Inflight Magazine of Brussels Airlines

The tapas trail

Malaga is as renowned for its tapas bars – where small plates of food are served to accompany a beer or a glass of wine – as its rich cultural heritage. Fergal MacErlean hops on a bicycle to take a bite-size tour of the city’s culinary and historical delights

Images Fergal MacErlean

As we enter the ancient and charming inner city of Malaga, I ponder the fact that in times past we would have seen an enormous gate; one of seven that gave access to this Phoenician-founded port. What the sentries would have made of us, gliding past on our comfy city bikes, is anyone’s guess. Then, as appetising smells and an intoxicating Latin vibe engulf us, my handlebars tremble at the thought of the tapas bars and chiringuitos (beachside bars) that await us.

Spanish tapas, in their numerous tasty forms, originated in Andalucia and are an integral part of life in Malaga, the region’s second biggest city after Seville, where the easy-going tapas culture goes hand in hand with the lifestyle of the gregarious, fun-loving locals. The name comes from the verb tapar, meaning ‘to cover’, and the cuisine is thought to have developed from Spanish bartenders’ practice of serving drinks with a slab of meat or cheese on top in order to keep off the flies.

In Malaga today, fish takes centre stage, and the signature dish is fritura malagueña. Skilfully prepared and cooked in seconds, this fried white fish platter is super-fresh, lightly battered and melt-in-your-mouth delicious.

The Basque painter Ignacio Zuloaga once described the fried chanquete (whitebait) as being like “crisp sea spray”. Large steamed mussels in garlic, mejillones al vapor, are also big on tapas menus, along with other seafood such as gambas pil pil (spicy seared prawns) and a huge variety of regional dishes from across Malaga province. Lomo embuchado – pork cured and stuffed in a sausage skin – is popular, as is the very salty but nourishing habas con jamon (broad beans with ham). Probably the best vegetable options are the local long and bitter green peppers.

Moorish morsels

“¡Adelante!” says our cheery guide Kevin, leading us onwards. He knows a thing or two about where to go for tapas, not to mention Malaga’s rich history. It is the Moors who left their mark most strongly on the city, ringing it with walls in the 8th century. Some of their culinary heritage lives on, too, in dishes such as a crisp and clean tapa of aubergine fritters with garlic, mint and yoghurt called berenjena a la Morisca. The Phoenicians, meanwhile, named the city Malaka – derived from their word to salt fish – and introduced the ubiquitous olive trees and vines, and the Romans cemented Malaga’s position as a trading centre that exported minerals and produce from inland.

We pause on our tour by the Iglesia de Santiago. Built, like all of Malaga’s churches, on the site of a former mosque, it incorporates a Mudéjar tower and has a finely restored façade, uncovered beneath the layers of whitewash. Everywhere, it seems, has a story to tell. Then, as exquisite winding lanes unfold before us, Kevin leads us through tiny Pasaje de Chinitas, which is packed with the best fried-fish tapas bars in town (my partner Jackie and pescetarian son Finn make a note to return for lunch). The pasaje leads to Constitution Square, where the city’s bullfights were held in the days before a bullring existed. Exits from the square would be blocked off, and the bull left with the matador. Afterwards, the victor would celebrate in the tapas bars, also frequented by singers and musicians.

Religious experience

Today, Malaga’s most famous son is the heartthrob Antonio Banderas, and we nearly run him over moments later. Banderas is the leader of a religious brotherhood from the small Church of Saint John. Thankfully for us, he’s surrounded by a band of his brothers who are in the process of moving one of the giant floats that are ceremoniously paraded by various ancient brotherhoods during Easter week. It’s chaotic, and we can’t get past the church so, waving adios to Banderas, we hop back in the saddle and cycle away from Malaga’s ancient heart to reach a green, palm-filled oasis, the Paseo del Parque. We pedal along peacefully with views to the Moorish Castillo de Gibralfaro, which sits on a hilltop overlooking the city.

From the gardens we cruise down to the beach and stop at Chiringuito La Malagueta, where we relax with a drink. Tapas here include mouth-watering garlic-covered chipirones (squid) and bacalao – dried salted cod, which has been prepared this way for centuries. Cooked, it’s the best-tasting cod you’ll ever have. We watch as the well-fed cook turns tiny, glittering sardines over an open fire. Soaked in lemon and eaten with bread, these are delicious and surprisingly filling.

Our tour winds up back in town at Plaza de la Merced, where Pablo Picasso was born and spent his formative years. He loved Malaga, and was always proud to be from the Barrio de Chupa y Tira – the ‘suck and throw neighbourhood’ – as it was disdainfully referred to because of the way its inhabitants ate and tossed away huge numbers of small clams.

