Fried aubergines with cane honey from Frigiliana
Fried aubergines with Frigiliana cane honey are a classic dish of Malaga cuisine.
This tasty and succulent dish dates back to the late 1980s and is a must-have among the tapas on any restaurant menu.
Eggplant has been consumed in our land since the Arab era and its cultivation and consumption were already recorded in agricultural calendars such as that of Abu Zacaria, an Andalusian agronomist. However, this vegetable, although it had such a bad reputation among doctors of the time, and which was passed on to Christian thought, was elusive for Jewish and Moorish cuisine.
At the same time, sugar cane was also introduced to the Iberian Peninsula by the Arabs, and its cultivation spread to Malaga and Granada. This is where the molasses that gives its name to sugarcane honey is extracted, and which has been made at the Ingenio de Frigiliana since 1725.
But the first to mix these two products, as we know it today, since there are variations of the recipe in Granada or Córdoba, was the founder of La Carta Malacitana, cook, teacher and gourmet Manolo Maeso, who invented fried aubergines with Frigiliana sugarcane honey in a batter in 1988, which he served in his restaurant Cortijo de Manuela, and which he also had on the menu at the legendary Café de Ópera.
At that time Manuel Calvo, current cook at Mesón Astorga, worked with Maeso and learned to prepare aubergines with sugarcane honey. When the restaurant closed and he opened the current Mesón Astorga with his brother Pepe, they introduced this dish with the author's permission, which catapulted it to fame.
INGREDIENTS
2 eggplants
½ kilo of baking flour
Frigiliana sugarcane honey
A glass of beer
A glass of milk (to preserve and remove acidity from the eggplants)
A glass of water (to thicken the dough)
Salt and pepper
Aove (Extra Virgin Olive Oil)
RECIPE
WE RECOMMEND YOU TRY THE ONES LISTED IN:
Restaurante Esquina Granada
Calle Granada, 73, 29015 Málaga
Reservations: +34 722 248 689
Opening hours:
Every day from 12:30 to 23:30
(non-stop cooking)
Wednesdays from 19:00 to 23:30
Closed on Tuesdays
Restaurante Esquina Granada
It is dedicated to excellent Spanish cuisine. It is located in the heart of Malaga, on Granada Street, a few meters from what was the Granada Gate, through which the Royal Family entered triumphantly on August 19, 1487, and about 100 meters from Picasso's Birthplace.
It is surrounded by traditional shops from yesteryear, such as La Princesa or Ultramarinos Zoilo, which still exist today, and also meters from the first church that existed in Malaga, built on what was a mosque, dedicated to the Order of Santiago Apóstol.
To give more charm to the place, we can see the trompe l'oeil on the facades of both the church and the Palacio de Solecio hotel, giving this space an exceptional romanticism.
HOW TO GET TO THE RESTAURANT
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