Beer Battered Fish & Chips with a Cherry Tomato Salad

Fish & Chips is the heart of Britain, a dish that is ever so popular in Britain and all the British colonies including Malta. Myself personally am not a big fan of deep fried foods and in fact I have fish and chips maybe once a year and Amanda does not like it all. Having said that I decided to make our own delicious fish and chips. I decided to do this because we bought a whole dogfish from my friend Ash at Penny's Fisheries and got some beer as a Xmas so fish, beer, flour...Eureka! Home-made fish and chips!! The secret to a good crispy, not soaked in oil fish is the temperature of the oil and by using cold beer. I used John Smith's Extra Smooth bitter but any beer will do in my opinion! I use a thermometer to get the perfect oil temperature but if you do not have a thermometer, the easiest, and safest, method is to stick the end of a wooden spoon into the oil. If you see bubbles form around the wood and they start to float up, your oil is hot enough to cook with. It is also important not to overcrowd the frying pan and also make sure the temperature is high again before deep frying the next batch. The following recipe is enough for 4 medium fish fillets. You will need...

For the batter

• 220g self raising flour
• 330ml John Smith's Extra Smooth bitter

For the cherry tomato salad

• A handful of cherry tomatoes, cut in half (we used yellow and red ones)
• 2 tablespoons green olives, roughly chopped
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 1 teaspoon capers, roughly chopped
• 2 spring onions, chopped
• 1 teaspoon mint sauce
• Salt & pepper
• Extra virgin olive oil

• 4 boneless dogfish fillets (you can use other fish like cod, haddock, pollock etc.)
• Extra flour for dusting
• 1 litre vegetable oil

How to...

1. Start by preparing the tomato salad. To do this just combine all the ingredients in a bowl and stir well. Set aside.
2. Heat the oil to 180°C (see note in bold in the description above).
3. Prepare the fish by dusting the fillets with flour, shake any excess. 
4. Prepare the batter by adding the beer to the flour in a medium sized bowl and whisk gently until you get a thick batter. Dip the fish fillets into the batter and cover in batter completely. 
5. Deep fry into the hot oil for 6-8 minutes (depending on the thickness of the fish) until golden and puffy. Using tongs or a slotted spoon take the fish out of the oil, making sure you drain any excess oil and put on absorbent kitchen paper. Keep in a warm place until you cook the other fish. Always make sure that the oil is back to 180°C as if the oil is not hot enough the fish and batter will absorb a lot of oil. You do not want that.
6. Serve the fish hot with some tomato salad and chips.

Enjoy!!

R&A 

Spaghetti al Nero di Seppia - Spaghetti with Cuttlefish

Hello all, I know I have not blogged any recipes lately but I was quite busy working towards a career change! Oh yes...quite happy and excited about the new job starting in January but until then I have two weeks off and hopefully I will post some delicious recipes that we have prepared lately. One recipe that we made and loved is the classic Italian recipe Spaghetti al Nero di Seppia which basically is spaghetti in a black sauce!! Yes a black sauce which is the result of the addition of the cuttlefish's ink to the cuttlefish sauce. Try it out, if you have not got a fishmonger close-by, you can buy sachets of cuttlefish ink online...I do! They are very cheap as well. This pasta sauce is very fast and easy to prepare...just make sure that cuttlefish you are using is fresh. So for 2-3 people you will need...

• 200g spaghetti
• 600g cleaned cuttlefish (including tentacles), cut into small pieces
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 100ml (½ cup) white wine
• 2 sachets cuttlefish ink or 1 fresh cuttlefish ink sac
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (or 1 tablespoon dried parsley)
• Extra virgin olive oil

How to...

1. Heat about 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil together with the garlic in a small pan. Cook until the garlic is aromatic and golden.
2. Now add the cuttlefish and parsley and stir well. Cook on medium heat for about 15 minutes. Increase the heat on high and add the wine and cook until the wine has evaporated (at this point you can cook the pasta and drain it). Reduce the heat to medium again and add the cuttlefish ink sachets. Stir well. If using the fresh cuttlefish ink sac, add the whole and break it carefully with a wooden spoon. Heat thoroughly.
3. Add the sauce to the pasta and serve with extra chopped parsley and extra virgin olive oil.

Enjoy!!