Don’t be put off – you should try the small brown clams that are served with a vibrant onion and paprika sauce known as almejas a la Malagueña.

Fishy feast

With the tapas bars now in full swing, we make a beeline for the Pasaje de Chinitas. We try, but fail, to get a table at Quitapenas – which literally means ‘take away your sorrows’ – and sit next door at Taberna Rincón Chinitas. Outside, a display boat is packed with fish, roe, octopus and prawns. After perusing the large tapas menu I order rosada frita (fried fish) served with lemon, while my partner goes for boquerones fritos (fried anchovies) and young Finn gets his favourite, calamares (squid rings). All are excellent, and accompanied with a thirst-quenching beer. We also try some of the regional dishes, of which a porra antequerana is memorable for its deep favours. Terracotta coloured and full of sun-kissed Andalucian tomatoes, Serrano ham, onions and garlic, it’s served cold and is somewhere between a thick soup and a paste. We end our repast with a delicious Malaga sweet wine while a gypsy busker sings lustily – much as his forefathers must have done in Malaga’s mesmerising past.

Roasted mixed vegetables

Serves 8

Ingredients
2 large green bell peppers
1 large red bell pepper
3 aubergines (about 800g)
1 large onion
4 potatoes (about 800g)
350ml olive oil
2 tomatoes
6tbsp white wine vinegar
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
Salt and pepper

Method

Heat the oven to 400˚F (200˚C/gas mark 6). Put the bell peppers, aubergines, onion and potatoes (unpeeled) into a roasting pan. Pour in half the oil and toss the vegetables to coat with the oil. Roast for 25 minutes. Stir gently, add the tomatoes and roast for another 20 minutes. Remove the roasting pan from the oven and set the vegetables aside until cool enough to handle.

Peel, halve and seed the bell peppers, then cut them into strips. Peel the aubergines and cut them into strips. Cut the onion into wedges. Peel the tomatoes and cut them into pieces. In a bowl, whisk together the remaining oil and the vinegar to make a vinaigrette. Season each vegetable with salt and pepper, and sprinkle with half the vinaigrette. Cut the potatoes in half and scoop out the flesh with a teaspoon, taking care not to break the skins. Chop or mash up the flesh, season with salt and pepper and return it to the skins.

The roasted mixed vegetables may be served in one large dish or four individual dishes. Put the potatoes in the centre of the dish and arrange the other vegetables around them. Stir the garlic into the remaining vinaigrette and pour it over the vegetables.

Taken from The Book of Tapas by Simone and Inés Ortega (Phaidon, €39,95).

On your bike

Hop on with Malaga Bike Tours

This historical and cultural tour of Malaga is run by Malaga Bike Tours (tel. , malagabiketours. eu, every day from 10am, adults €23, under 14s €18 – minimum age eight). Available in English, German and Spanish (plus Dutch for private groups), the minimum group size is two, with a maximum of 15, and tours start from the central Plaza de la Marina. The very leisurely, four-hour excursion covers around 5km, passing through mostly paved, traffic-free streets, with two short stretches on small roads. There are plenty of stops at points of interest and a longer break at a beachside bar, including a complimentary drink.

FR La route des tapas

Malaga est autant renommée pour ses bars à tapas que pour la richesse de son héritage culturel ; Fergal MacErlean enfourche sa bicyclette pour faire un tour, en forme de dégustation, des délices culinaires et historiques de la ville

Lorsque nous pénétrons au cœur de la ville de Malaga, mon guidon se met à frémir rien qu’à la perspective des bars à tapas qui nous attendent. Originaires d’Andalousie, les tapas font partie intégrante de la vie dans la seconde plus grande ville de la région. Le poisson y occupe une place centrale avec le plat emblématique fritura malagueña : un plat de poisson blanc passé dans une friture légère. Les moules vapeur à l’ail, mejillones al vapor, résident également en bonne position à côté d’une variété de préparations régionales, comme les habas con jamon (fèves au jambon).

Au fur et à mesure que nous suivons le guide, nous découvrons la riche histoire de Malaga. Au 8ème siècle, les Maures ont encerclé la ville de murailles élevées et leur héritage culinaire perdure dans des plats comme les berenjena a la Morisca (beignets d’aubergine). Les Phéniciens baptisèrent la ville Malaka – dérivé du nom qui désigne le poisson salé – et ils introduisirent les oliviers et les vignes un peu partout dans la région. Les Romains, quant à eux, cimentèrent la position de Malaga comme centre du commerce.

