The origins of the rich cooking of the Axarquía are in the Moorish culture. The basic ingredient of most of the dishes are produced in the region, the basic elements are the olive oil and the wine. You only have to stop on route through the Axarquía to see the importance of the gastronomy in the region. There are five recommended routes and four refer to the local produce : the sun and avocado pair route, the sun and wine route, the raisin route and through olive oil country. There are popular celebrations organised around local dishes like the day they prepare "migas" for everyone in Torrox or the day of the "ajo blanco" in Almáchar. In Cómpeta they celebrate the night of the wine and in Benamorra they have a day of the avocado pear. The cuisine is as varied as the region and it can be divided into two different parts, one from the inland villages where flavours are combined, the almond is mixed with garlic, thyme and other aromatic herbs to make their rabbit stew and one shouldn’t forget the hare casserole, the partridge or the speciality par excellence which is the kid. The "migas", gazpacho, "ajoblanco" and all kinds of stews. On the coast, the basic ingredient is the fresh fish caught off the coast. Sardines are cooked on a skewer over an open fire on the beach. You can try paella, marinated fish or one of the many fish stews. The cooking is one of the ways of expressing the culture of a place and you should make a few stops at some of the many restaurants, bars, taverns, "ventas" or beach restaurants to sample the local delicacies. In Macharaviaya and Iznate "Maimones" soup and gazpachuelo ; in Vélez-Málaga and Almachar "ajo blanco" soup and the bitter orange "cachoreñas" soup ; a cabbage stew and "migas" in Benamocarra ; kid in sauce and almond and oil tarts in Algarrobo ; pork crackling from Sayalonga ; liver pastoral style and fennel stew from Competa, all accompanied by the excellent local wine. "migas" and rabbit casserole in Torrox ; sweet potatoes with honey in Frigiliana ; fennel with rice in Archez, gaspacho with broad beans from El Borge ; small cakes from Alfarnatejo and Riogordo and doughnuts from Alfarnate. But please don’t take our word for it - try it yourself - and enjoy!