It was lovely to share time with my friends this saturday. You all seemed to love the food - for which I can't take any credit. I ordered lunch from Pachamama Catering, (+34 655 84 34 54) a small start up catering business based in Alhaurin el Grande, serving the inland area of Andalucia. Run by Anne Marie and Diana, it makes the kind of vegetarian food that makes you think you could convert and give up meat - its that tasty!
Like so many people who relocate here to Andalucia, Anne Marie and Diana have interesting histories from their home countries. Anne Marie is Dutch and comes from an advertising and media background whilst Diana is an architect from Argentina. Plenty of complements from friends about their food, inspired them to make a business out of it.
My experience was really positive. Diana arrived a few hours before lunch and I was wondering why. Well, its because they do a great deal of preparation on site, to truly personalise the menu and make it as fresh as possible. Below are details of my menu, as described to me by Anne Marie. Check out their web site for more details and prices.
*Pachamama Catering Heavenly Hummus (chickpea puree with garlic, lemon juice, olive oil and tahini, beautifully decorated and very tasty. Never met anyone who didn't like it!)
*Pachamama Catering Sweet Tomato Dip from Marrakech (tomatoes sweetened with honey, with a hint of cinnamon, slow cooked to reduce the liquid and intensify the tastes to an almost jam-like texture. One of the sweet/savoury taste combinations that the Moroccan cuisine is famous for. It might sounds like a weird combination, but it's delicious!)
*Pachamama Catering Falafel with Mojo Verde (going cross-cultural here: we're combining home-made israeli falafel, made from fresh chickpeas, with mojo verde, which is a tasty sauce, made with parsley, garlic, lemon juice, chilli pepper and olive oil from the canary islands, that is as prolific over there as ketchup is elsewhere in the world)
*Pachamama Catering Aubergines with Mint, Chilli and Yoghurt - you'll love them: fried slices of smokey, creamy aubergine, sprinkled with a sherry vinegar dressing with garlic, then a pinch of chilli and mint and topped with greek yoghurt.)
*Pachamama Catering Quinoa Tabouleh (i'm sure you had tabouleh before, but never like this: instead of cous cous, we use quinoa, which is the grain that the incas have been eating for centuries and is still the number one staple in the andes: it's got a rich taste, a lovely texture and is super nutritious as well. we like our tabouleh very green, with handsful of freshly chopped parsley, mint and coriander, and add lots of finely chopped peppers, pepinos, peas and tomatoes, and finish it with a lovely dressing with lemon juice and olive oil)
*Pachamama Catering Carrot Salad with Coriander (and a bit of roasted cumin seeds, not too much, but just enough to balance the sweetness of the carrots and the freshness of the coriander with a bit of a spicy smokey taste. we make a beautiful dressing with garlic, lemon juice and olive oil to bring out the best of all the tastes)
*Pachamama Catering Ovenroasted Beet-root / Mild Onion Salad, garnished with Yoghurt and Poppy Seed (beet-root might sound extremely boring, but not if you ovenroast them. i'm sure you know the difference between the taste of a fried pepper and an ovenroasted pepper. the same magical transformation happens when you put beet-roots in the oven! their taste becomes much deeper and sweeter. combined with mild onions, parsley, and a dressing with garlic, lemon juice and olive oil, this salad not only gives a wonderful flash of deep purple on your buffet, it also tastes delicious, especially with the creamy greek yoghurt)
All served with Moroccan flat bread.
catering for Marbella, Coin, Alhaurin el Grande, and further afield across Malaga Province and Andalucia.
Pachamama Catering,