R&A

Ottini - Maltese Number 8 Shaped Biscuits

These Maltese biscuits were one of my favourites whilst growing up and to be honest they still are as I grew to miss them whilst living here in England. So obviously I had to make them. The recipe is very similar to Qagħaq tal-Ġunġlien (Maltese Biscuit Rings with Sesame Seeds) with some ingredient changes and also, this time I used a food processor. Needless to say there was less mess in the kitchen and took less time to prepare!! It is quite easy to shape a number 8, actually easier than you had thought. Also, when I bake my OCD kicks in and I always have to weigh the prepared dough and divide its weight into equal and even shapes haha. Using this method I always get equally shaped (well approximately) finished products. So if you miss these biscuits like I do, here is how I made 10 of them first thing on a Saturday morning. You can dunk these in hot tea or coffee, that's how we like them :) You will need...

• 250g plain flour
• 85g caster sugar
• 1 ½  teaspoons baking powder
• 1 egg
• ½  teaspoon ground aniseed
• Pinch ground cloves
• 90g salted butter, at room temperature, cut into cubes
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 tablespoon orange flower water - Ilma zahar (if not available add another tablespoon of water)
• Grated zest of 1 orange
• Sesame seeds

How to...

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
2. If you are using a food processor, start by adding the flour, sugar, spices and baking powder into the food processor and pulse for a few minutes. If not using a processor add the dry ingredients in a large bowl and mix well. Add the butter and blend until all butter has been incorporated into the flour. If using your hands, mix the butter in with your fingertips until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
3. In a small bowl beat the egg and mix in the orange zest, water, orange flower water and oil. Mix well. Add to the dry ingredients whilst food processor is running and blend until the dough comes together. Again if using your hands, add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients mix well until you get a soft dough.
4. Divide the dough into 10 equal sized balls (about 50g each), a bit bigger than golf balls and roll into thin long sausage like shapes, about 30cm long. Shape into a number 8 and carefully transfer into a plate with sesame seeds turning over to cover both sides with the seeds. Place on a tray lined with greaseproof paper and bake in the preheated oven for about 20-22 minutes.
5. Let cool down and serve with tea or coffee.

Enjoy!! 

R&A

Egg Fried Rice with Lap Cheong 腊肠 (Chinese Sausage)

We invented this dish when we were introduced to Lap Cheong aka Chinese sausage by our friends. Chinese sausage is so delicious, so sweet, meaty and juicy...we fell in love with it. Stir-fried rice is quite famous with everyone and is very easy to prepare and indeed, since this dish is a stir-fried rice based dish it is quite easy to prepare. It always makes me laugh whenever I cook this dish as I'll be like, so, some of this some of that and voilà...dinner is served!! I must admit that I could eat as much as I can of this dish and I do find it hard to stop! We prefer to use Basmati or Jasmine rice instead of plain rice as it is more fragrant and adds further flavour to the dish. Also the secret to perfect fried rice is to cook the fried rice into batches. I cook ours in two batches. Use a bowl to measure the amount. We usually do a bowl of cooked rice per person. To serve this dish as main course for 2-4 people you will need...

• 250g uncooked rice (we use Basmati or Jasmine but plain rice will do)
• 500ml boiling water
• 4 Lap Cheong (Chinese sausages)
• Half a leek or 2 spring onions, cleaned and cut into Julienne strips
• 2 small carrots, cut into Julienne strips
• Handful of frozen peas, defrosted
• Handful canned sweetcorn
• 2 eggs
• 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon Chinese five spice powder
• Oyster sauce, to taste
• Dark soy sauce, to taste
• Sesame oil, to taste

How to...

1. Cook the rice either in a rice steamer or on the hob. To cook the perfect rice on the hob, add the rice to a medium sized heavy based pan and add the boiling water. Stir with a fork and bring to a boil. When it boils, lower the heat to low and simmer covered for 10-12 minutes. Do not open the lid. This is called the absorption method. When rice is cooked, wash with cold water, drain and set aside.
2. Meanwhile, steam the sausages for 20 minutes, slice into bite size pieces and set aside. Do not throw away the boiling water used to steam the sausages. Add the leeks and carrots to the boiling water from underneath the sausages and blanch for about 2 minutes. Drain and set aside.
3. Prepare the egg omelettes. Beat one egg and pour it in a hot small non stick frying pan (we use a 6-7 inch pan), turning gently so as to cover the bottom of the pan. Cook for a few minutes and turn over to cook the other side. Remove from the pan, roll into a roll and cut into strips. Repeat with the other egg.  You can do them both in one go if you have a larger pan obviously. 
4. Heat  2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a wok or frying pan until hot. Add 2 sausages (cut into pieces), half of the blanched veg and stir well. Add a bowl of cooked rice, keep stirring frequently or else the rice will stick. Cook for about 3-5 minutes. Add the peas, half a teaspoon of Chinese five spice powder, soy sauce and sesame oil to taste and stir well.Cook for a further 3 minutes. Now add the egg omelette strips, give it one last stir and serve hot maybe with some more soy sauce or sesame oil.
5. Repeat until you use all the rice and ingredients.

