Annie Harris discovers authentic, inventive flavours high up in the Andalucian hills
Today Spain is firmly on the culinary map. The World’s 50 Best Restaurants list (theworlds50best.com) has three Spanish restaurants in its top ten – number one being Catalonia’s triple Michelin-starred El Celler de Can Roca – and there has never been a better time to investigate the country’s culinary scene.
Andalucia in the south has long been on the foodie trail and is home to some of the world’s best cured hams, artisan cheeses, olive oil and wine, not forgetting wonderful fish and seafood, so it was the ideal place for me to enjoy some fine dining in the sun.
I based myself at the luxurious hilltop Finca Cortesin Hotel Golf and Spa resort in Casares – a 45-minute drive from Malaga airport, it can organise special foodie excursions in the region. With its whitewashed buildings, Moorish colonnaded courtyards and cooling fountains set in lush gardens studded with ancient olive trees, it has the feel of an old rural estate. In fact, it was built in 2009 and its mix of antique furniture and beautiful artefacts make it seem more like a welcoming home than a five-star hotel.
Keen to get an authentic market-to-plate experience, I arranged to accompany Rafael Carrasco, head chef of Finca Cortesin’s Kabuki Raw restaurant, on his trip to the local fish market. Carrasco develops the menu around what is caught that day – the hotel also makes its own olive oil and grows up to 60 per cent of its fruit and vegetables on site – and we browsed the freshly landed boxes full of all kinds of seafood until something caught his eye. Today it was gleaming Almadraba bluefin tuna, a local speciality that is sustainably fished a few miles off the coast.
Kabuki Raw is part of the Michelin-starred Kabuki group of restaurants (there are others in Madrid and Tenerife), which serves a unique hybrid of Spanish and Japanese cuisine. It’s a concept that works beautifully – sushi made from the freshest local fish with threads of Mediterranean flavours interweaving the dishes, which are served as a tapas-style tasting menu.
Eager to try the tuna, I booked for dinner that evening. There are plenty of traditional Japanese mainstays on the menu, but they all come with an unexpected twist – my starter of giant cuttlefish sashimi rolled in crunchy bread exploded in my mouth, revealing a creamy mayonnaise filling. The tuna was served as a trio of cuts – loin, belly and fatty belly – alongside fresh wasabi grated from the root at the table, while slow-cooked bulls tail was served with teriyaki sauce – a perfect fusion of Spanish and Asian flavours.
Andalucia’s greatest export has to be sherry, and if you are in the area, a trip to Jerez is a must. The next day I drove for an hour through rolling hills to the region’s oldest bodega, Tio Pepe. Owned by Gonzalez Byass, it sells more sherry than any other label. As the grounds are extensive, I boarded a small train for a tour, trundling past gardens and stopping from time to time to explore the cellars and see La Concha, an unusual pavilion designed by Gustave Eiffel, before finishing with a drop of Tio Pepe and Croft Original.
I then headed for La Corbona, a family-owned restaurant housed in an old sherry warehouse, a ten-minute walk from the Tio Pepe bodega. Head chef Javier Munoz Soto previously worked at El Cellar de Can Roca and uses the best local ingredients in his simple, down-to-earth dishes.
The speciality here is meat but I started with a regional favourite, delicious gazpacho garnished with sardine, crumbled cheese and pistachio, before trying some tapas, and a local cheese called Payoyo. I accompanied it with a glass of Fino en Rama sherry served unfiltered straight from the barrel – released in limited quantities in May, it has to be drunk within a couple of months.
After a perfect entrecôte steak with sweetbreads, I was thoroughly full, but felt I really ought to try the dessert. Jerez’s famous Tocinillo de Cielo (“heaven’s little pig”) is a caramel-topped custard made from just the egg yolks left over after the whites have been used to filter the wine. More commonly known as heavenly custard, this one was scented with almond – some are flavoured with citrus – and was truly heavenly.
Here, old Spanish customs still prevail, and the convivial way of life – long lunches and late dinners, enjoying good food and wine – make sacrificing the sunshine worthwhile. Let yourself be lured into the cool interiors of the region’s restaurants and you will enjoy the real taste of Spain.
- Tio Pepe bodega tours take place daily at 12pm, 1pm and 2pm (also 5pm and 6.30pm Mon-Sat). bodegastiopepe.com; fincacortesin.com; lacarbona.com
