Farfalle al Salmone - Pasta Bows with Smoked Salmon Sauce

Smoked Salmon is one of our favourite ingredients...salty, smoky, with such a delicate flavour. Just lovely! This recipe is very famous in restaurants around the Maltese islands and it is one of the best-sellers. This dish is a fusion of Mediterranean & Russian cuisines. This is our version and we hope you like it. This recipe serves about 4 people. To prepare you will need...

• 400g Farfalle [Bow Shaped Pasta]
• 200g Smoked Salmon, cut into strips
• 3 Spring Onions, chopped into 1cm bits
• 1 tbsp Olive Oil
• 1 tot Rum or Vodka
• 1 tsp Tomato Paste
• 150ml Fresh Cream, we use single cream 
• Ground Black Pepper, to taste
• Lumpfish Caviar (Optional) and/or chopped parsley to garnish

1. Cook the pasta.
2. In the meantime start the sauce by stir frying the spring onions until soft.
3. Add the smoked salmon and cook until salmon is of a pale pink colour, about 2 minutes.
4. Add the tot of rum or vodka and flambé the alcohol by carefully tilting the pan towards the flame...That's how I do it :)
5. Add the black pepper to taste, then add the cream and tomato paste. Stir well.
6. Simmer slowly on a gentle heat until mixture is heated through. Do not boil the cream.
7. Mix the sauce with the drained pasta and serve garnished with the caviar and/or parsley.

Enjoy!!

R & A

The Perfect No-Egg, No-Dairy Chocolate Cake

We felt like a chocolate cake, so we browsed the internet for a recipe but after I have found a couple of recipes, I realised that we had no eggs in...ooops....So, being snowed in and about a foot and a half of snow everywhere outside, there was simply no chance of me going outside to buy eggs. So we found this recipe which we tweaked and tried, and the result was a delicious moist chocolate cake. We did not cover it with frosting, we ate it plain, But we will include the recipe for the frosting as well. The batter can be also used to do some delicious super-chocolatey cupcakes. Hope you love this cake as much as we did!! You will need...

• 180g Self Raising Flour
• 3 heaped tablespoons good quality unsweetened cocoa powder, we used Bournville
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 175g brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
• 5 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar
• 1 cup (240ml) cold water
• 10 ml brandy

For the frosting

• 300g Cream cheese
• 55g + 30g softened butter
• 325g Icing sugar
• Rum, few drops (optional)

Method

1. Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 4 / 180°C.
2. Place flour, cocoa, baking powder, sugar and salt in a bowl. Mix well.
3. Make two deep holes in the dry mixture. Into one, pour the oil and into the other one, pour the vinegar. 
4. Pour the water and brandy into the bowl. Mix (on low speed or by hand) the wet and dry ingredients together until there aren't any more lumps.
5. Pour into a 23cm cake tin. (You do not need to grease the tin)
6. Bake for about 30 minutes or until you insert a toothpick and comes out clean.If you are going to frost it, let it cool down first.

Enjoy!!

R & A

Christmas Chestnut Balls - Boċċi Tal-Qastan

My parents used to prepare these confections during Christmastime. My brothers and I would sneakily devour them as they were the only source of alcohol we were allowed haha. Give them a go, there are really worth it! You will never stop making them. So the ingredients are...

• 400g fresh Chestnuts
• Peel of one orange
• Peel of one tangerine, clementine or satsuma
• Pinch ground cloves
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon 
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tablespoon caster sugar
• Water
• Whisky or sherry, to taste
• Plain milk or dark chocolate, to decorate
• Desiccated coconut, to decorate

How to...

1. Start by carefully making a cross shaped incision on each of the flat chestnut sides.  Put the chestnuts into a deep pot and cover with water. Add the sugar, cocoa, citrus peels, cloves and cinnamon. Stir well. Bring to the boil and simmer on medium heat for about 30-35 minutes. 
2. Using a slotted spoon, take out the chestnuts and set aside. Let cool down a bit. Peel the chestnuts, maybe whilst having a cuppa! 
3. Put the peeled chestnuts into a bowl, add the sherry/whisky and mash the mixture up with a masher until you get a smooth consistency.
4. Shape the mashed chestnuts into balls and set aside.
5. Now, melt the chocolate in a glass bowl on top of pan of boiling water.
6. Now using a toothpick, dip the balls into the melted chocolate and then roll into desiccated coconuts.
7. Leave to cool and serve!

Enjoy!!!

