Moscatel wine, subtropical avocados, grilled sardine espetos… a little food lover’s guide to the flavours that are the soul of the Axarquía.
Between sea and mountain, the Axarquía grows a cuisine of sunshine — generous and unfussy. Here you eat what grows a stone's throw away, and everything grows. These are the flavours not to miss on a stay along the eastern Costa del Sol.
The espeto, a beach ritual
Sardines threaded onto a bamboo cane, planted at an angle in the sand around a fire of old-boat wood: this is the espeto, an institution of the chiringuitos from Torre del Mar to Rincón de la Victoria. You eat it with your feet in the sand, at sunset, no cutlery required.
The subtropical orchard
The valley's microclimate has turned the region into one of Europe's orchards: mangoes, avocados, custard apples and passion fruit ripen at the foot of the villages. At the markets of Vélez-Málaga you taste them fully ripe, like nowhere else.
Moscatel, the sweet gold of the valley
The steep hillsides yield muscat grapes sun-dried on straw racks, the paseras. From them come prized raisins and an amber sweet wine, moscatel, served chilled as an aperitif with a few toasted almonds.
Dishes worth knowing
- Ajoblanco: a cold velvet of almond and garlic, the Andalusian ancestor of gazpacho.
- Migas: golden pan-fried semolina, served with peppers and grapes.
- Chivo: slow-cooked kid goat, a speciality of the mountain villages.
- Extra-virgin olive oil from the Sierra, best on a simple slice of toasted bread.
We love to craft gourmet escapes off the beaten track for our travellers: a family bodega, a producers' market, a table where you are welcomed like family. Just tell us what you fancy.
Mylène & Jennifer
