Nature sets the rhythms of the cuisine of Khadija Essaadi, executive chef of El Jardín del Califa, recommended by the MICHELIN Guide. New summer menu offer the best fresh seasonal products: almadraba tuna from Barbate, grapefruit, quince, eggplants, baby vegetables, grapefruit, and a long etcetera. From light salads to more substantial dishes, without forgetting the specialities of the Chef.
The summer season arrives at the restaurant El Jardín del Califa in Vejer with new options seasoned with the exoticism and the unmistakable flavor of Middle Eastern and North African cuisine, mixed with the best ingredients of the area. Dishes that are the result of Khadija’s travels through the Middle East and her native Morocco, as well as family recipes “revisited, with a modern touch”, says the chef.
We have renewed our menu with new seasonal ingredients and fresher proposals, always following our main premise: to offer a quality organic product, with a careful raw material.
The new summer 2021 menu of El Jardín del Califa brings us delicious novelties such as the fresh tuna cous cous, certified ‘almadraba’ tuna from Barbate with pumpkin and chickpeas, an unique recipe only available at El Jardín del Califa restaurant. “We made this recipe to add a delicacy such as Almadraba tuna to our menu”.
From the sea new summer menu festures the Sea Bass kebab, barbecued brochette with Ras al Hanout served with rice and a fish and prawn sauce.
It is eggplant season, a local product that is present in the Palmyra salad, in which we also find aubergine, black garlic, greek yoghurt and chilli with fresh basil, dill and tarragon. Grapefruit is another seasonal fruit found in the Sebu salad, with red grapefruit, cherry tomatoes, walnuts red lettuce, raisins, pomegrante and feta cheese.
As starters, to share or try individually, the new menu includes, among other dishes, Breauts with labaneh and walnuts, crispy breuats triangles filled with labaneh cheese and walnuts served with a za’atar sauce.
New specialities of the Chef is the Kurat Lahm al sardin, sardine meatballs served in a tagine with a lightly spiced tomato sauce and parsley. Another novelty from our new menu is Chicken Sufa, Delicious lightly spiced chicken dish with cinnamon, noodles, raisins and almonds.
In the tagine section, diners will be able to try new recipes such as the oasis tagine, retinto beef tagine with pineapple and apricots.
El Jardín del Califa keeps classic dishes on the menu such as pastela, magluba, the Califa mezze – ideal for sharing – Aleppo, barbecued meats and other rich recipes from the Middle East.
The Califa menu is the result of over twelve years of collaboration between Khadija Essaadi (executive chef and manager) and James Stuart (co-founder of the Califa). Khadija is an innovative and experienced chef from the Rabat area of Morocco, where James spent several years working as a mountain guide and living in the Middle East as a child. Combining their experience and understanding of Middle Eastern culture they have created a rich variety of exotic as well as exquisite dishes.
At the Califa Group our philosophy is to use the freshest local ingredients and, as far as possible, to use organic ones. Furthermore, in our restaurant El Jardín del Califa we only use free-range eggs and organic meat (our beef is of the local breed, the Retinto). Similarly, 95% of the vegetables we use are from nearby gardens (from the province) and at least 60% (depending on the season) are organic.