R & A

Banoffee Pie

I do not think this yummy yummy recipe needs any introduction. It is so fast and easy to make and equally fast and easy to disappear from your fridge. This is the recipe that we use. This recipe was invented by Ian Dowding and Nigel Mackenzie at The Hungry Monk restaurant in Jevington, East Sussex back in 1972. So here is the original recipe straight from The Hungry Monk. Although the inventors will not definitely agree instead of the pastry you can use a crushed  biscuits / melted butter base. Come on give it go!!!!!

• 350g Shortcrust Pastry or 300g crushed Digestive or Hob Nobs biscuits and 100g melted butter
• 1 tin Caramel [Dulce de Leche] or 1 tin of Sweetened Condensed Milk boiled in the can for 3 hours
• 3 ripe Bananas, cut in slices
• 375ml Double Cream, whipped
• 1 tbsp Caster sugar
• 1/2 tsp powdered instant coffee or grated dark chocolate to decorate (optional)

Method

1. Preheat the oven to gas mark 5 (190°C). 
2. Lightly grease a 10in x 1.5in flan tin. 
3. Line this with the pastry thinly rolled out. Prick the base all over with a fork and bake blind until crisp. Allow to cool.
4. Whip the cream with the instant coffee (if used) and sugar until thick and smooth. 
5. Spread the toffee over the base of the flan. NOTE: IF USING THE BOILED CONDENSED MILK TINS BE CAREFUL NOT TO BOIL THEM DRY AS THESE MIGHT EXPLODE!!
6. Peel and halve the bananas lengthways and lay them on the toffee.
7. Finally spoon or pipe on the cream.
8. Grate the chocolate on top.
9. Enjoy!!!

R & A

Parmigiana di Melanzane - Italian Aubergine & Parmesan Bake

This recipe originates from Sicily (although some say it comes from Naples and some even say it comes from Parma). It is a sort of lasagne but using slices of gorgeous grilled aubergine instead of pasta. Parmigiana is one of our favourite dishes and it ignites your Mediterranean taste buds with every bite you munch on!! So here goes our take on this delicious recipe...you will need...

• 4 large aubergines, sliced lengthwise in 1cm slices
• 4 large vine tomatoes, sliced and deseeded
• 2 cans chopped tomatoes [polpa]
• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• Fresh basil leaves
• 2 [x125g] mozzarella balls, sliced
• 100g parmesan, grated
• Ground black pepper
• Olive oil
• Vegetable oil, for frying
• Coarse sea salt

How to...

1. Put the sliced aubergines in a colander across each other and sprinkle with salt between the layers. Put the colander in a bowl or sink and leave covered with a plate for about 90 minutes to remove the bitter juices from the aubergines.
2. In the meantime prepare the sauce by gently frying the onion and garlic until soft and transparent. Add the chopped tomatoes, about 6 large hand torn basil leaves, the ground black pepper to taste and a glug of olive oil and simmer for about 30 minutes. Set the sauce aside.
3. Wash the aubergine slices from the salt and make sure you pat them dry well by using kitchen paper or a clean tea towel.
4. Pre-heat the oven at 175°C.
5. Start frying the aubergine slices until tender, drain on kitchen paper to remove excess oil.
6. When all the slices are done, start layering the Parmigiana. Start with a layer of tomato sauce, then a layer of aubergines, loads of grated parmesan, about 6 basil leaves, about 6 tomato slices and some sliced mozzarella.
7. Keep repeating this procedure until all ingredients are used, make sure to cross the pattern of the aubergines, for example, if you put the first layer down horizontally, put the next vertically and so on.
8. Finish the top by more parmesan, sliced tomatoes and torn basil leaves.
9. Put into the pre-heated oven and bake for about 35 minutes or until you a nice bubbly golden surface.
10. Leave to stand for about 10-15 minutes and serve.

Enjoy!!

R & A

Sugar Substitutes

Nowadays unfortunately diabetes is on the increase amongst us but luckily we are in the 21st century so some sweets, snacks and drinks are made by replacing sugar with a sugar substitute. Hence diabetic people can enjoy sweet treats and drinks as well. 

There are about 35 sugar substitutes which are divided into two categories, Natural Sugar Substitutes and Artificial Sugar Substitutes. I would always recommend you to use Natural Sugar Substitutes as they are, well, natural!! :) They usually are derived from plants, milk etc. They can be expensive but when using some of them you will have to use a very tiny amount when substituting sugar. At the minute my mum, which is a diabetic is using Tagatose which is derived from some milk, Tagatose is the closest substitute to sugar as it is x0.92 sweet which is near to a 1:1 ratio. There are about 23 Natural Sugar Substitutes. This a list of them, click on the names for further info from Wikipedia. 

