Cocina Dual

‘Cocina Dual’ is how they define themselves, as every single dish is designed and discussed in depth by both chefs, who work hand in hand until both are satisfied with the creative result. “We do Málaga cooking with a twist”, summarises Cristina, while she tells me about how they were trained at La Cónsula, moving on to work in the Michelin three-star gastronomical temples of Ferràn Adrià and Mugaritz, something that certainly shows in the quality, the service, the creativity and the presentation.

The restaurant started off as an exquisite tapas-bar, until three years ago when they decided it was time to move on to a more formal concept into which they could put all their acquired knowledge of local produce. Of course, they were immediately spotted by Michelin which included them in its guide already during their first year.

Palodú is the name given to the liquorice stick, once naturally abundant in the nearby river banks of the Guadalhorce and a popular sweet. They wanted one simple, direct word that spoke of Málaga’s delicious local harvests.

Palodú focuses on bringing out the best in seasonal produce and works closely with farmers in the province, among others Diego’s own family in Campillos. Barely an hour’s drive away, they source their potatoes and other vegetables planted in advance on demand. Keen to try out new varieties and recuperate often forgotten ones, local producers are given the central space and recognition they rightfully deserve. And yes, you guessed it: the restaurant’s menus are, to a great extent, plant-based.

Consequently, the menu changes constantly, choosing the best from every harvest and moving on to the next one once a certain crop is over; you will rarely enjoy the same menu twice at Palodú.

The house olive oil is an absolute must-try. Bitter and very tasteful indeed, it is made from lechina olives from the Campillos area. The name comes from the slightly milky-liquid obtained when the olives are pressed at first.

We decided to try out their tasting menu. For starters we had tuna tartar, as well as some delicious roast aubergine croquettes with yuzu mayonnaise. This was followed by a totally unusual lukewarm oyster with ortiguilla, an anemone fried in a light batter, accompanied by ponzu sauce, which was just heavenly.

The vegetables that followed were delicious. We enjoyed some masterly prepared tender white Tudela artichokes (though grown in the Guadalhorce area) with a smooth but distinctive payoyo-cheese cream. This was followed by chard stewed in a velvety sauce made with their own leaves, nothing to do with the often-negative idea surrounding chard as that boring, tasteless vegetable suitable only for soups.

A superb red mullet gazpachuelo followed the vegetables. Málaga would not be what it is without this traditional recipe comprising pieces of fish and potatoes in a soup made of mayonnaise diluted with fish stock. There are many ways of making this traditional dish, however the one at Palodú was on another level.

The sweet almond-coulant with its truly flavoursome contrasting raspberry-chocolate was a divine experience, after which we were served a certainly different chocolate cake, as this one came with saffron, olive oil and salt.

Finally chocolate and almond with citrus petit-fours were served to finish off a fantastic experience of Málaga local produce and cooking at its best.

Gazpachuelo Palodú-Style

Red mullet is a big favourite in Málaga and at Palodú they use it as the basis for their gazpachuelo, a light creamy soup served at room temperature. The basic recipe comes from Cristina’s grandmother.

Once cleaned, the spine and bones of the red mullet are roasted in the oven. They are then used to prepare the stock together with vegetables and the mullet’s heart and liver. The stock is mixed with home-made mayonnaise with plenty of lemon and the red mullet is lightly grilled. The gazpachuelo is served on a base of rocoto-roast potato and finished off with the grilled mullet and trout roe infused in red wine. Simply exquisite!