Enjoy!!

R&A

Coronation Chicken

Coronation Chicken was invented by Constance Spry and Rosemary Hume, both principals of the Cordon Bleu Cookery School in London, whilst preparing dishes for the banquet of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953. I decided to do some research on this recipe and adapted a couple of recipes that I found online. This is the best version I have found, an absolute delight. Considered as a retro recipe here in the United Kingdom, it tried to make its comeback as a pre-prepared sandwich filling available at major supermarkets. It definitely goes without saying that the supermarket stuff is rubbish and having made our own Coronation chicken it is definitely galaxies away from the real thing. It is quite easy to prepare, boil chicken, let cool, take meat off the chicken and mix all the ingredients. Cool and enjoy!! Do try it, you can serve it as a salad, served with boiled rice, pilaf rice, naan bread, indeed as a sandwich filling...anything you like really. You can refrigerate the leftover and believe me it will definitely taste better. You will need...

• 1 whole chicken, 1½ kg 

For the chicken

• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 6 black peppercorns
• Thumb-sized piece of ginger, sliced
• 1 bay leaf
• Pinch of saffron strands

For the sauce

• 200 ml  mayonnaise
• 300 ml Greek yoghurt (or other thick yoghurt)
• Chopped fresh coriander
• 5 tbsp good quality mild mango chutney (I use Geeta's)
• 50 g soft dried apricots, finely chopped
• 20g raisins
• 3 tbsp curry powder
• 2 ½  tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp freshly grated ginger
• Flaked almonds, to serve

How to...

1. Start by cooking the chicken, put the chicken in a large pot, add the salt, cinnamon, peppercorns, ginger. bay leaf and saffron. and cover with water. Simmer gently for about 2 hours 15 minutes (basically boiled chicken cooking time is 30 minutes per 454g (1 pound) plus an extra 30 minutes). When cooked, take the chicken out of the pot and leave to cool completely. When cool, remove the meat off the carcass and make sure that any large meat pieces are chopped into small bite size pieces.
2. In a small dry frying pan, toast the curry powder (to remove any bitterness) for a about 1-2 minutes. Set aside.
3. In a large mixing bowl, add the chutney, raisins and apricots and mix well. Now add the toasted curry powder, Worcestershire sauce, grated ginger, mayonnaise and Greek yoghurt and mix well again. Add the chopped coriander & diced chicken and fold in gently. Chill the mixture in the fridge for at least an hour.
4. Before serving sprinkle with the flaked almonds. Serve with basmati rice or some delicious Peshwari naan bread.

Enjoy!!

R&A

Baby Pumpkins Stuffed with Camembert, Vegetables & Bacon

I was at the supermarket and came across these cute baby pumpkins that were called Munchkin pumpkins. I could not resist buying a couple of them and I started thinking instantly on how am I going to cook them. After doing some research I came up with this idea. It turned out incredibly tasty, creamy, salty, sweet, crunchy, crispy...just wonderful. As we were cooking this on a week night I obviously relied on Amanda to help us with the preparation. In fact, to make sure that everything is cooked evenly, everything should be chopped finely and basically the same size. If you want to turn this recipe into a vegetarian one omit the bacon and to turn it vegan, omit the bacon and cheese and use vegetable oil instead of butter. So, Halloween is upon us once again and pumpkin recipes are on high demand, so I will try and come up with a couple more before the spooky night!! Give this a go and you will definitely not be sorry, they are delicious! For two baby pumpkins you will need...

• 2 Baby pumpkins or small Butternut squash
  
• 6 mushrooms, finely sliced
• 1 carrot, finely diced
• 1 small onion, finely diced
• 1 red pepper, finely diced
• 1 green chilli, finely diced
• 1 celery stick, finely diced
• Some pumpkin/butternut squash flesh, finely diced
• 3 fresh sage leaves
• Vegetable oil or butter
• Salt & pepper
• 175g bacon, finely diced
• 150g Camembert, sliced
• Dry sherry

 How to...

