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We already know that chef José Andrés is a fervent defender of Spanish gastronomy and this has been demonstrated on numerous occasions, especially during the broadcasting of his show José Andrés and Family In Spain on Discovery+. In this program, the Asturian chef, together with his daughters, takes a tour through different Spanish regions while he teaches them all the secrets of the national gastronomy. During his visit to Valencia, José Andrés goes so far as to affirm that pizza was invented in Valencia. “When I tell people that Valencia invented pizza, they don’t believe me”, he says during the video.
The chef refers to the Valencian coca, a traditional recipe that serves as a snack and has a base of flour and yeast with a little tomato and ratatouille, although it admits almost any ingredient and in theory it is a dish that predates the Italian one. For this reason, the Asturian explains that the Valencians affirm that the coca influenced the pizza. One of the main differences is that the Valencian recipe has no cheese. “Why waste a good piece of cheese baked in the oven? This is much better. You want cheese? You eat cheese. You want coca? You eat coca,” says the cook.
As expected, such a statement has not been without controversy and has generated comments of all kinds. Be that as it may, here is the recipe of traditional Valencian coca in case you dare to prepare it at home.
Valencian tomato coca recipe
Ingredients:
- 300 g flour
- 750 g of chopped or crushed tomatoes
- Tuna belly
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1 green bell pepper
- 120 ml beer or white wine
- 120 ml olive oil
- Salt
- Pine nuts
- 2 hard-boiled eggs
Preparation:
- In a bowl, mix the beer and oil, and add the flour. Stir well until a homogeneous dough is obtained.
- Wrap in plastic wrap and let it rest for half an hour.
- Meanwhile, soak the pine nuts.
- Prepare the rest of the ingredients for the coca. Fillet the peppers and remove the seeds. In a frying pan with oil, sauté them over low heat and remove before they are completely soft, to finish them in the oven.
- In the same pan, add the chopped or crushed tomatoes and sauté for about 10 minutes to reduce the liquid. Correct the salt (and add a little sugar to adjust the flavor).
- At the same time, take out the dough and spread it by hand on a tray with baking paper, giving it a rectangular shape (or making mini cocas).
- Finally, mix the coca with the tomato and bell pepper sauce and bake in the oven for 20 minutes at 180 ºC.
- Then, take it out and add the tuna belly (well crumbled to spread all over the coca) and the pine nuts. Bake again for about 10 minutes, making sure it does not burn, but leaving it well browned and with the ingredients compact. Sprinkle with hard-boiled egg.
What do you think about José Andrés’ statement regarding pizza?