Algeria: Cocas - Turnovers with Pepper Filling

More pastry! And I can not complain, as I served them up my partner exclaimed "I love all the pastry we're having at the moment" - and me too. Not necessarily the healthiest thing to eat a lot of, but oh-so-delicious. 

I learned, as I was researching cocas, that these delicious pastries actually originate in Catalonia, Spain. However, in Catalonia there are a variety of different options and it is important not to confuse them with the Algerian cocas of which there are only variety: that which is stuffed with frita, a combination of onions, peppers, and tomatoes. 

Fresh out the oven. 

I do not love tomatoes. In fact, I think they are vile. I am not a fan. But, in the name of experimentation and the project, I decided I would try them. To be honest, they're cooked and I feel like cooked tomatoes are not as revolting as raw tomatoes, so it's not all bad. 

The cocas were simply put, divine. You sautee the onions and peppers gently with paprika, and then add the skinned and chopped tomatoes and let that gently simmer away until it becomes this delicious pile of veges. Once they're done you scoop them up and plop them into the middle of their pastry, case them up, egg wash them, and bake them. Easy, simple, yummy. I will make these again, for sure. 

Gently letting the onions cook.

Cutting out the circles in the pastry

All wrapped up and ready to bake. 

Ingredients
Makes 8-10 depending on the size

For the filling:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 100g onions, finely sliced
• 1/2 red pepper, thinly sliced into 2-3cm strips (you can substitute orange pepper if you have it available!)
• Salt and pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 2 small ripe tomatoes

For the cocas:

• 1 ready rolled puff pastry sheet
• 1 egg, separated

Instructions

1. Heat the oil in a frying pan over a low heat and fry the garlic and onion for about 10 minutes. 
2. Add peppers, salt and pepper and sprinkle the paprika over the top. Simmer for a low heat for another 10 minutes. 
3. Dip the tomatoes into boiling water and carefully peel the skins off. Dice them up and add them to the pan. Cook over low, uncovered, for about 20 minutes. Stir regularly to prevent ingredients from sticking.
4.  Preheat oven to 180 C. On a floured surface, roll out your pastry to about the 1.5mm. Shop bought pre-rolled pastry is still too thick so make sure that you roll it out!
5. Use a bowl or glass and cut out the pastry into circles with a diameter of about 10cm. 
6. Place about a tablespoon of the mixture into the middle of the pastry circles.
7. Coat the edges of the pastry circles with egg white, then fold the pastry into half circles. Pinch the edges together using a fork to seal them well.
8. Pop the cocas onto a pre-greased baking tray and coat them with egg yolk.
9. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes, until golden brown.