"Mañana" - The Andalucia Guide & Diary

Great tapas are back in Marbella's old town

Anyone that follows my blog occasionally will know that there are actually a few things I like more than a tree-hugging hike through the mountains; and one of those is food! My extra kilos are a testament to my dedication to finding good tapas bars here in southen Spain.
I was disappointed when Tragaluz closed down in Marbella’s Casco Antiguo (old town); I thought it was yet another example of quality failing to succeed in Marbella, a town that sometimes seems a little too eager to dedicate itself to mediocrity when it comes to classic Spanish bar cuisine.

Friday night saw me drinking some excellent wine and enjoying great tapas once again in old town, well into the small hours.  I was in a bar called Taberna la Niña del Pisto, from “casa el pisto”, the family that owns Taberna San Miguel, in Cordoba that dates back some 140 years.

You can find this relative newcomer to the old town scene, in the narrow street, calle San Lázaro, opposite a once favourite bar, the famous Bar El Estrecho (which on a separate note, I think has gone down hill).

Taberna la Niña del Pisto is in a newly renovated space in an old building, offering charm with its traditional decor, framed prints and photos and ironwork lamps – however, like so many places here, the lighting is pretty intense, not unlike eating on a floodlit football pitch, but having a few glasses of wine takes the edge of that and as soon as you order the food, you’ll have a welcome distraction.

We enjoyed classic tapas like ensaladilla rusa as well as specialities from Cordoba, including their superb salmorejo (this is a cold soup of garlic, olive oil and tomato like gazpacho, but differs in texture and flavour as amongst other things it has more bread in it – it’s topped with Iberian ham and boiled egg) as well as a fresh cod dish served with the bar’s signature pisto, a sort of ratatouille.

Service is swift and friendly, again something you don’t find everywhere here and the dishes are clearly freshly prepared in house.  The wine and beer list is excellent, with a selection of the normal brands as well as artisan beers and the gran reserver of the more mainstream brand Cruzcampo that has a rich golden colour and distinctive refreshing taste that is nothing like the standard version!

(This is why my new year’s resolution of becoming a leaning version is not yet working...)

http://www.casaelpisto.com/

C/. San Lázaro, local 2

Casco Antiguo

Marbella

Tel: 633 32 00 22

Conil de la Frontera - a day on the beach

Sand, sea and....splendid seafood at my all time favourite venta, Fontanilla...

Santiago Del Calvario Restaurante, C/ Calvario 40 29120 Alhaurin El Grande, Tel: 952 499 057 ("Santiagos")

Santiago Del Calvario Restaurante, or simply "Santiago's" as regulars refer to it, is a real gem.  Tucked away in Alhaurin el Grande's old town, the restaurant combines superb cuisine, friendly, professional yet informal service with really great prices.  Natalie & Allen have worked exceptionally hard to build a great reputation, which attracts clients locally, and from the coast ( 30 mins away) as well as from further afield.  For the past few years a new institution has started at the restaurant - the wednesday curry night!  Well, this is no "spit-n-sawdust" curry night in a local pub, but a exploration of international cuisine, each week a different nation or region is explored. The other week, we enjoyed the Lombok Menu - the romantic Indonesian island, east of Bali.  Wow, what a night!  Not only is the fixed menu great value, but the courses just kept coming! Take a look at the menu below...
As well as something "piquante" on a wednesday night, you can enjoy a classy traditional Sunday Roast and flamenco in the evening, or why not just go al a carte during the week. 
Santiagos in Alhaurin has very much been part of my life here in Southern Spain. I was seduced by the romantic yet understated Moroccan interior design that Natalie has created. In fact Santiago's was the place that inspired me to decorate my country place in the same style - Natalie's dad & I caught a ferry to Morocco 6 years ago and filled a rental car with furniture and accessories for the same store that Natalie used - but there's a whole story there I don't have room to cover here!

I've been a customer ever since and unlike so many restaurants where standards decline over time or experiences can be unpredicatable, each time I've had a great time and eaten exceptionally well at Santiago Del Calvario, Alhaurin el Grande. In fact Rafa is now convinced that its not true that Brits can't cook - he says it's some of the best food he's had and without all the pomp and ceremony and crazy prices that seems to sadly go hand in hand with fine dining here in Malaga province.

There is a charming Andalucian patio open in summer, with fountain, subtle evening lightening amongst the fruit trees and a beautiful al fresco bar,

So, there's my plug for Natalie & Allen. So, go and try Santiagos yourself.

