The Food of Malaga and Where to Eat, Malaga, Spain

Spain is a vast country and its geographic regions are so diverse that the foods you find in say, verdant Galicia in the north, compared to the dry, desert region of Almeria in south-eastern Spain, vary enormously and in harmony with their climate. The province of Andalucia in the south is particularly varied, with the mountainous range of the Sierras to the north, the fertile valley of the Guadalquivir River to the west, the dry deserts of Almeria and the Mediterranean coastline to the south and Atlantic Ocean to the west.

Malaga, in the far south of Andalucia, on the Costa del Sol, has a mild climate; even in January there is an average temperature of 17C and low rainfall. So it’s an ideal destination for a short winter getaway. It is one of the oldest cities in Europe. Founded by the Phoenicians around 2,800 years ago, it has been invaded by the Romans, Greeks and Moors. Malaga is often seen as a gateway between Spain and North Africa and the Moorish influence is much in evidence even today, not only in the city’s architecture and culture, but in its food.

The last Moorish stronghold - in Granada - fell in 1492, but by then the Moors had transformed the region’s culinary history. They brought citrus (orange, lemons and limes), apricots, mangoes and almonds; vegetables like aubergines, artichokes and carrots; they introduced durum wheat, and rice from Asia. Perhaps most importantly, they developed the region’s agriculture, introducing irrigation systems and ways of growing foods abundantly. It was the Phoenicians who brought olives to Spain in around 1,000BC but it was the Romans and then the Moors who cultivated them. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).