Restaurants

One can’t possibly have an illustrious centuries-old repute as a food basket without a gastronomic epic that follows. But epic we cannot narrate. Just a few words on two specialties.

The Turrón, a traditional sweet Christmas can’t be without, since time immemorial. Its prestige had spread to other shores, making home in the holiday menus of Japan as far back as 1584, in the Philippines and other colonized countries, where it was embraced with gusto. Government had even declared the turrones birthrights in decrees!

Turron is a hand-made concoction of almonds pounded on stone and honey cooked together in a hot pot. The star of the show is the almond, a pricey ingredient that determines the quality and price of the end product. The varieties of almond most popularly used are Marcona, Planeta, Mollar, Mallorca and Valencia. Some are toasted more, others less, some are minced fine, others broken in chunks. Either way, the turrones titillate the most discriminating palate.

The Olive Oil – to the Spanish, this revered yet commonplace culinary ingredient assures a good quality of life, and this is not fable. It is a wealthy supplier of vitamins A, D, K, and especially E, oleic acids to maintain good cholesterol levels, healthy heart, and smooth skin. Like a natural product and unlike the wine, olive oil doesn´t improve with time, the freshest is the best. However, depending on the variety, it can last up to 18 months without losing its goodness, and color is not indicative of quality but of maturity of the olives. Between 4 to 5 kg of olives are needed to produce 1 liter of olive oil.

The generous application of olive oil in all Spanish cuisine makes for easier digestion and calcium absorption. It helps keep the colors and preserves the juices of the vegetables. The picual oil, one of the most stable varieties, lends rich, "noble," fruity flavour.

Just how serious they take their olives and olive oil you may discover in the touristic olive oil tours.

For a comprehensive list of restaurants, these links will help you:

http://www.aboutmarbella.net/marbella/restaurants.asp
http://www.guide2marbella.com/cyber_cafes_marbella.asp
http://marbella.costasur.com/en/Rest.html