In Catalonia, the Summer Solstice is a celebration with fireworks and parties taking place all across the region. San Joan is a public holiday that marks the start of Summer. This is a traditional dish (vegan version) to enjoy!

What I love most about this date is the rituals behind it – There are said to be three symbols of Sant Joan – fire, water and herbs. Fire symbolises purity, and for this reason fires are lit. Water symbolises healing. Therefore, on this night, in some areas people bathe in the sea. Herbs symbolise remedy and some claim that for the night of Sant Joan their healing qualities are enhanced one hundred times over. These are often picked on the night of Sant Joan.

If you are in Barcelona, you will not miss any of the festivities, as people gather for parties and the beach comes alive with people meeting up to enjoy Nit del Foc (Night of fire).

This is a typical traditional dish that is served. I found a vegan recipe version and would like to share it with you. Wnjoy!

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Recipe: Vegan Coca De San Joan

Ingredients

• 150 ml. Vegetable milk (natural and unsweetened)
• 270 gr. bread flour
• 50 gr. of sugar
• 35 ml. mild olive oil or sunflower
• 20 gr. fresh yeast
• Zest of half a lemon peel
• 1 cc of orange flower water
• Sugar, pine nuts and candied fruit for garnish

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Meanwhile, grate the lemon peel and mix with sugar. Mix the vegetable milk, oil and orange blossom water and dilute the yeast in the mixture.
2. Sift the flour and add the sugar and lemon zest. Stir until it is well mixed. Then add a little liquid little while we started mixing and kneading. First it will be a little difficult, because the dough is very sticky. When the dough is no longer sticking to the hands, use the counter to continue working on it. It is to be a thin and mostly very elastic dough. When ready, we will make a ball and put them in a greased bowl. Seal it with plastic wrap and let rest a few hours.
3. After that time, the dough will have risen a lot. We are taken from the bowl and we had a few times from hand to hand, gently, to restore the ball shape. Place the dough over the vellum (which use baking) and extend it with the roller until a thickness of about 1 cm. and an oval shape. Let the Coca stand for 30 min. before inserting it into the oven.
4. When coca has rested, we will spread over white sugar and pine nuts to taste. You can also add pastry cream and / or candied fruit. Let it cook in the oven for about 15 min. 180 °.