The vast majority of visitors to Andalucia spend their holidays on the coast, enjoying the sun, sand and good food, for which Andalucia is justly famous. Dishes such as “pescado frito” or fried fish, “calamares” or squid and “paella” abound. However, if you move inland and away from the coastal strip you’ll find even more to tempt your palate.

You don’t even need to travel very far. For instance, the village of Otivar, 15 minutes drive inland from Almunecar in the province of Granada, specializes in “pollo a la manzana”, roast chicken with apple, pictured below.

The most popular restaurant for tasting this local dish is Restaurante El Capricho, which can be found on the Carretera de Otivar, also known as “the mountain goat road”. If you’ve never travelled this way to Granada do try it. The road lives up to it’s name, but, if you have a good head for heights and don’t mind the mountain roads, the views make it well worthwhile.
Other dishes are of course available, the accent being on hearty fare, as befits a mountain village. Even the salads can be considered as a meal in themselves!

Staying within the province of Granada, although on it’s north-western side now, we arrive at the area known as The Alpujarras, the villages that spill across the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, and to Trevelez in particular. Trevelez is, arguably, the highest village in Spain, there are other contendors for the title. What can’t be denied though is it’s other claim to fame, the Serrano or Mountain Hams that are produced here. The cold, dry climate of the winter months is perfect for curing these salted hams, and you’ll see them hanging from the ceilings of almost every establishment here.

The longest established ham curing company in Trevelez is Gonzalez, who’s secadero can be visited, and who also have a restaurant in the main square as you arrive in the village. Try a plate of ham, served with “patatas a lo pobre” or poor man’s potatoes, and you won’t regret it. Take care with the local rose wine though, as with nearly all inland wines it tastes wonderful, seems innocuous, but definitely has a kick!
If you’re not a meat eater, the other local speciality on offer is fresh trout, again served with poor man’s potatoes. I’ve heard good reports of it, but have to admit that I haven’t tried it myself. I’m definitely a meat eater!

Moving into the province of Malaga now, why not travel up into the Sierra de Las Nieves? The scenery is superb and you can walk up quite an appetite looking at the picturesque villages, such as Tolox, shown below.

On the way into the village is a “mirador” or view point, form where this photograph was taken, and where you will find a small chapel dedicated to San Roque, the patron saint of Tolox. Do stop and take a look, it’s worth it.

Once you’ve enjoyed a look at the village, make for the Tourist Information Office, opposite which you’ll find a typical village restaurant Bar Avenida.
There’s no menu to look at here, the waiter will reel off today’s choices when asked. Choose whatever takes your fancy, but not necessarily expect to get it! One of our choices was “pinchitos” or skewers of pork, but when the food arrived the waiter explained that there were none left so had taken the liberty of serving us a pork stew instead, with a side dish of chips, see below

The stew was delicious and we couldn’t have been happier that they’d run out of pinchitos, despite the fact that we later found out it was made from pig cheeks!
As I mentioned earlier, the accent in these mountain villages is on hearty food, and game also abounds on many menus. If you’ve never tried “choto” or kid, it makes a wonderful stew, and is often served as a tapa in many inland bars and restaurants. You’ll find this dish in the village of Frigiliana, a few minutes drive inland from Nerja, in Malaga. Another local speciality here is “berenjenas con miel de cana” or fried aubergines served with sugar cane honey. It sounds rather odd, but tastes wonderful.
Take your courage in both hands, get off the beaten track, and enjoy the wonderful variety of food on offer in rural Andalucia. I promise you won’t regret it.