp. salt

Toppings
Pisto or titaina
Black olives
Olive oil to glaze


INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Peel and blend the cooked sweet potato with the beer. Add the flour and salt to combine, and knead until you get a uniform dough. Cover with a wet towel and prove for 1 hour.
  2. In the meantime, make the pisto or titaina and let it cool down.
  3. After proving, spread the dough over a lined baking tray, patting down with your hands until you get a very thin layer. Top with the cold pisto/titaina, leaving the edges clear, and decorate with black olives. Prick the edges with a fork and brush some olive oil to make it shine. Bake for 25-30 minutes at 180°C in a preheated oven or until the pastry is golden.

You can eat the coca cold or hot, as a starter, as a side or as a tapa.

You can it at room temperature for a couple of days but it gets hard quickly.

Bon profit!