Environment

In the Terra Alta, they are honey and sagí cokes, in Ibiza biscuit cokes, in Vinaròs angel hair cokes or stuffed with “boniato”. Coca de Fraga, in Amposta apple cokes. Tomato and “paprika” cake in La Matarranya. In Morella coke with ham, sardines and tomatoes. In La Segarra and Urgell, roasted aubergine and pepper cokes with herring or sausage, or the beloved zucchini and onion cokes with a touch of bacon. In Segrià and La Noguera the various collection cakes, in Valencia the coca escudellà. In Mallorca, vegetable coca or trempó coca. In Alicante the corn cake, in Cocentaina the sardine cake with onion and tomato. Dozens of names and varieties, for a gastronomic concept, simple and practical: the Coke, or the Cakes salted.

Some people talk about coke, such as the local adaptation of Italian pizza, imported from Tuscany in the 15th century. Others, such as the historian Pere Balañà, state that “the gastronomy of New Catalonia has kept ingredients and techniques of elaboration of the Islamic tradition, such as in the collection cakes”. Wherever you go, the truth is that coke is an original and traditional food of our culture, and as such it needs to be promoted and made known everywhere.

When the Cock Gathering was set up in Tàrrega in 1988, the aim was, on the one hand, to revitalize the Festa Major del Maig, and on the other hand to start a process of recognizing the qualities and virtues of coke. This process has been expanded over the years with the display of “Firacóc” bakery products and the participation of bakers from other regions.

If you go to Tokyo, Berlin, New Delhi or Sydney, you will find a “pizzeria” everywhere. If you go to Barcelona, it will cost you a lot to eat a good coke. There is still a long way to go to extend our knowledge, valuation and marketing of coconuts beyond our borders. We know that, after all, it is the market and the initiative that must accept and generate the supply and demand of the product. However, from the public institutions, it is necessary to have clear ideas and advance in the promotion and dissemination of coke.

It’s been many years since my grandmother sent me to the bakery in Cal Manonelles with the stuffing loaded with peppers, aubergines, herring, sausage and oil, and the next day I picked up the freshly baked cokes. crunchy and edible. Today we find ourselves, without having to order them, in the ovens and bakeries, as well as frozen in many supermarkets.

Coke is a food, practical and exquisite, which can be easily made at home and made exclusively with local products.

We will share a recipe if you want to entertain yourself, making a healthy and country product.

Ingredients:

• 500 gr. of wheat flour.
• 30 gr. of fresh yeast
• 5-10 gr. of salt
• 200 ml. of water
• 65 ml. of virgin olive oil
• Roasted pepper and aubergine.
• Salted or fresh herring, or cooked sausage, or canned anchovies or tuna.

We prepare the dough with flour, water and yeast. We mix it and knead it until the dough is very compact. Then we leave it in a deep bowl, covered with a cloth for three hours until the dough rises. We knead everything again for a while, add the olive oil, continue kneading and let it rest for another half hour.

Once we have the pasta done. We take the one that we can spread on a baking sheet. So we take a roll to flatten the dough. We have to make it thin and spread it out, preventing it from breaking. We soak the silver in the oven to prevent the dough from sticking and spread it on top. Add the escalivada in strips, spread over the surface of the pasta. We put the herring or sausage on top, and with the oven hot at 180º. We can bake it for 20 minutes or until the pasta is well cooked. In the case of anchovies or tuna, it is placed in the oven when removed.

When we remove it, we add a drizzle of oil on top and enjoy.

Jaume Ramon Solé.