Puis, nous sommes invités à rejoindre l’étroit Pasaje de Chinitas, où abondent les meilleurs bars à tapas de poisson frit de la ville. Ce passage donne sur la Place de la Constitution, où se tenaient les combats de taureaux bien avant l’apparition des arènes. C’est là aussi que les vainqueurs célébraient leurs exploits, dans les bars à tapas. Nous pédalons ensuite jusqu’à une oasis bordée de palmiers, Paseo del Parque, avant de regagner la plage de Chiringuito La Malagueta pour prendre un verre. Au menu tapas : chipirones à l’ail (calamars) et bacalao – morue salée séchée. Dans notre parcours, nous faisons halte à la Place de la Merced, lieu de naissance de Pablo Picasso, réputée pour les fruits de mer – servis habituellement avec une sauce oignon et paprika comme les almejas a la Malagueña.

Retour au Pasaje de Chinitas, pour goûter le rosada frita (poisson frit), les boquerones fritos (anchois frits) et les calamares, le tout arrosé d’une bière. Nous terminons le repas avec en fond sonore la voix vigoureuse d’un chanteur de rue gitan – jadis, ses aïeux ont eux aussi sûrement chanté à Malaga.

À bicyclette

Ce circuit est organisé par Malaga Bike Tours (tél. , malagabiketours.eu, adultes 23 €, enfants en dessous de14 ans, 18 € – âge minimum huit ans).

NL In het spoor van de tapas

Malaga staat even bekend om zijn tapabars als om zijn rijke culturele erfgoed; Fergal MacErlean springt op de fiets en geniet van een gastronomisch uitstapje langsheen de culinaire en historische hoogtepunten van de stad

Bij het binnenrijden van het Malagese centrum gaan mijn handvaten trillen, nog maar bij het denken aan al de tapabars die ons te wachten staan. De Spaanse tapabars ontstonden in Andalucía en maken integraal deel uit van het leven in deze tweede grootste stad van de regio. Hier staan vooral visgerechten op het menu zoals fritura malagueña, een gerecht van lichtjes gefrituurde witte vis. Mejillones al vapor, een schotel van gestoomde mosselen in looksaus, is eveneens een van de toppers. Daarnaast kan je er ook smullen van talrijke regionale gerechten, waaronder habas con jamon (tuinbonen met Spaanse ham).

Onze immer vrolijke gids vertelt ons alles over de rijke geschiedenis van Malaga. De culinaire erfenis van de Moren, die de stad omwalden in de 8ste eeuw, leeft verder in gerechten zoals berenjena a la Morisca (gefrituurde aubergines). De Feniciërs gaven de stad de naam Malaka – afgeleid van hun woord voor gezouten vis – en plantten als eersten de talrijke olijfbomen en –gaarden. De Romeinen op hun beurt stelden Malaga’s positie als handelscentrum zeker.

We volgen onze gids doorheen het smalle Pasaje de Chinitas, waar je de beste tapabars met gefrituurde vis vindt. Het smalle straatje komt uit op de Plaza de la Constitución, waar stierengevechten werden georganiseerd nog vóór de komst van de arena’s. De winnaar vierde zijn overwinning gewoonlijk in een van de aanpalende tapabars. Daarna fietsen we naar de Paseo del Parque, een heuse oasis met tal van palmbomen, en genieten we in Chiringuito La Malagueta van een drankje aan het strand. De tapas die we hier voorgeschoteld krijgen, zijn chipirones, inktvis met look, en bacalao, gedroogde, gezouten kabeljauw. Onze tour eindigt bij de Plaza de la Merced, waar Pablo Picasso werd geboren en dat bekend staat om zijn almejas a la Malagueña, een gerecht van mosselen in een sausje van ui en paprika. Tot slot keren we terug naar de Pasaje de Chinitas en proberen we de rosada frita (gefrituurde vis), de boquerones fritos (gefrituurde ansjovis), de calamares (inktvisringen) en spoelen vervolgens weg met een biertje. Op het einde van onze maaltijd worden we getrakteerd op het lustige gezang van een zigeunerstraatmuzikant die daarmee in het spoor treedt van velen van zijn voorvaders uit het Malagese verleden.

Op de fiets

Deze tour wordt georganiseerd door Malaga Bike Tours (tel. , malagabiketours.eu, volwassenen €23, kinderen jongeren dan 14 jaar €18 – minimumleeftijd 8 jaar).

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