History

Aubergine came into Andalusia with the Arab kitchen and never left, and Córdoba fries it more than anywhere else in Spain. The syrup is miel de caña, a black sugarcane molasses produced on the Granada coast, and calling it honey is a translation error rather than a recipe: there are no bees involved. The pairing is a survival of the Andalusi taste for sweet against savoury in the same mouthful, the same instinct that puts cinnamon on meat and orange in salt cod salads. Every taberna in the city runs a version, and the differences come down to the cut of the aubergine and how long the salting step gets.

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Common allergens: Gluten

Make it at home

Yield Serves 4Hands-on 20 minTotal 1 hr 20 minDifficulty Easy

Ingredients

  • 2 large aubergines
  • 300ml milk
  • 150g plain flour
  • Sunflower oil for deep frying
  • Fine salt
  • 3 tablespoons miel de caña, or dark molasses

Method

  1. Cut the aubergines into batons about 1cm thick, or into rounds 3mm thick.
  2. Soak them in the milk with a pinch of salt for one hour, which draws out bitterness and helps the flour stick.
  3. Drain well, then toss in the flour until each piece is evenly coated. Shake off the excess.
  4. Heat the oil to 180C and fry in small batches for 2 to 3 minutes until deep golden and crisp.
  5. Drain on kitchen paper and salt immediately.
  6. Pile onto a warm plate and pour the cane syrup over in a thin stream just before serving.

Tip from the editors. Add the syrup at the table, never in the kitchen. Sitting in it for even two minutes turns the crust soft.

Where to eat berenjenas fritas con miel de caña

Berenjenas fritas con miel de caña in Córdoba

Casa Rubio ★ 4.2

€€ AndalusianJuderia

Casa Rubio sits against the Puerta de Almodóvar gate in Córdoba, a 1920 taberna renamed in 1932 and now three floors deep with a wall-view terrace.

OrderBerenjenas con miel de caña, then the tortilla de rabo de toro.

TipIt closes Tuesday and Wednesday, which catches out visitors who assume a Judería taberna opens daily.

Directions

Ermita de la Candelaria ★ 4.4

€€€ AndalusianCentro

Ermita de la Candelaria cooks inside a converted hermitage in Córdoba, almond-sauce meatballs and honeyed aubergine under a Sol from the Repsol guide.

OrderThe albóndigas in almond sauce, a direct descendant of the Andalusi kitchen.

TipThe building is a former chapel, so tables are few; book a midweek lunch if you want the easiest table.

Directions

Taberna Coto ★ 4.2

€ AndalusianCentro

Taberna Coto has worked Córdoba since 1972 and moved recently to Plaza de San Miguel, in the shadow of a more famous neighbour and publishing no hours.

Why locals goIt moved recently onto a small plaza it shares with the far more famous Casa El Pisto and gets walked straight past, though it has traded since 1972.

TipLomo en manteca colorá is the plate to order; it has vanished from most tourist-facing menus in the city.

Directions

Casa Mazal ★ 4.2

€€€ MediterraneanJuderia

Casa Mazal cooks the Sefarad and Al-Andalus traditions inside a fourteenth-century Judería house in Córdoba, with no pork anywhere on the carta.

OrderWhatever the kitchen is running from the Sephardic side of the carta.

TipIt closes on Wednesdays, and bookings run through a dedicated reservations line rather than the main house phone.

Directions

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