Flat Bread Dough with Eggplant, Red Peppers and Sardines

Sift the flour and salt into a large bowl. Add yeast and water and then work the ingredients together using your fingers. Flour a large chopping board liberally to prevent any sticking, and place the dough onto it. Fold the dough in from the edges and then knead outwards. Keep turning the dough and working it evenly. Kneading the dough requires a lot of effort and should be done for about 20 minutes in order to activate the yeast and the gluten in the flour. Really lean into your kneading, stretching the dough away from you with the heel of your hands and continually turning it so that it is worked evenly, in all directions. Leave it in a warm place to rise for about 3 hours.

Then add the Spanish olive oil and work the dough again. Leave it to rest for another 30 minutes. While the dough is rising, prepare the topping. Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF. Arrange the red peppers and eggplant on an oiled baking tray, drizzle with Spanish olive oil and bake in the oven for about 30 minutes until soft. When ready, remove from the oven and leave covered for 20 minutes. Then peel the eggplants and peppers, removing their seeds, and cut them into strips.

Roll out the dough on a well-floured surface, using a lightly floured rolling-pin. The consistency should be stretchy and elastic. Roll out quite thinly and about the shape of a baking sheet. Transfer the dough to the baking sheet and cut off any excess. Place the onion slices, diced tomatoes, eggplant and red pepper strips on top of the dough. Drizzle with Spanish olive oil and bake in the oven (still at 180ºC/350ºF) between 20-30 minutes. Ten minutes before the end of baking time, arrange the sardines on top. Once the coca is cooked, remove from the oven and serve it warm.

Preparation by: Sonia Fuentes/©ICEX.