The gastronomic event will take place from 12 to 26 May in different restaurants in the city, which have created a special ‘coca’ for the occasion. From 12 to 26 May, València will host the first edition of the Ruta de les Coques by Ambar, the biannual event that seeks to highlight the value of traditional coques. Thirteen Valencian restaurants from different neighbourhoods will be taking part, all of which have designed their own ‘coca’ for the occasion.  The project, led by the hotelier Andrés García and the journalist Iris Montoya, has the brewery Ambar as its main sponsor and will bring Valencians a wide variety of creative ‘cocas’, representative of local gastronomy and its evolution. For two weeks, the public will be able to visit each of the participating establishments to try their recipe and, in addition, vote for their favourite through social networks. Those with the most votes will become the three finalists, while the winning ‘coca’ will be announced on the last day of the route.

The participating coques

Thirteen restaurants are taking part in this I Ruta de les Coques by Ambar. Some of them have already had or already have coques on their menus and others, on the other hand, are daring to create them for the first time. On this occasion, the areas chosen for the route are Ruzafa, Cánovas, Ciutat Vella and Cabañal. “We want the event to grow little by little and in future editions we will extend it to other Valencian neighbourhoods,” says Andrés García.

Starting with Ruzafa, the first participant is Culture, the Italian-Argentinean who will be preparing the orange coca -made with paprika-, with a sauce based on ricotta, pepper and chives, porchetta, dots of chimichurri and rocket. La Chata Ultramarinos, meanwhile, is participating with La Coqueta, a coca made with melted sobrassada from the village, pickled pink onion, torrezno popcorn and parmesan with mistela syrup. Zalamero will be in charge of preparing the vegetarian coca with striped aubergine, ricotta cheese, honey-mistela and sriracha. Bambar will offer a smoked sardine coca, with flame-grilled vegetables, pickled onion and titaina mousse. Beirut Ruzafa coca will be shawarma with marinated chicken, Beirut hummus, fresh tomato, pickled spring onion, feta cheese, pomegranate molasses, homemade kebab sauce and zaatar, the blend of Mediterranean herbs from the other side. Cytrus, the last one in the area, will participate with the low temperature cod confit coca with caramelised onion, katsuobushi, southern olive and burnt aioli.

As for the Cánovas area, its representative will be A Huevo, which will have the normal coca and the gluten-free coca. However, with the same ingredients: León black pudding, quail eggs, apple, pickled onion and piparras. The dough will be made by La Tahona del Abuelo, with whom they wanted to collaborate. In Ciutat Vella, meanwhile, Borgia -one of the recent openings in the city- and Alenar will also form part of the route. The former’s will be a coca with a base of Béarnaise, poached onion and topped with a López anchovy. The latter’s, on the other hand, will feature low-temperature lamb, to which pine honey, piparra, candied orange, aniseed and sweet potato purée will be added.

From the Cabañal and the port area, restaurants such as Namúa, whose coca will be tuna marinated with soya and citrus fruits, guacamole, acorn-fed Iberian bacon, poached quail egg and seaweed. There will also be a Mexican among the participants: Clementina, who will take a risk with mole poblano, chicken, sesame and red onion coca. Fets, meanwhile, will make a flame-baked coca with figatell stewed in a pot, quince jelly, aioli and grated tomato. Finally, Barbaritats will prepare a Norcilla coca, with black pudding paste, sautéed onion with sultanas, fried walnuts and sweet piparra rings.

The route

The aim of the route, according to its organisers, is to bring a product with such a long history back into the gastronomic imagination. ‘Cocas’ –coques in Valencian-, typical of the Marina area, “had been relegated to the background after years of tradition and the route seeks to enhance their value”, adds Andrés García. What’s more, it will be held every two years, as the project is planned to take place at the beginning and end of the year.

And what about how it works? La Ruta de les Coques by Ambar will run for two weeks. From 12 May, anyone who wants to try the creations of this edition will be able to go to the restaurants and order their special ‘coca’ plus a tercio of Ambar -in its different varieties- for 10 euros. It can also be paired with a glass of CDA Corona de Aragón or Anayón de Grandes Vinos wine, another of the event’s sponsors. At the same time, there will be a competition for the Best Creation of the Ruta de les Coques by Ambar. From 12 to 22 May, the public will be able to vote for their favourite ‘coca’ through the route’s Instagram profile. The three most voted recipes will go through to the final, which will take place on Monday 26th. There, an expert jury will be in charge of selecting the gold of the first edition.

The participating ‘cocas’ will no longer be available at the end of the event. With the exception of the one that wins first prize, which will remain on the menu for several more weeks. “We want people to enjoy them for a fortnight and leave wanting more”, García explains. The aim is to maintain the expectation and for this biannual event to become a gastronomic event of reference in the city. For this reason, the Ruta de les Coques by Ambar is already thinking about and working on future editions. In all of them, the focus will be on the product and tradition. Because rescuing symbols of local culture is what allows us to travel through the gastronomic history of the Valencian Community.

On pairing

As in life, there are different tastes to suit different tastes, and the same goes for ‘les coques’. These delicious creations with tasty ingredients and, in many cases, with a powerful flavour, find a perfect pairing in the different varieties of Cervezas Ambar.

The more classic ones, who enjoy a less contumacious ‘coca’ in flavour, will be able to accompany it harmoniously with Ambar Especial. They will refresh their palate with every mouthful with the bitterness provided by the freshly ground hops that made it the best beer in the world at the last World Beer Challenge with a perfect score of 100/100. If the ‘coca’ you choose is a bit of a ‘betrayal’ of your diet, you can make up for it with Ambar Triple Zero (zero alcohol, zero sugar and less calories than a broccoli), or if you prefer it, you can also have it in a toasted version.

For those ‘cocas’ full of flavour and strength on the palate, Ambar Morena or Ambar Export will become your allies. The former, a 100% malt beer gently baked for 24 hours, designed for daily consumption and with a nutty aroma, spicy background and slight bitterness. The second, for calmly accompanying the most intense flavours of ‘cocas’ with cheese or cold meats, intense sensations thanks to its three malts, double fermentation period and slow maturation in the cellar. The most daring will experiment with the flavours and contrasts of spicy ‘cocas’, also made with vegetables or fruit, even sweet, for which two beers are proposed: Ambar IPA extra bitter or the beer from the Ambiciosas collection, Ambar Montañesa, brewed with thyme and holm oak honeys, hops and freshly ground aromatic plants. Fermented with lactic and wild bacteria (lactococus lactis) and our lager yeast.

About Ambar

Founded in 1900, Cervezas Ambar is a small Spanish brewery renowned for its excellent quality that maintains the spirit of a family business in constant evolution. For more than 124 years, beers are housed in one of the oldest breweries in Spain, which today coexists with one of the most modern breweries located in Zaragoza, on the banks of the Ebro River.

 About Grandes Vinos

Founded in 1997, Grandes Vinos is a winery in Cariñena (Zaragoza), the only land in the world that gives its name to a grape variety. A territory that treasures ancient vineyards at different altitudes, a thousand-year-old stony soil and a strong wind, the cierzo, which gives personality to the wine.

More info: @larutacoques_

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Report by ‘24/7 Valencia’ team

Article copyright ‘24/7 Valencia’