Sweet and savoury cocas

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"Coca de Sant Joan", sweet coca with candied fruits and pine nuts, typical of Catalan summer solstice celebration

"Coca de crema", coca with Catalan cream, an example of sweet coca

"Coca de mullader", a variety of coca with samfaina, a dish similar to ratatouille, an example of the savoury coca

"Coca de garlanda", a coca with a hole

Preparing a coca with fish and a "coca de recapte", with sausages and vegetables

"Coca de xoriç", a savoury coca to eat at breakfast

The coca is a pastry typically made and consumed in Mediterranean Spain, namely, throughout Catalonia,^[1][2] eastern parts of Aragon bordering on Catalonia,^[3][1] most of Valencia,^[1] the Balearic Islands^[1], Andorra^[4][1] and in French Catalonia.^[1]

The coca is just one way of preparing a dish traditionally made all around the Mediterranean.^[5] In fact, the similarities are such that the savoury coca could be considered a twin sister to the Italian pizza, although this comparison is a bit far-fetched when you consider that the coca never bears cheese, and that the traditions are entirley different, in particular when and how they are eaten. Whereas the pizza, for instance, is an everyday dish, the coca is often reserved for festive occasions.

[edit] Etymology

The Catalan word "coca" - plural "coques" - comes from Dutch during the Carolingian Empire, and shares the same roots as the English "cake" and the German "kuchen"^{[citation needed]}.

[edit] Similarities

There are many diverse cocas, with four main varieties: sweet, savoury, closed and open. All of them use dough as the main ingredient, which is then decorated. This dough can be sweet or savoury. If it’s sweet, eggs and sugar are added, and if it’s savoury, yeast and salt. As regards the topping or filling, fish and vegetables are usual at the coast whilst inland they prefer fruit, nuts, cheese and meat.^[6] It’s interesting to note that some cocas can be both sweet and savoury (typically mixing meat and fruit).

[edit] Types of coca

Coca is almost any kind of bread-based product. Its size can vary from 5cm up to 1 metre. There are various presentations:

• the closed coca: a pie or pastry with filling.
• the open coca: the archetypical coca formed by a pastry base and a topping.
• the coca with a hole.
• the plain coca: a coca without any topping, because it is added during the course of the meal. Somewhat similar to Mexican tacos.

[edit] Popular varieties

Amongst the lengthy list of varieties, the most common are:

• Coca de recapte, a savoury coca with a variety of different ingredients, usually including sausage and vegetables, available generally.
• Coca de trempó, from Mallorca and the Balearics.
• Coca de Sant Joan, a sweet coca most typical of Catalonia, eaten on La revetlla de Sant Joan, Saint John's Eve.
• Coca de llanda, from the area around Valencia.
• Coca de xulla, often called coca de llardons, bearing bacon and other meat-products, typical of any mountainous area.

[edit] The coca, festivities and popular culture

"Cocas are (...) strongly linked with our country’s traditions."^[7] The coca is a dish common to rich and poor.^[8] and a basic part of Catalan cuisine.

In Catalonia, the coca has a direct relaionship with the festa or holiday.^[9] It is typical to buy or prepare cocas during holidays, especially during Easter (Pasqua), Christmas (Nadal) and Saint John’s Eve (la revetlla de Sant Joan). Some cocas even have the names of saints and they are eaten on that saint’s day (such as the Saint John’s Coca, Coca de Sant Joan). Nonetheless, many eat them without any religious or festive reason, especially if we consider that in places like Italy, this dish doesn’t carry any special significance. The Coca de Recapte obeys this logic exactly, since the "recapte" is a kind of picnic habitually taken out into the fields.

[edit] Similar recipes along the Mediterranean

Coca, being the Catalan variety of a Mediterranean dish, has local counterparts all over the Mediterranean, especially in its savoury kind. Apart from Italy,^[10] other countries also have similar cakes, pies and pastries. Three examples are the Pissaladière from Provence, the Lahmacun from Turkey and the "Bouchée à la Reine" from France. Meanwhile we can find sweet pies all over Europe. The more specific King's cake (in Catalan, Tortell de Reis) is traditional in Occitania as well as in Catalonia, València, Andorra, French Catalonia and the Balearic Islands as a part of the New Year holidays.

[edit] External links

• Fira de la Coca a Monistrol (Bages) (Catalan)

[edit] References

[[Category:Andorran Cuisine

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