Food & Drink

Coca with Candied Red Peppers

With its full-flavors and Mediterranean palate, Spanish cuisine is both elegant and rustic—and it’s easy to recreate at home. Take, for example, this recipe for coca con pimientos rojos caramelizado (Spanish bread topped with candied red peppers) from The New Spanish Table by Anya von Bremzen. ¡Delicioso!

Photo © Susan Goldman

Coca with Candied Red Peppers

Makes 1 large coca; serves 12 as a tapa

For sipping wine and watching the crowds go by, few bars in Spain are more enjoyable than Vinya del Senyor in Barcelona. Considering its location—right in the shadow of the fourteenth-century Santa Maria del Mar church, in the city’s most touristy area—the offerings are truly outstanding: interesting wines by the glass, first-rate cheeses, boutique charcuterie. The most curious and addictive thing on the menu is the coca (a Spanish-Mediterranean pizza), baked with a Mallorcan topping of sweetened red peppers that are dusted with confectioners’ sugar. The result is a delicious, intriguing cross between a dessert tart and a savory pizza. And there is nothing I’d rather eat with a glass of crisp, chilled rosé.

Because I’d sooner hang out sipping wine than slave in the kitchen, I’ve adapted this recipe to use store-bought pizza dough and roasted peppers from a jar—with excellent results. (For best results buy the dough from a pizzeria.) If the confectioners’ sugar topping seems too unorthodox, feel free to omit it—but not without trying it first!

2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for brushing the coca
1 medium-size white onion, quartered and thinly sliced
4 cups thinly sliced drained roasted peppers in oil (from four 14- to 16-ounce jars)
5 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar, preferably aged, or best-quality red wine vinegar
Coarse salt (kosher or sea)
All-purpose flour, for dusting the rolling pin
1 pound store-bought pizza dough, thawed if frozen
Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting the coca

1. Heat the 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add the onion and cook until limp but not browned, 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the roasted peppers and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring. Add the granulated sugar, vinegar, and 2 tablespoons water and stir until the sugar dissolves. Cover the skillet, reduce the heat to low, and cook until the liquid is reduced, about 10 minutes, stirring from time to time. Season with salt to taste and let the pepper mixture cool completely.

2. Place an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 450°F. Lightly brush a 17-by 11-inch baking sheet with olive oil.

3. Lightly flour a work surface. Using a floured rolling pin, roll out the dough so it is roughly as large as the baking sheet. Transfer it to the oiled baking sheet and brush it with olive oil. Spread the filling evenly on top.

4. Bake the coca on the center rack until it is light golden and baked through, 18 to 20 minutes. Let the coca cool to warm (or make the coca ahead, which actually adds to its flavor; reheat it gently before serving). Cut the coca into rectangles (I use sturdy 28kitchen scissors for this), dust it very lightly with confectioners’ sugar, and serve at once.

With over 300 recipes from taberna owners and Michelin-starred chefs, farmers and fishermen, winemakers and bakers, Anya von Bremzen collects the best of Spanish cuisine.