Also I myself sometimes try to sweeten cakes and the like using mashed banans or chopped dates instead of sugar. I have not used it myself but as somebody suggested in the comments below, Agave nectar is a sugar alternative and it is actually low GI, But I believe at the end of the day if you are not diabetic you can still enjoy sugar moderately. It is always better than having lots of artificial chemicals in your system. My motto is always, NATURAL IS BEST!!! 

1.    Brazzein —  800× sweetness of sucrose (by weight)

2.    Curculin — 550× sweetness (by weight)

3.    Erythritol — 0.7× sweetness (by weight)

4.    Glycyrrhizin — 50× sweetness (by weight)

5.    Glycerol — 0.6× sweetness (by weight)

6.    Hydrogenated starch hydrolysates — 0.4–0.9× sweetness (by weight)

7.    Inulin – 10x sweetness (by weight)

8.    Isomalt — 0.45–0.65× sweetness (by weight)

9.    Lactitol — 0.4× sweetness (by weight)

10. Luo han guo - 300× sweetness (by weight)

11. Mabinlin — protein, 100× sweetness (by weight)

12. Maltitol — 0.9× sweetness (by weight)

13. Malto-oligosaccharide

14. Mannitol — 0.5× sweetness (by weight)

15. Miraculin — a protein that does not taste sweet by itself, but modifies taste receptors to make sour things taste sweet temporarily

16. Monatin — naturally-occurring sweetener isolated from the plant Sclerochiton ilicifolius

17. Monellin — 3,000× sweetness (by weight)

18. Pentadin — 500× sweetness (by weight)

19. Sorbitol — 0.6× sweetness (by weight)

20. Stevia — 250× sweetness (by weight) - extracts known as rebiana, Truvia, PureVia; mainly containing rebaudioside A, a steviol glycoside

21. Tagatose — 0.92× sweetness (by weight)

22. Thaumatin — protein, 2,000× sweetness (by weight)

23. Xylitol — 1.0× sweetness (by weight)

      As for the Artificial Sugar Substitutes, these are best known as they are commercially used, mainly in substituting sugar in low calorie drinks and sweets. These artificial sweeteners are very concentrated, for example if you need to substitute 1g of sugar [sucrose] with Aspartame you would need to use just 0.005g of Aspartame. There are about 12 Artificial Sugar Substitutes which are listed below;

1.    Acesulfame potassium — 200× sweetness (by weight)

2.    Alitame — 2,000× sweetness (by weight)

3.    Aspartame — 160–200× sweetness (by weight)

4.    Salt of aspartame-acesulfame — 350× sweetness (by weight)

5.    Cyclamate — 30× sweetness (by weight)

6.    Dulcin — 250× sweetness (by weight)

7.    Glucin — 300× sweetness (by weight)

8.    Neohesperidin dihydrochalcone — 1,500× sweetness (by weight)

9.    Neotame — 8,000× sweetness (by weight)

10. P-4000 — 4,000× sweetness (by weight)

11. Saccharin — 300× sweetness (by weight)

12.  Sucralose — 600× sweetness (by weight)

NOTE: WHEN SUBSTITUTING SUGAR WITH SUGAR SUBSTITUTES IN RECIPES ALWAYS MAKE SURE OF THE DIFFERENCE IN SWEETNESS!! DO NOT HESITATE TO USE THIS TABLE, WIKIPEDIA OR ASK ME!! :))

Penne Parnassus

This pasta dish is another of our own creations. It got its name from the movie The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. We were watching this great movie whilst chomping on a wonderful plate of this dish. It is a very tasty sauce and quite filling as well. The honey gives this sauce its sweetness whilst the bacon balances the palate by providing the necessary saltiness. Also, as cooked chicken, I roasted 4 small drumsticks, took the meat off the bone and diced the chicken meat. It gave the dish  an added delicious roast chicken flavour, but you can easily used chicken breast. These ingredients are for 3-4 people, again depending on how big your portions are. Feel free to adapt adequately. Hope you will try it and enjoy it!

• 300g penne
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 200g diced cooked chicken breast
• 100g bacon, cut into small pieces
• 100ml single cream
• ½ teaspoon dried sage
• 200ml chicken or vegetable stock (I used a Knorr stock pot)
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Ground black pepper, to taste
• Grated Parmesan or Kefalotiri cheese, to serve

How to...

