What characteristic makes the coca dough versatile in Alicante cuisine?
It serves as a foundational base for everything from savory filled pastries to slightly sweet breads.
The term *coca* in Alicante refers to a versatile, foundational bread or flatbread dough, not a singular dish, which allows it to cross sweet and savory culinary boundaries. This adaptability is key to its tradition. On the savory front, it is used to create items like *Coca amb tonyina*, essentially a thin, tuna-filled empanada, or *Coca de Verduras*, which uses the crispy base for a topping of fresh vegetables. On the sweeter side, it appears in forms like *Coca de mollitas*, which, despite sometimes being served drizzled with chocolate, traditionally leans toward a salty profile made simply from flour, oil, and salt. This duality in application showcases the dough's wide versatility.
