Cordoba is about an hour inland on the train from Malaga, a perfectly sized (and very foodie) city for a weekend break.
Tourist sites abound, if that’s your thing: the ancient old town is, after all, a World Heritage site. Its centrepiece is the Mezquita, a vast Islamic-Christian edifice dating back to 786.
But we advise you to step away from the mobbed narrow streets with their abundance of geranium-strewn patios – and head north a mile or two to the unexpectedly wonderful restaurant Recomiendo, owned by chef Periko Ortega, in a quieter residential district.
It’s relatively small – with only around ten tables – so you should really book upfront, although we chanced it on a Monday lunchtime in May – and luckily grabbed a last-minute cancellation.
There’s an a la carte menu but, as far as we could see, every diner was trying the unusual and memorable journey we endeavour to recount below. Without further ado, let’s eat.
1. Light vegetable crisps with creamy dip
Service is swift and efficent at Recomiendo. A small army of waiting staff whisk plates out before head chef Periko Ortega pops over to talk you through the story behind each dish (in perfect English, I might add). The meal begins with home-baked vegetable crisps with a moreish chickpea and corn dip served in a can, opened at the table by Ortega.
2. Olive oil tasting
Four premium oils arrive in variously-sized bottles with an assortment of breads, including a bright yellow cornbread. The punchy citrus and garlic oils are made in house.
3. Origin of the tapa
The word tapa means lid, explains Periko, and the term came about when bartenders would provide pieces of bread, meat or cheese for customers to cover glasses between sips in an effort to deter flies. There’s a pleasing hit of anchovy and garlic on this sliver; and yes, you guzzle the local Montilla sherry too (at no extra cost).
4. Edible Cordoban jewellery
Like pearls, these bite-size amuse-bouches combine the meatiness of ham with refreshingly punchy melon when popped in the mouth. Not sure where the wood comes in, though (and no, it’s not edible).
5. The clothes line
This is either Periko at his most masterful or pretentious, depending on your mindset. We’re firmly in the former category. You simply pluck the Iberican presa – a melt-in-the-mouth cut from posh freely roaming pigs fed on acorns – from the ‘washing line’ with the pincers and drop it onto the tortilla. The twist? Delicious – if unlikely – blobs of curry sauce.
6. Foierrero Power
Much of the meal is about nostalgia, with dishes evoking the smells, tastes and memories from the chef’s youth. This savoury take on the 1980s classic chocolate treat Ferrero Rocher is creamily memorable with its cheese-and-nuts centre, and served with a test-tube shot of yet more local sherry.
7. Mazamorra
Cordoban mazamorra is a traditional dish made of almonds, bread, garlic, oil and vinegar. Here it serves as a base for a variety of textures and flavours, from sheep’s cheese to fish roe, raw cauliflower to croutons – and even sorbet. This was the only dish – visually appealing as it was – whose quirky combination of ingredients we struggled with a little. Too much going on?
8. Memory of a trip to Japan
Our favourite plate so far: Periko explains that the dish resembles a classic tuna tartare, crowned with seaweed as it might be in Tokyo or Osaka. The surprise is that it’s actually Iberican presa seared rosily rare, and with an accompanying dumpling of slow-cooked pork on the side.
9. Prawn soup
“Wait forty seconds until it’s cooked,” advises Chef as he pours a tasty savoury bone broth over a translucent raw prawn or two. And while you count the time away, “don’t forget to suck the head”. Yikes.
10. Hake with anchovy
Another outstanding marriage of colour, umami notes and texture. The ethically sourced fish shimmers, perfectly opaque, under the lightest foam, on a bed of roasted nutty quinoa, straddled by pools of red piquillo pepper on one side, anchovy and squid ink sauce on the other. The only downside? We’re filling up now, especially as the very reasonable €15 five-course wine-tasting menu is all happening at the same time. It’s almost overwhelming.
11. Slow cooked beef
You’d be forgiven for thinking we must be on the sweet stuff now, right? Wrong. This sliver of what looks like chocolate flakey-heaven is actually tender, aged beef that simply falls onto the fork. It’s sitting on a deeply meaty gravy mash.
12. Oranges with oil
Right, pudding time at last. A perfect palate-refresher, the task here is simply to mix the pool of orange with chocolate soil and olive oil sorbet for a tangy delight that fizzes on the tongue.
13. Milk and cookies
To end the epic meal we return again to Peliko’s youth. He explains that as a kid he’d always have milk and cookies when he arrived home from school; his delicate reworking is an evocative and touching conclusion to what feels like a surprisingly intimate – almost emotional – feast.
Time for a well-earned siesta.