An Unforgettable Gourmand Getaway At Private Andalusian Estate Cortijo El Carligto

Natasha Nyanin|June 14, 2018 11:47 am EST

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At the intersection of bucolic quietude, Mediterranean vistas from alabaster verandas, and Andalusian olive oil tastings, you'll find Cortijo el Carligto, a brace of private hilltop villas in southern Spain where gourmands go to flesh out fantasies of feeding all of the senses. On an actual map, the Cortijo—a term that connotes a rural villa typical of Andalusia—is somewhere in the hills not too distant from the bustling city of Malaga, and yet a here, what surrounds one, is a delicious sense of solitude, of escape, and the company of lush vegetation and of course, always looming on the horizon, a delectable meal prepared by one of the talented troupe of chefs hand-picked by owners Alan and Marc.

When we visited Cortijo el Carligto, we drove five hours south from Madrid and were met by half of our pair of hosts, Alan Hazel with some thirty minutes of drive time to go. We followed Hazel's black BMW Touareg in our own old green jalopy, snaking up, up and up some more through serpentine caminos with little but sun and sand in sight, until we reached the mouth of magnificence. The Carligto estate revealed itself suddenly, like a sort of oasis: a thicket of palms, cypresses, and ferns adorn the entrance to the two old-style Andalusian villas, whose white walls erupt in brightly-colored bougainvillea.

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We settled into the rustic 3-bedroom villa with private pool that was to be our home for the duration of our visit. Cole Porter's song book as sang by Ella Fitzgerald was wafting through the Andalusian air. The kitchen's larder and fridge were stocked with edible treasures local to the region: a fig cake, bottles of wine, dried meats, olives. Alan had prepared a welcome Spanish tortilla, a traditional potato and onion omelette, for my travel partner and I, which we thoroughly enjoyed after a long day's drive. But the real gustatory treat was to come the following day when private chef David arrived with his homemade knife and the foundations of a most decadent meal in tow.

All guests of Carligto are in for a gastronomic adventure inspired by, but not limited to the bounty of southern Spain. Alan and Marc have painstakingly selected a squad of some of the finest chefs in the area, each of whom deliver guests a different meal of the highest quality each night of the week. Each chef, some of whom boast Michelin star-power, flaunts a unique style, character and personality, delivering a diversity of cuisines to tempt even the most discerning palates.

Our palates were to be pleased in a multi-course al fresco meal prepared on site by David, a pilot turned chef (complete with requisite man-bun) who regaled us with stories of his career transformation while he chopped onions. The table on the front veranda, overlooking sublime views of peaks, valleys and storybook-blue sky, was set simply with two white linen runners. Milk jars that once housed yogurt were filled with water and dotted with dainty sprigs of purple bougainvillea. The sun kissed the glasses of a crisp white wine, as David brought out or first course: yoghurt topped with chopped cod, caviar and finished with a purple garlic flower and a limpid wreath of local olive oil.

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What followed was a course of creamy pumpkin soup topped with gambas and sprinkled with paprika. Then came an intermezzo of a tasting of what is known in Spain as "liquid gold"— a variety of olive oils from Andalusia so delicate it would be a sin to ever heat them up, including the 2016 "Best Olive Oil in the world" winner, Venta del Barron. Indeed, those ceaseless groves of olives that lined the drive to Andalusia were not for naught: this extra virgin olive oil is the stuff of legend.

Next up, the main course, a silky puree of courgette topped layered with couscous and a fillet of pan-seared Lubina (the European bass known the French as Loup de Mer and the Portuguese as Robolo) and crowned in spirals of julienned courgette. For dessert, a chilled gazpacho of Andalusian mango with a dollop of vanilla ice cream and accompanied by a crispy merengue. David's dishes were inventive but never inaccessible, and it is in this delightful confluence of creativity and comfort we relished the most. Somewhere in the concatenation of the comestibles, the courtyard views, and the sobremesa, we found a little slice of heaven.

Meals are scarcely more memorable than this one overlooking the peaks. Indeed one's first Andalusian adventure is always an affair to remember. More so still, when one's first taste of Andalucía is one tucked away in the hills at Cortijo el Carligto, where the sunsets match the pumpkin soup in color as in consequence, you can be assured it as experience you won't soon forget.

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Cortijo El Carligto

29716 Canillas de AceitunoMalaga, España

info@carligto.es

+34 647 081 784