Open Pie with Roasted Peppers and Aubergines (Coca de Recapte)

Another Recipe that's requires a bit of time. The dough needs to rise for two hours and the veg needs to cook for at least 45 minutes.
I started just after 3pm and didn't get the final product in the oven until after 7pm. I wasn't cooking the whole time, but the preparation took a bit of time also. After I had finished making the dough, I put the vegetables in the oven, unless you prepare this the day before, I wouldn't recommend waiting til the dough has risen to continue with the next steps, but I suppose it depends on how much time you have on your hands!
I'm not sure how successful this recipe turned out, for me it tasted very good, but looked nothing like the original recipe picture. I did however do a bit of research, and found that mine looks like everybody Else's on the world wide web, besides the fact that mine failed to rise around the edges, and brown. This may be because the bread recipe I used was gluten free, or perhaps I failed to mix it properly, since most of the mixing and kneading was done by the good old Kenwood mixer, rather than by hand.....
You could really taste the oil, in the bread, without it being to overwhelming. But once you got stuck in it was most enjoyable!

This recipe serves 8 as a starter.

What you need for the pastry dough:

400g strong white bread flour

2 tbsp olive oil, plus a little extra

2tsp dried active yeast (or 7g 'easy bake' yeast)

1/4 tsp sugar

tsp salt

Pasty Dough Recipe;

1. Put the flour in a large bowl, sprinkle over a teaspoon of salt and add the oil.

2. Put the dried yeast in a glass with the sugar, add about 100ml warm water and stir well.
      

3.When it begins to froth, pour it into the flour, pour it into the flour, then gradually pour in a further 100ml or so of warm water, stirring it in first with a fork, then with your hand.

         'When I did this it did not froth, it just bubbled rather unhappily in the center. Maybe my water wasn't hot enough? After a while of waiting, I just made do with my sad bubbles and added it to the mixture..' 'I didn't uses my hand, I cheated and used the Kenwood..'

4. Add just enough water to have a soft ball of dough that sticks together.

5. Knead for ten minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic, adding water by the tablespoon if too dry and a little flour if to sticky.
          'I found I had to add A LOT of flour, I couldn't touch the dough without it sticking to my fingers.'

6. Pour about half a tablespoon of oil into the bowl and turn the dough over in the oil to coat it well so that a dry crust does not form when it rises.

7. Cover the bowl with clingfilm and leave the dough to rise in a warm place for one to two hours until doubled in volume.

For the topping;

2 aubergines (about 500g)
I used 3 aubergines, as 3 came in the packet and I didn't want to waste it..

3 red peppers
Or yellow, or green....

5 tbsp olive oil

2 large onions, peeled and chopped

5 tbsp olive oil

2 tomatoes (about 200g), peeled and chopped

1 tsp sugar

Topping Recipe;

Aubergines

1. Put the aubergines and peppers on a sheet of foil on a baking tray.

Peppers!

2. Prick the aubergines in a few places with a pointed knife and put the tray in an oven preheated to 180C/gas mark 4, for 45 minutes or longer.

3. Take the peppers out when they are soft and blistered, put them in one or two plastic bags and seal.
        'I wasn't sure why they asked you to put it into a plastic bag at first, but I think its because it causes the skin to loosen making them easier to peel.'

4. Leave for about 10 minutes, then peel them, remove the seeds and cut them into small squares of about 1.5cm.

The peppers were very easy to peel. It was a lot like cutting liver...

5. Take the aubergines out of the oven when they feel soft.

6. Peel the aubergines, put them in a colander and press slightly to let the juices drain away.
  'Give them a really good squeeze as the juices are very bitter.'

7. Then cut them into small sized pieces.

8. Mix the aubergines and the peppers together, dress with salt and and two tablespoon's of the oil.

For the sauce;

1. Fry the onions in the remaining three tablespoons of oil in a frying-pan over a low heat, until soft, cover to begin with and stirring often.

2. Add the tomatoes, sugar and some salt and cook over a medium high heat, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid has evaporated.
   'My onion's and tomatoes weren't very 'saucy,' they were still quit solid. At this point I was rushing a bit so I just left them as they were..

When all of the above is done and the dough has risen....

1. Punch the risen dough down, knead for a couple of minutes, and divide into two balls.

2. Roll them out thinly on a floured surface into oblongs or ovals of 28x38cm.

3. Brush two large baking sheet with oil.

4. Lift up each sheet of dough by wrapping it on the rolling pin and unwrapping it on the baking sheet.

5. Spread the onion and tomato sauce evenly over the dough, then dot with the peppers and aubergines.

My chunky sauce..

Not really dotted, more swamped with peppers and aubergines..

6. Bake both cocas in the preheated oven at 180C/gas mark 4 for about 30 minutes or until the crust around the edges is crisp and brown.

This is the final product, I cut them up into easier slices. As you can see they haven't really browned, but still good!