Chestnuts, tapas, mushrooms and fritá: November's food events in the villages of Almería
Topics Almería
From the chestnut festival in Paterna del Río to the mushroom days in Sierro, including ExpoBerja, the Gastronomic Journey of El Ejido, the fritá of Suflí and the first Breakfast Route of Huércal-Overa: the calendar for eating in the province this month.
Redacción ·
November starts in Almería with chestnuts and anís in the Alpujarra and continues with tapas, mushrooms, fritá and breakfasts across the province. From the Poniente to the Almanzora, passing through Sierra Nevada, the Filabres and Los Vélez, these are the dates to eat and drink this month.
Some have already published their date and programme; others are repeated every year around this time but have not yet been announced, so it is advisable to confirm them with the town hall before setting off.
| Fecha | Pueblo | Cita |
|---|---|---|
| Domingo 1 | Paterna del Río | XXI Fiesta de la Castaña |
| Domingo 1 | Fondón | Dulces y «castaña y anisá» |
| Domingo 1 | Laujar de Andarax | Fiesta del Otoño |
| Domingo 1 | Felix | Día de las castañas |
| Hasta el lunes 2 | Berja | XXVI ExpoBerja-Alpujarra y XIX Ruta de la Tapa |
| Todo el mes | Vícar | VI Ruta de la Tapa «La Hispanidad» |
| Del 5 al 22 | Huércal-Overa | I Ruta del Desayuno |
| Sábado 7 | Vícar | Gran Castañada |
| Del 13 al 29 | El Ejido | III Viaje Gastronómico |
| Domingo 22 | Suflí | VI Feria Gastronómica |
| Viernes 27 y sábado 28 | Huércal-Overa | Mercado Gastronómico |
| 28 y 29 | Sierro | XXII Jornadas Micológicas |
Sunday 1: chestnuts and anís in the Alpujarra
All Saints' Day is celebrated in the Almería Alpujarra around the fire. In Paterna del Río, on the slope of Sierra Nevada, the XXI Fiesta de la Castaña ends, with a popular chestnut roast and anís, a market, tastings, the Sendero de la Castaña and the photography competition «Objetivo Castaño».
In Fondón, the programme «Siente el otoño» ends on Sunday at the Mercado Municipal: at 17:00, a display of sweets and a live cooking session, prepared by the Fuente Grande residents' association and the La alegría de la tercera edad association, and at 20:00, «castaña y anisá».
Laujar de Andarax, the capital of the Almería Alpujarra, celebrates its Fiesta del Otoño in the Plaza Mayor. In the morning there is a pumpkin competition for farmers from the region, with weighing at 12:30 and cash prizes; from 14:00, a pumpkin stew tasting, and in the afternoon, chestnuts with anís, a guided route, music and activities for children.
And in Felix, in the Sierra de Gádor, the plaza del Ayuntamiento brings together residents, people from the cortijos and visitors from 17:00 around chestnuts roasted in paper cones, with hot chocolate, cakes and anís for the older ones. It is a custom of several generations that the village keeps up in the face of Halloween.
Until Monday 2: ExpoBerja and the Ruta de la Tapa
Berja takes advantage of the long weekend with the XXVI ExpoBerja-Alpujarra, which is open until Monday 2 at the Centro de Usos Múltiples. There are more than 40 exhibitors of commerce, crafts and food, with products of the Sabores Almería brand of the Diputación: honey, Alpujarra sausages, sequillos, turrones, olives, chickpeas and sweets, as well as tasting areas and workshops. There is a tourist train on all three days.
Alongside it, the XIX Ruta de la Tapa is held, with 16 offerings in bars, restaurants and pastry shops in the town, three of them sweet. The tapavoto is completed with stamps and left in the ballot box at the fair's municipal stand until 17:30 on Monday; at 19:00 there is a draw for a 600-euro trip, a tablet and shopping vouchers, and the prizes for the best tapas are awarded.
Vícar: chestnuts on the 7th and tapas all month
Vícar celebrates its Gran Castañada on Saturday 7 in the esplanade of the Ayuntamiento, in La Puebla, from 17:00 to midnight. It starts with the show «Esencial», by Vaivén Circo, and at 20:00 comes the handing out of chestnuts and a nineties music party with Viceversa, Ku Minerva, Selena Leo, La Banda del Capitán Inhumano and the DJs Forni and Mara.
In addition, throughout November the VI Ruta de la Tapa «La Hispanidad» continues, which began on 12 October and lasts until 8 December. 14 bars and cafeterias in the municipality take part, and to enter the draw you have to collect at least seven stamps.
From 5 to 22: the first Ruta del Desayuno in Huércal-Overa
Huércal-Overa launches a route dedicated to breakfast, from Thursday 5 to Sunday 22. 16 cafeterias, bars and bakeries in the municipality have joined. Each breakfast gives a stamp on the route card, which is collected at the establishments themselves or at municipal offices, and with five stamps you enter the draw for a basket of local products. It is the first time the Ayuntamiento has organised a route focused on breakfast.
The same municipality holds a Mercado Gastronómico y de Comercio Local on Friday 27 and Saturday 28 with the traders' association, although where and with what programme has not yet been published.
From 13 to 29: El Ejido, from nature to the plate
El Ejido turns its vegetables into signature dishes in the third edition of its Viaje Gastronómico «De la naturaleza al plato», organised by the Área de Turismo of the Ayuntamiento from 13 to 29 November. Bars and restaurants in the municipality cook with products from sustainable agriculture in the Poniente. You vote with a digital passport and a code given by each establishment, and anyone who rates at least two dishes enters the draw for a tasting menu, a diving baptism and a spa circuit for two people. The list of establishments has not yet been published.
As a parallel activity, on Sunday 22 at 10:00 there is a free guided visit, of about two hours, to the educational greenhouse of Clisol Agro, in the paraje de La Cumbre, with limited places.
Sunday 22: the fritá of Suflí
Suflí, a village of about 220 residents in the Valle del Almanzora, celebrates the VI Feria Gastronómica de Suflí y su Comarca on Sunday 22, from 12:00 to 20:00 at the Nave Polivalente, with free entry. You will be able to try the fritá de Suflí, the village's dish, along with cheeses, wine, bread, sausages, beers, mantecados and turrones. At 13:00 there is a masterclass on how fritá is made, and the fair will have live music, a DJ and children's entertainment.
28 and 29: mushrooms in Sierro
Sierro, on the northern slope of the Filabres, closes the month with its XXII Jornadas Micológicas on Saturday 28 and Sunday 29. The Ayuntamiento has not yet published the programme. Last year there was an exhibition, talks, a workshop, an outing in the sierra to look for mushrooms, a night of stars at the castle and a mycological tapas route around the village, with limited places and registration on the municipal website.
Those without a date yet
Some regular November events have not yet announced their dates for this year:
To be confirmed
- Destapa Los Vélez: the region's food route last year visited one town each weekend of November (Vélez-Rubio, Chirivel, Vélez-Blanco and María) with 17 venues. This year's has not yet been presented; last year it was presented on November 5.
- Enix: the Migas Competition, with dozens of teams cooking in paila in the square, was on the last Saturday of November last year.
- Abla: its Mushroom Days, with a route through Sierra Nevada and rice with rabbit and níscalos, are held in mid or late month.
- Bacares: its one-day mushroom days were last year on Saturday, November 22.
- Berja: the San Roque neighbourhood celebrates its Matanza Festival in late November or early December.
Shall we let you know what matters?