Special dressing today: Gerry Rafferty and his Baker Street... what a great song! Feeling melancholic? Turn player on ;DListen carefully to this: Pizza wasn't invented by Romans!!! Well, yes, kind of... but where did they find inspiration? Here in Catalonia!!! He, he, I'm true and honest here. This is what I was told when I was at last year's Alimentaria! Professional cooks and chefs said so... why do I have to put their words in doubt?
Hey Italians... I want to hear your voices!!!! Will you let a catalan say so? :D
The story starts when Romans came over here to colonize... among other things that would make this post too long, they "shared" their culture and civilization with us but they also learned some "small little things" from us, such us: COCA DE RECAPTE. Or, the old 0.1 Pizza version.
Before and after the oven.
In plain words, this is some bread with anything that's handy and seasonal: veggies, fruits, and fish/meat on top. Instead of making it round, we give it a rectangular shape... no grated cheese on top ;D, but mainly the Coca/Pizza is the same. To make this one I used My garden tomatoes (late ones... took ages to turn ripe), some seasonal sweet grapes, roasted aubergine (eggplant) and red pepper and also salty preserved anchovies.... Mmmmm think about the contrasts!
My first try wasn't good enough but taught me some tips that I will share with you in this, my 3rd try.
See what I mean? Too large to fit in the oven tray. The dough makes it for 4 rectangular pieces and here you see half the dough. We want to get a thin dough layer, so that it gets crusty. The oven time wasn't enough (15 to 18 minutes) I had it for nearly 30 minutes and got what I wanted! Oh, and also, this last time I bought the flour and yeast at my street baker's!!! He is supposed to be the best at it, right?
And to the recipe!
Ingredients for 4 servings: There's some ingredients you need to have already prepared in your fridge, such as the roasted peppers and eggplants, also a can of salty anchovies, some white sweet grapes and 2 ripe tomatoes.
For the dough: 250 grs of flour, 60 grs of extra virgin olive oil, 5 grs of salt, 8 grs of yeast, 120 ml of mineral water.
And also: Olive oil, sweet red paprika, salt and black ground pepper.
- In a big bowl, pour the flour (use a colander to have it loose and without lumps). Make a small hole in the center and pour the yeast, the water, the salt and the 60 grs of olive oil. If you dissolve the yeast in hot water before adding it, will ease the process.
- Knead the dough well and let it rest at room temperature for 30 to 45 minutes. Cover it with a clean kitchen cloth.
- Get all ingredients ready and sprinkle with flour the space you will use to work with the dough.
- Preheat oven 190ºC to 200ºC.
- Use the roller pin to get the shape you want. And prepare a dressing with some olive oil, some paprika and the black ground pepper. I'm giving you no size... just make it to fit your taste. Use the dressing to brush the thin dough and just then, place all ingredients on top.
- Once decorated, pour a bit of extra virgin olive oil on top and a pinch of salt.
- Place in the middle rack of your oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes... keep an eye on it!
In my 3rd try I also brushed some of the leftover dressing on top.
Enjoy it :D
This is my entry for Ben's I Love Baking monthly Event :D. You have a whole month ahead to send him your baked dishes ;D
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