1. Start by roasting the chicken drumsticks. Preheat the oven to 200°C. Put them in an oven dish with a griddle in it and season with ground black pepper. Roast the chicken pieces for 30 minutes, leave to cool and dice the meat. If using chicken breast, grill the split the chicken breast until golden on both sides and then chop into small dice. Set aside.
2. Fry the onion in the oil until transparent and soft. Add the bacon and cook until brown and crispy.
3. Add the chicken to the bacon and stir well.
4. Add the pepper, sage and 2 tbsp of honey. Stir fry for a couple of minutes.
5. Add the stock and reduce the stock on a high heat.
6. In the meantime cook the pasta.
7. When the stock is reduced, add the cream. Stir well and heat slowly on low heat, make sure you do not boil the cream.
8. Mix the sauce with the cooked pasta and sprinkle with the grated parmesan or Kefalotiri cheese.

Enjoy!!
R&A

Pizza Margherita con Prosciutto Crudo (Parma Ham)

Another request...the proper Pizza Margherita from the Italian region of Campania where it was born. Famous pizzaiolo Peppino Brandi created this recipe in honour of Queen Margherita of Italy in June 1889, hence the 'il tricolore' [the 3 colours of the Italian flag. Green [Basil], White [Mozzarella] and Red [Tomatoes]. In the original recipe the Neapolitans use San Marzano tomatoes but unfortunately is very difficult to find here in the UK, so we used good quality canned chopped tomatoes. As for the mozzarella the original recipes uses Mozzarella di Bufala [Buffalo Mozzarella] but feel free to use good quality cow's milk mozzarella. When baking the pizza make sure that you only bake the dough with the tomatoes and cheese only. After cooked, then add the Prosciutto Crudo, basil leaves and extra-virgin olive oil. Here is the recipe for the dough, it is very easy and fast to do and is well worth it. The ingredients that follow are for 4 pizzas...Square, round or whatever shape you want to give it...obviously the original shape is round.

NOTE:  '00' flour is a very fine flour used in making pizza dough which is very fine and needs no sifting..available from Asda, Tesco and others. Click on the blue link for further info.

For the pizza dough:

• 1 pkt of dried active yeast [7g]
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp sugar
• 300ml lukewarm water
• 500g '00' flour, or normal plain flour
• 100g semolina, plus extra to dust

For the topping:

• 2 cans good quality chopped tomatoes
• 3 Buffalo mozzarella [about 375g], torn into small pieces
• Fresh basil leaves
• 150g Prosciutto Crudo [Parma Ham]
• Extra olive oil

How to...

1. To make the pizza dough, blend the yeast in a measuring jug with 300ml lukewarm water, sugar and the 2 tbsp olive oil. Leave it to stand for 10 minutes. 
2. To make the dough you can easily make it using a food processor, just throw everything in and process until the dough turns into a ball. Otherwise, mix the flour and semolina and pile the mixture into a volcano shaped heap on the working surface. Make a well in the centre and slowly pour in the liquid, start kneading with your hand and adding the yeast mixture until all the liquid has been incorporated. Knead to a smooth dough. Cover and leave in a warm place for an hour to rise.
3. Heat the oven to 220°C/Gas Mark 7. Knock the pizza dough back and divide into four or two, depending on the size of your pizza. If you are making it round, shape each piece into a ball and stretch it until you get a 12" round base. 
4. Now, spread the chopped tomatoes on the bases, sprinkle the mozzarella and put into the hot oven for about 10 minutes or until done to your liking. When cooked get it out of the oven put 2 slices of prosciutto on each, tear the basil leaves on it and drizzle with good extra-virgin olive oil. 

Enjoy this simple but truly irresistible pizza. :)

R & A

Conchigliette con legumi, pancetta e pomodoro - Small shell shaped pasta with pulses, bacon and tomatoes

End of the month, everyone is on a tight budget, so I just opened our kitchen cupboards and roved around the kitchen shelves and scanned all the available ingredients and made up something in my head. This is the result. It is a cross between a thick soup and a pasta dish. With cold weather around us it turned out to be a real heart warmer for us. The quantities here are for 4-5 persons as it  is very hearty, so you can make it for your holiday dinners maybe, if not adapt the quantities as you like. So here it goes,

• 200g concighliette [shell shaped pasta]
• 100g bacon steak, diced
• 100g mixed dried pulses [lentils, split peas, barley etc], soaked in water for about 12 hours or overnight
• 1 can chopped tomatoes
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 small dried chilli, chopped or 1/2 tsp chilli flakes
• ½ teaspoon sugar
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
• ¼ teaspoon dried marjoram
• ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
• Vegetable oil
• 1 mozzarella ball [125g], diced
• Fresh basil leaves

How to...

