Coca de recapte
A Catalan flatbread with escalivada — charred peppers and eggplants — 4 ways, to please the vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian and carnivorous palates
In the Spanish Mediterranean, the word coca has associations with parties and fairs—though not in the way some of you may be thinking, but in a joyful, heritage-rich, and delicious way.
In Catalan, we call coca any kind of flatbread, whether sweet or savory. It’s believed we borrowed the word from the Old Dutch koek during the time of the Carolingian Empire. It shares roots with the English cake and the German Kuchen.
Bread has been an essential preparation since wheat arrived on the Iberian Peninsula, and it was used in all possible ways—reserving the most colorful versions for religious celebrations.
Bread was fundamental, but not every household had a brick oven. So once a week, families would prepare bread with the flour from their fields and take it to the local baker to be baked. With the loaves that didn’t rise enough, they made flatbreads, or coques, adding olive oil for the savory ones, and milk and eggs for the sweet ones.
There are many types of coques throughout Catalonia, Valencia, and the Balearic Islands. The sweet ones are perhaps the most well-known, traditionally eaten to celebrate Christian name days — such as la coca de Sant Joan, a delight for Saint John’s Day and the summer solstice, covered in candied fruit.
Savory coques may not be as famous, but they are a popular snack among locals. They can resemble pizzas, and while they are not so far apart — both being wheat flatbreads with toppings — savory coques don’t usually include cheese, nor do they feature tomato sauce.
Today I want to introduce you to a very versatile savory coca: la coca de recapte. The verb recaptar means “to gather” in Catalan, and this coca allows all sorts of toppings, though it always begins with a base of escalivada.
As I mentioned, not every household had a brick oven, but they all had a hearth — where food was prepared, stories were told, and families gathered. The hearth was the symbolic heart of the home. The fire was always burning, even if only as glowing embers, which were used to slow-cook vegetables for the next morning.
This is how escalivada was born. From the verb escalivar — “to cook in embers” — it’s a humble dish of charred eggplants and red peppers, sometimes with onions, peeled and served with a generous drizzle of olive oil. It has the smoky taste of coals and is eaten as a side dish to meats, fish, and eggs — or on top of coques, as in our case.
I cook escalivada once a week. In my old apartment, I used to make it in the oven, and I still do sometimes because it’s easier, though sadly it doesn’t achieve the same smoky flavor. It needs to be charred, the skin blackened until it cracks. I once cooked it directly over the gas stovetop. It made a bit of a mess, but it was tasty. For some, that might be worth it if there’s no other option.
In her acclaimed book Cuina! O barbàrie (Cooking or Barbarism), Catalan cook Maria Nicolau asserts:
“L’escalivada es fa al foc, untant amb oli pebrots i albergínies de primera i col·locant-los a sobre les brases de la barbacoa o la llar, si en tenim, o repenjant-los sobre els fogons encesos, directament a la flama. Tal com venen i sense embolicar. Anant-los girant amb pinces a mesura que la pell se’ls vagi ennegrint, i sense parar atenció a si la placa de cobrecuina s’emmerda o s’embruta.
Pensem bé a què volem dedicar els nostres vuitanta anys de vida, i en si ens val la pena passar-los menjant escalivada rebullida, amb aquells pebrots de textura com de petó de llengua somorta i aquelles albergínies aigualides, per no dedicar de tant en tant deu minuts a passar un fregall per la cuina.”
My translation and highlight:
“Escalivada is made over fire, brushing high-quality peppers and eggplants with oil and placing them directly on the coals of a barbecue or hearth, if we have one — or resting them over lit burners, directly in the flame. Just as they are, without wrapping them. Turning them with tongs as their skin blackens, and without worrying whether the stovetop gets messy or dirty.
Let’s think carefully about what we want to do with our eighty years of life, and whether it’s worth spending them eating soggy escalivada — with those peppers that feel like the kiss of a limp tongue and those watery eggplants — just to avoid spending ten minutes now and then scrubbing the kitchen.”
One item on my husband’s and my wishlist when we were house-hunting was an outdoor space for a charcoal barbecue. We now have one, and I take every chance to make escalivada the way it’s meant to be.
Coca de recapte always starts with a layer of escalivada — you may also grill onions along with the red peppers and eggplants if you like — and then you can add the toppings of your choice. The most popular ones include arengades (salted sardines) and butifarres (Catalan sausages), though in some regions people add mushrooms, tuna, anchovies, olives, or tomatoes.
It’s typically shaped as a rectangle, with thickened edges to contain the juices from the toppings. The texture is both crispy and tender — in my opinion, the perfect summer party snack.
I’m offering you four topping combinations with a summer gathering in mind, accommodating different dietary preferences. They all begin with classic escalivada: one is vegan, one vegetarian, one pescatarian, and one for the meat lovers. The vegan one, aside from olives, also includes a tomato-onion sofregit, which you could actually add to any of the others for an extra layer of flavor. The vegetarian one is my favorite — the combination of escalivada and melted goat cheese is made in heaven. The pescatarian version features fresh anchovies, and the carnivorous one includes small sausages, a nod to my beloved butifarra.
