Balearic pizza (coca trempó)

This rustic classic was traditionally made on bread-making day as a way to use up extra dough and yeast, while any left-over late summer vegetables from the local ‘trempó’ salad were used as topping.

Credit: Rochelle Eagle

• serves

  6

• prep

  30 minutes

• cook

  20 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 180 ml (6 fl oz) lukewarm water
• 2½ tsp dry active yeast
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for greasing
• 1/2 tsp caster (superfine) sugar
• 350 g (12½ oz) plain (all-purpose) flour, plus extra for dusting
• ½ tsp fine sea salt
• 1 tbsp softened lard or olive oil
• freshly ground black pepper

Trempó (chopped salad)

• ½ white onion, diced
• ½ granny smith apple, peeled, cored and diced
• juice of ¼ lemon
• ½ small green bullhorn pepper, diced
• ½ small red capsicum (bell pepper), diced
• ½ small yellow capsicum (bell pepper), diced
• 1 vine-ripened tomato, diced
• 1¾ tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• ¾ tbsp sherry vinegar
• ½ tsp cumin seeds, toasted and ground
• ¼ tsp sweet pimentòn
• sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper
• 1½ marjoram or oregano sprigs, leaves picked
• crusty bread, to serve
• Grandma’s smashed olives (recipe here), to serve (optional)

Resting time: 45 minutes

Instructions

1. Line a 25 x 38 cm (10 x 15¼ in) baking tray with baking paper and lightly grease with oil.
2. Combine the water, yeast, extra-virgin olive oil and the sugar in a small jug and set aside to activate for 5–8 minutes at room temperature. Place the flour and salt in a large bowl. Once the yeast mixture starts to froth, slowly mix it into the flour until a rough dough forms. Transfer the dough to a well-floured work surface and knead for 5 minutes or until you have a smooth but firm dough. Place the dough on the prepared tray, cover with a clean and ever-so-slightly damp tea towel and leave to rest at room temperature for 15–20 minutes, until it has risen by one-third.
3. On a lightly floured work surface, roll the dough into a 6 mm (¼ in) thick rectangle that’s roughly the same size as your baking tray. Carefully transfer the dough to the tray and gently push the dough to the corners of the tray. Cover with the tea towel and set aside to rest for 30 minutes.
4. Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F) fan-forced.
5. Make the trempó by placing the white onion in a small bowl of iced water and combining the apple and lemon juice in another bowl. Set aside for 10 minutes, then drain. Combine the pepper, capsicums, tomato, oil, vinegar, cumin and pimentòn in a serving bowl, then add the onion and apple. Season with salt and pepper, to taste and scatter over the marjoram or oregano leaves. Set aside until the dough is ready to bake.
6. Lightly brush the dough with the lard or oil and arrange the trempó mix in an even layer over the dough. Transfer to the oven and bake for 20–25 minutes, until golden and cooked through. Remove from the oven and season generously with freshly ground black pepper.
7. Cut the pizza into random-sized pieces and eat straight off the tray, or take it down to the beach for a snack between swims.

 

Recipes and images from Islas: Food of the Spanish Islands by Emma Warren, Smith Street Books, RRP $49.99

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.