The greatest week of Alicante begins, ‘Les Fogueres de Sant Joan’ begins; the most emblematic and beloved festival by the people of Alicante where gunpowder, fire, music, party and monuments flood the city and make it more beautiful if possible. If you have never been, we strongly recommend you to come and experience it from the inside. Of course, to talk about these festivities without referring to its most traditional gastronomy, the coca amb tonyina accompanied by bacores (brevas) for the day of the plantà, is not to experience them in the same way.
From June 19 to 24, mascletaes, foc, festa, parades, ninots, and much more will be all over the streets of the city that will literally vibrate.
However, as we pointed out at the beginning, today we want to share with you the recipe of the ‘Coca amb Tonyina’, gastronomic symbol par excellence of the Alicante festival.
They say that when it will taste best is when you walk through the streets of Alicante visiting the Bonfires or while waiting for the mascletà to begin.
Either way we wish you unes bones festes!!! Here is the recipe:
Ingredients for the dough:
500 gr of wheat flour
200 ml of olive oil
A teaspoon of salt
50 ml of dry aniseed
150 ml of white wine
Beaten egg to paint the dough
Ingredients for the stuffing:
Olive oil
Half an onion
30 gr of pine nuts
250 gr of flank tuna or belly tuna
Salt
Pepper
1- Preparing the stuffing:
We put in a large frying pan a splash of oil and heat. Brown the pine nuts, remove them and set aside. Cut the onion into thin strips and put it together with the tuna, salt and pepper over low heat for half an hour or when we see that it is well poached. When it is ready, remove the remaining oil and add the pine nuts. We are going to let drain the oil during enough time until it does not drip anything. We reserve this oil for the dough.
2- Preparing the dough:
In a saucepan, heat the oil left over from the sofrito and fill it up to 250 ml together with the wine and the dry aniseed until it boils. In a bowl we sift the flour, add the salt and make a hole in which we incorporate the oil mixture little by little. Knead by hand.
Divide the dough into two equal halves, for the base (a little thinner) and for the top. We extend them in a rectangular shape. We put the base on a tray with baking paper so that it does not get small and cut the leftovers.
3- Assembling the Coca amb Tonyina:
With the cold sofrito spread a layer on the base of the coca. Carefully place the lid on top and close the edges with your hand and then flatten to finish closing with a fork. Brush the dough with the beaten egg and prick the dough so that it breathes. Preheat the oven to 190º and bake the coca for about 40 minutes, making sure that the surface does not get too toasted.
Remove from the oven and let it cool completely.
The Alicante tradition is to taste it during the night of the plantà de las Hogueras (June 19) accompanied by bacores (brevas) and a glass of cold mistela.
Enjoy it!