Make them all, or choose your favorites — or invent your own! Just don’t skip the charred escalivada and a homemade coca base. As Maria Nicolau says, “it’s worth the pain."
Ingredients
FOR THE COCA DOUGH
4 cups (500 g) of bread flour
1 tbs (12 g) active dry yeast, or 1 ounce fresh pressed yeast (30g)
1 cup (250 g) warm water
7 tbs (100 g) olive oil
1½ tsp salt
1 tsp sugar, if using active dry yeast
FOR THE TOPPINGS
Escalivada: 4 red peppers, 3 eggplants
1 log of goat cheese
Small sausages
Anchovies
1 large tomato, chopped
Half an onion, sliced
Olives, halved
Olive oil
Dried oregano, to finish
Instructions
Cooking time: 4.5 hours
Servings: 4
Make the coca dough:
Dissolve the dry yeast in some lukewarm water with a teaspoon of sugar to activate it. Once it starts bubbling (after about 10 minutes), it’s ready. Alternatively, dissolve the fresh pressed yeast in lukewarm water and proceed to the next step.
Add the salt to the flour and form a volcano shape on your work surface, leaving a well in the center to pour in the yeast mixture and some of the water. Begin mixing, gradually adding more water as needed.
Once the ingredients are combined, knead the dough until it becomes soft and no longer sticks to the surface.
Place the dough in a large bowl and cover it with a damp kitchen towel. Let it rise for at least 3 hours in a warm place.
Once it has doubled in size, add the olive oil to the dough. Knead again until the oil is fully incorporated and the dough is soft. Then divide it into 4 equal parts and shape each into a ball. Place them on a tray, cover again with the towel, and let rise for another 30 minutes.
Make the escalivada:
Meanwhile, prepare the escalivada. If using a charcoal grill, heat it until ready, then add the red peppers and eggplant. Cover and cook for 1 to 1.5 hours, turning the vegetables at least twice. If using an oven, preheat to 350°F and roast the vegetables for 1 to 1.5 hours, turning them occasionally. Once the skins are fully charred and beginning to break, they’re done.
Let the vegetables cool, then peel them. Remove the seeds from the peppers and cut the flesh into long strips. Strain the eggplant to remove any excess moisture and cut it into strips as well. Keep them separated.
Prepare the toopings:
Dice the tomato and thinly slice the onion. Heat some oil in a pan, add the onion, and cook over low heat. Once softened, add the tomato and a pinch of salt. Cook until it forms a thick paste.
Cook the sausages — you can bake, fry, or grill them, depending on your preference. Set aside to add on top of the coca once baked.
Assemble and Bake the coques:
Once the dough balls have risen, flatten each into a rectangle, leaving slightly thicker edges to hold the toppings.
Top each coca with escalivada, arranging the pepper and eggplant strips in a decorative pattern. For the vegan version, spread the tomato-onion paste first, then add the escalivada, and the sliced olives mid-bake. For the vegetarian version, add slices of goat cheese on top. For the pescatarian and carnivorous versions, the toppings will be added after baking.
Bake the coques in the oven or on the grill. For a crisp base, bake at 400°F for about 30 minutes. Finish under the broiler for a couple of minutes to lightly brown the top.
To serve:
Once baked, top one coca with sausages, another with anchovies, and the vegan one with olives. Sprinkle with oregano if desired, and drizzle with a bit more olive oil. Bon profit!
Some tips + downloadable card
One thing that will make your cooking easier is timing everything properly. The first rise of the bread dough takes about 3 hours, so you can prepare the escalivada during that time and let it cool. After the second knead, you'll have another 30 minutes to grill the sausages, preheat the oven (if you're using it), and clean up your workspace. Then the coques will bake for about 30 minutes — the perfect window to prep the remaining toppings and get everything ready to party!
The times given here are approximate — especially if you're grilling — as everything depends on the temperature of your fire. Check the vegetables often and turn them when their skins are nicely charred.
For the bread, preheat your oven tray if baking — it will help create a crispier bottom.
You can also make the escalivada in advance and store it in the fridge with a drizzle of olive oil. I do this all the time to have a ready side dish throughout the week!
Remember to strain the eggplant before adding it to the coques, as it holds a lot of moisture and can make the bread soggy.
This dough makes enough for four rectangular coques. You can serve one per person, or cut them into smaller pieces so everyone can try different versions — that’s what I did!
Most importantly, enjoy and adapt the toppings to your liking. That’s the spirit behind coca de recapte — it’s all about gathering what you have on hand.
There's something special about charred vegetables. The flavors are more concentrated.
This looks a much better use of the BBQ than sausage and burgers!
Thank you for sharing the recipe. I foresee a delicious summer holiday project with my children.