Cocas — Algeria

Cocas is a savory pie made of two sheets of puff pastry layered around a filling called frita, a mixture of peppers, tomatoes and onions cooked down together until soft and slightly caramelized. The pastry seals the filling completely, and the pie is baked until the layers puff and turn golden, then cut into squares or wedges for serving. This version is reported from Algeria, where it is closely tied to everyday eating: it is carried as a portable snack, served at picnics, and appears on tables during Ramadan alongside other dishes meant to be shared and eaten by hand. Related pies are also described in Spanish cuisine, reflecting a long history of exchange across the western Mediterranean. To prepare it, peppers, tomatoes and onions are finely chopped and cooked slowly in oil over low heat until they collapse into a soft, jammy mixture, seasoned with salt, pepper and a little paprika, then cooled completely before use. One sheet of puff pastry is rolled out and laid in a tray, spread with the cooled filling, and a second sheet is laid on top and sealed at the edges. The pie is brushed with beaten egg and baked in a hot oven until both layers of pastry are puffed and deeply golden. What identifies this pie among other stuffed pastries is the frita filling itself, cooked down until soft rather than left in distinct pieces, and the two full sheets of puff pastry that enclose it on both sides rather than a single folded crust. Some versions add tuna, olives or a hard-boiled egg to the frita, but the base of slow-cooked peppers, tomatoes and onions between two pastry layers is constant.