The Valencian coca revolution is here to stay
It is not known which came first, the chicken or the egg? In this case, what is not known is whether it was the cocaine or the pizza. Can you imagine that in the whole world, instead of pizzas, they ate Valencian cocas? Many think that the recipe was already prepared in the Crown of Aragon and that in the fifteenth century it was taken to Naples, where it became pizza.
Be that as it may, it is undeniable that we are facing one of the morsels of the Community par excellence, which can also be seen in Catalan and Balearic cuisine.
So that you understand us, a salty flatbread is a cousin of pizza, only here they are made smaller, elongated, round or square and are usually individual, except those that are made large to cut into portions.
Black pudding, longaniza and artichoke coca
They say it was a way of take advantage of the bread dough that had not ended up in a loaf. Others that it was the baker's lunch. There is no Valencian oven in which there are no cocas in its shop window. Ratatouille (the most common), sausage, peas and onion...
Well, it seems that such an endearing and popular snack has managed to transcend time and that, now, the chefs are giving it the importance it deserves. Because, what better than looking at the past, to continue advancing in the future?
You know a lot about this Pep Romany, who everyone knows as 'the king of cokes' . Since Pont Sec , his Dénia restaurant, has achieved pay tribute and give visibility to something that all Mediterranean people consider as ours.
romany wears the feeling of pride for cokes as a banner. But, why choose cocas as one of the central axes of the restaurant's proposal? “Traditional rice dishes have been recovering, but there was something that was not given the importance it deserved. The pizza had won the battle against the traditional coca from the Marina Alta and Safor” , in Pep's words collected in the Converses amb Pep section of his website.
Coca of figs
“In any restaurant you have a pizza menu and you can choose from several, why not do the same with cocas?”, He points out. And so they jumped into the pool. Because Pont Sec, in addition to being a restaurant, is a coke shop.
Tradition, territory and season. Once the proposal was decided, they began to investigate How were they going to present and elaborate them? and how could they engage two trades, that of baker and that of cook.
Cocas from Pont Sec are prepared with ecological flours and sourdough. For each coca that reaches the table, it takes a minimum of three days. The reason? what c With slow fermentation you can get all the flavor out of the cereal, something that endures in the gastronomic imagination of the region. Each creation goes through a wood oven where they control temperature and time. The result? Exceptional. And not only we say it, but all those who visit the restaurant.
Pep is a virtuoso of this world and he has given rise to a menu with around twenty different recipes and others that are seasonal and he divides them into 'Navy Traditionals' and 'New Proposals'. not missing flavors of always such as tomacat (pisto), prawn with bleda, anchovies and sangacho mollitas, boot sardines, peas... but also other equally tasty ones such as Iberian bacon, foie gras or sobrassada and honey, among others.
As if all this were not enough, Pep Romany launched Nyas Coca! to deliver at home in the municipality of Dénia.
Coca with spicy sobrassada, mozzarella, onion and zaatar
Another revolutionary has been the always great Ricard Camarena. To the infinity of restaurants and different proposals of his, he has added ** Cocaloka, an ephemeral restaurant on the ground floor of the Colón Market.**
“The project was planned for a year and a half. He wanted to make a product that would have easy social acceptance. A product in which one should not think too much, without requiring reflection from the diner” he tells us.
Burgers? Pizza? “I didn't see myself making pizzas, because I'm Valencian and I brag about it. Precisely there is a turning point with Valencian coca. I wanted to take the best of both and create a product with enough freedom that I didn't have to do one thing or the other." follow.
To get the dough for his 'neither coke nor pizza', he uses integral flour and sourdough. In this way he obtains a digestible dough, with good texture and structure to support the "the scoundrels that you want to place on it" says the chef.
In Cocaloka's menu there are always novelties. The recipes drink from what is there and it works in their other restaurants, from a cocaloka of pastrami, Chinese cabbage, cheddar and pickles to one of eggplant with hollandaise sauce, passing through another of Iberian secret, Peking sauce and Chinese onion.
Coca tomato but eco confit, mozzarella and basil
They are giving the initial proposal a second twist and "I will give it a third turn," says Camarena. They open every day of the week, with uninterrupted cooking and do not accept reservations.
Until a few days ago, Ricard had it very clear. “At the moment we are having fun, giving the city something that did not exist. Cocaloka has a certain closing date” , she told us.
However, during the first month more than 5,000 people passed through the restaurant and the chef has proposed something unusual until now: leave the continuity of the project in the hands of its clients through a vote.
Once all the votes are collected, they will communicate the closing date, if the no wins, or if it will continue and how it will do it, if the yes wins.
Finally, another of those who sweeps home is the Valencian Chema Soler. Yes, the one from The Gastro de Chema Y The ** Gastro Salvaje ,** two concepts that are successful in Madrid . Well, now he returns home, dividing his weeks between Madrid and Gandía. It has been precisely there, where this summer has opened ** Streetfood by Chema Soler .**
“Streetfood is a mix between the two restaurants in Madrid. It is a rogue and informal cuisine, but of course, being in my land, everything has a Mediterranean base, going back to my roots”, he tells Traveler.es. Thus, on the menu there are dishes such as mussels in green curry, prawn croquettes with bleda or squared rice with a twist.
Here they are traditional or with a rogue point
But if there is something that stands out in the letter, in its coke section. “Today, cocas are back in the limelight. They are taking center stage again. ”, He points out.
“Cokes are a super versatile product. For example, in the Streetfood menu we have a coca de dacsa pibil, which is still a Valencian taco. We have bet on make creative cocas, starting from a traditional base, but with that point of hooligan street cooking ”, he sentences.
Coca confit bacon, mushrooms and teriyaki, squid ink with crispy prawns and roasted vegetables, blanc and black...
The coke revolution is here to stay!
Their Valencian taco cocas