1. Cook the soaked pulses in water first by boiling them for about 15 minutes and then simmering them for about 45-50 minutes or until soft. Set aside when done.
2. Fry the onion, garlic and pepper on a medium heat until soft, stirring constantly.
3. Add the bacon, herbs [not the basil leaves], black pepper, chilli and sit well.
4. Cook until bacon is cooked well.
5. Add the chopped tomatoes, sugar and simmer on medium heat for about 30 minutes. Stirring frequently. In the meantime cook the pasta.
6. Add the pulses and cook for 5 minutes. Mix well.
7. Add the pasta to the pulse/tomato mixture and incorporate well. 
8. Ladle into bowls. Sprinkle with the diced mozzarella and hand torn fresh basil leaves.

Enjoy!!!!!
R &A

Imqarrun il-Forn - Maltese Style Baked Pasta

.

So, this morning my Canadian [with Maltese roots] friend Steven Tanti at work asked me if I have a Baked Pasta recipe....of course I do I answered...so now I am posting this traditional Maltese recipe which in Malta we call Imqarrun. This dish is one the favourite in Maltese cuisine and everyone has its own touches and special ingredients, in fact this our take on Imqarrun. It is just that little lighter, I guess!! :) One of the originals recipes has chopped hard boiled eggs in it, whilst they are are great addition, we only use eggs to bind the pasta mixture. Oh well, enough said and here is the recipe. You will need...

• 500g Rigatoni/Tortiglioni/Penne
• 700ml Tomato Passata
• 500g Lean Minced Beef
• 4 eggs
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 250g Edam or Cheddar cheese, grated
• Vegetable Oil
• 1 level tsp mixed herbs [optional]
• Salt & Pepper to taste

1. Heat the oil and fry the onion until soft and transparent.
2. Add the minced meat and cook until brown. Remove any excess fat from the pan.
3. Add the passata and herbs, if used. Simmer for about an hour on medium heat, stirring the sauce occasionally. [If you are in a hurry cook for 30 minutes on high heat, but the slower the cooking the better the sauce]
4. In the meantime cook the pasta in boiling water. [Tip: if the pasta packet says 12 minutes, cook it for 10 minutes instead to avoid having a soggy pasta dish]
5. Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 5 [200°C].
6. When pasta is done, drain the water and leave the pasta in the pan [make sure you use a big enough pan].
7. Add the sauce to the pasta and crack the 3 eggs in the pasta/sauce mixture. Mix in the eggs very gently to avoid damaged the pasta shapes.
8. Put in a baking dish about 30cm & 15cm and sprinkle the cheese on top.
9. Bake in the oven for about 35 minutes or until the cheese is melted, bubbly and golden.
10. When cooked, leave to set for about 10 minutes and serve hot.

Enjoy!!
R & A

Banana & Maple Syrup Cake

I had just came back from work. It was very cold outside and after dinner I was craving for something really scrumptious and warm. So I checked in my kitchen cupboard and realised I had all the ingredients to prepare this lovely and delicious banana cake. So after a few minutes of measuring ingredients, mixing, pouring and baking.....there we had our nice warm, banana cake filled with raisins, walnuts and pure delicious Canadian maple syrup. So if you feel like doing some quick mixing up...here is the recipe...You will need...

• 240g plain flour, sifted
• 240g self-raising wholemeal flour, sifted (bran added optionally)
• 170g sugar
• 115g butter, softened
• 2 large eggs
• 80ml milk
• 3 mashed or sliced ripe bananas
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 50g chopped walnuts
• 50g raisins or sultanas

1. Preheat oven to 175°C. 
2. Grease bottom only of 9x5 or 8x4-inch loaf pan or a Bundt cake pan.
3. In a large bowl, cream sugar and margarine until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, blend in bananas, milk and maple syrup. 
4. In an another bowl, combine flours, walnuts & raisins, baking powder and salt, mix well. Add to creamed mixture. Stir just until dry ingredients are moistened. 
5. Pour into prepared pan. 
6. Bake for 60 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. 
7. Cool in pan for 5 minutes and remove from pan/mould. 

Enjoy!!!!


R & A