Santiago Del Calvario Restaurante,
C/ Calvario 40
29120 Alhaurin El Grande
Tel: 952 499 057

Follow the signs when you enter the town. There is street parking and a car park near by.

Coin & Alhaurin el Grande - from the gloriously kitch and dramatic cinematic shorts, "Andalucia es de cine"  - now available on DVD in English and Spanish.

Pachamama Catering - Malaga Province - Making Vegatarian food as tasty as it should be!

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,

Tapas with a modern twist

Creatively and contemporarily served, the tapas plate of cheese included a fragrant blue, local goat and a grilled cheese, presented on a slate plate. Competing for space on our table was some homemade Ensaladilla Rusa (one of my favorite tapas) and a perfectly cooked portion of duck with citrus dressing. This is a contemporary interpretation of tapas. The extensive tapas menu is complemented by some great wines. I enjoyed the Herventia Rioja.
This was my second visit to my latest discovery in Marbella Old Town; Tragaluz a modest bar, with simply, modern decoration that serves innovative and classic tapas in fresh and sophisticated way. We were in the Casco Antigua to enjoy one of the first Easter processions of Holy Week, but like most things, I end up eating! Many followers of my blog will know that tapas are my weakness. When living in London it was dim sum – something about an almost endless menu of tasty morsels; and overdose of party food. I love it. However in Southern Spain the traditional recipes can be very oily and include a lot of fried dishes, a tradition that is alienating the new generation of 30 and 40 somethings that want something a little sharper.

More please...

As a Piscean, March kindly brings me back in touch with friends I have not seen in a while, with Birthday greetings by phone and email. But this years it March also brought be perilously close to the big 40! As an early birthday treat, Rafa too me to Sierra Nevada, with its compelling combination of snow and sun. The snow is now thinning, but thanks to snow cannons the valley runs are still in good condition and when the sun shines the place is pretty unbeatable. This year we experimented with an internet “deal” – a new conference hotel, the Granada Palace has opened in a small village in the foothills, offering 4 stars luxury at a 2 star price! It is not very intimate, but the price was great and the standard excellent. Its just at the foot of the range, so we just had to take the 35 minute journey up the mountain, passing one of Spain's iconic Osbourne Bulls.
Old Town Granada was a lot cleaner than I remembered it, with restored fountains and buildings, and the tapas in the famous Calle Navas remain excellent. This time we tried an Asturian bar, serving fish and seafood as a specialty. In Granada province, the serve tapas the traditional way, free with each drink you order. You here the barman calling to the kitchen, “de primero” or "de segundo” etc as one continues to order more drinks. The more drinks you order, the more sophisticated the tapas become. I couldn’t help noticing that one of the tapas we had was tiny, tiny baby fish fried. Somehow I can’t imagine that complies with EU fishery law?? Before leaving for home the following day, we took in the Science Park in Granada City Centre, that is undergoing a huge expansion.  Needless to say, its a popular place for schools trips and kids that like to muck about, but its still worth the visit.  I just happened to feel very old.

Sea hedgehogs anyone?

Today I took a late afternoon walk in the grey & blustery weather and noticed that the entire stretch of beach was littered with sea urchins, (here called erizos de mar, or hedgehogs of the sea). They were all different colours depending on how long the unfortunate things had been there; purple, green & white. Just as the humble hedgehog fears crossing the road, for the erizos de mar, it is the winter tide that is their worst enemy. At this time of year sea urchins are easily harvested and are a delicacy as a fresh and tasty Andalucian tapa.I n Cadiz, the province west of Malaga there is an annual Festival or Carnival, (running now) that also features a huge food festival where everyone tucks onto sea urchins. Their gastronomic status is also valued a little further north up the Mediterrean coast of Spain. The Catalans regularly eat them raw, with olive oil soaked bread, washed down with a glass of rosé. The brainless little sea-sifters are cut in half and one scoops out their sea-smelling flesh with a spoon. Having recounted all this I have not yet been convinced to try it yet! Every year the catalan town of Palafrugell, on the Costa Brava, has a major gastronomc festival, called La Garoinada, where sea urchins are one of the star attractions. In fact, the festival is on now, so if you are in Catalonia, pay the town a visit. Whilst there, you may also get  to learn all about their famous Habaneras, or sea shanties, dating back over a hundred years, brought to Spain by Cuban sailors.