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From June 23 to 24 is celebrated the traditional night of San Juan, a very important date in areas such as Catalonia and Alicante, which is accompanied by bonfires, beach and good wishes. And, of course, you can not miss the typical gastro touch. One of the most popular foods in Catalonia for this night is the coca de San Juan. During the Revetlla de Sant Joan (Verbena de San Juan in Spanish) it is common to distribute this coca accompanied by sweet or rancid wines, and also cava. If this year you feel like celebrating as the festival deserves, we leave you the recipe for you to prepare a coca de San Juan at home. Take note!
Coca de San Juan recipe
Ingredients:
- 250 g of strong flour
- 200 g candied fruits (melon, orange, cherries, etc.)
- 75 g milk
- 55 g soft butter
- 55 g sugar
- 25 g pine nuts
- 20 grams of pressed yeast
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup of aniseed
- Grated lemon peel
- Salt
- Sugar
- Olive oil or butter
Preparation:
- Heat the milk a little and add the yeast so that it melts.
- Then add 3 tablespoons of flour and stir until you obtain a smooth dough. Set aside until it doubles in volume.
- Make a volcano shape with the flour and, in the center, add the butter, eggs, sugar, salt, lemon zest and the glass of aniseed.
- Mix the ingredients in the center, add the sourdough and continue working the mixture with the flour until you get a compact and thin dough.
- Spread it on a baking pan (previously greased with oil or butter), make an oval shape and a thickness of about 1 cm.
- Paint it with egg and place the pieces of candied fruit on top. Let it rest so that it doubles in volume.
- Finally, put the pine nuts on top of the cake and sprinkle it with sugar.
- Put it in the oven at 180 ºC for about 20 minutes.
Coca de Sant Joan recipe, according to the Fundació Institut Català de la Cuina i de la Cultura Gastronòmica.