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!