1. Heat oil or butter together with the sage leaves,
2. Add vegetables and cook covered on medium heat until soft, 
3. Now remove sage leaves, add bacon and mushrooms and cook on higher heat until mushrooms are wilted and all liquid has disappeared. Add salt, pepper and some dry sherry. Cook, stirring frequently until all alcohol has evaporated. Turn off heat.
4. Add Camembert slices at the bottom of the pumpkin/squash and top with the filling. Add some extra Camembert on top of the filling, cover with pumpkin lid and bake at 180 deg for 50 minutes to an hour.
5. Serve hot!!

Enjoy!!

R&A

Lamb Liver Risotto with Sage & Marsala

This was our second time cooking risotto and as the first time it was a success! It turned out delicious. I love liver and the combination with fresh sage and the Marsala wine that it is cooked with made this recipe taste wonderful. If you do not have Marsala use red wine, the taste will change but will definitely turn out as good. All you need for a perfect risotto is patience, it takes between 20-30 minutes to cook a good risotto and you have to keep stirring all the way to make sure the rice soaks up all the stock. So do have a go at the recipe. For 4 people you will need...

• 1.5 litres boiling water
• 2 vegetable stock pots (or cubes)
• 300g Arborio rice
• 250g lamb liver, cut into small pieces
• 6 fresh sage leaves
• 1 carrot, finely chopped
• 1 celery stick, finely chopped
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 100ml Marsala wine
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 60g (½ cup/½ stick) butter
• 60g grated Parmigiano Reggiano
• Salt & freshly ground black pepper

How to...

1. Start by preparing the stock. In a large pan dissolve the stock pots or cubes in the boiling water, bring back to the boil and turn off the heat.
2. In an other small pan put 50g of the butter and the sage leaves and heat up until the butter has melted. Add the chopped liver, season with salt & pepper, stir well and cook for about 5 minutes stirring occasionally. 
3. Now add the Marsala to the liver and cook on high heat until all liquid has disappeared. Remove from heat, remove the sage leaves and set aside.
4. In a large heavy based frying pan or pan (I prefer a frying pan because it spreads the heat evenly during cooking), add the olive oil, carrot, onion and celery and cooked covered on low to medium heat until soft, about 10-15 minutes. 
5. Now add the rice turn the heat to medium and toast the rice for a couple of minutes stirring continuously. 
6. Add a cup of the vegetable stock whilst constantly stirring until all stock has been absorbed by the rice, this takes about 2 minutes. 
7. From now on, keep adding the remaining stock ½ cup at a time, always adding the next one when the previous one has been completely absorbed by the rice.
8. After you have used half of the stock, stir in the cooked livers and continue adding the remainder of the stock until all stock has been used. This process took me about 25-30 minutes.
9. After all the stock is absorbed, stir in the grated parmesan and the last 10g of butter. Serve immediately!!

Enjoy!!

R&A

Njokki l-forn - Maltese Baked Ricotta Filled Pasta Shapes

When my family visited us this summer, as per usual the food ration package came from Malta with them and this time I told my dad to bring me some Njokki. In Malta we call Njokki (Nyok-key...basically a Maltese version of the word gnocchi) large snail shaped pasta (in fact in Italy they are called Lumaconi-large snails) that originally come from the southern region of  Campania in Italy that in Malta are traditionally filled with a ricotta and egg mixture, soaked in milk, topped with a corned beef-tomato sauce, grated cheese and baked in a hot oven. The result is a very traditional Maltese dish that oozes with cheesiness and tomatoey goodness comes from a very old recipe. My mother always says that is was one of my grandfather's favourite dishes. Preparing this dish took Amanda and myself through a nostalgic trip to our childhood as both of us used to help our mothers and grandmothers fill these pasta shapes and it was definitely one of the highlights of our childhood. If you do not fancy a corned beef sauce you can use any meat you want but just make sure you cook the meat accordingly. You can even leave the meat out for a vegetarian dish. My mother always told me that for this recipe my grandfather used to fill the Njokki and leave them soaking in milk for a couple of hours so as the pasta shells soften but if you are in a rush you can skip this step, we did, and they turned out great!! Now re portions with a large packet of Njokki-Lumaconi we made enough grub for 8 people in fact this was a two-day meal for us (even taking a portion at work with me). You can always freeze the leftovers in tubs. So, for 8 portions, you will need...

1 500g packet Njokki/Lumaconi pasta shapes (see picture)

For the Ricotta mixture

800g fresh ricotta 

3 eggs

2 ½ tablespoons dried or freshly chopped parsley

Salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste

For the tomato sauce

1 large tin corned beef

2 garlic cloves, crushed

2 tins chopped tomatoes

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Freshly ground black pepper

750 ml whole milk

Grated mature Cheddar cheese or Edam cheese, to taste

How to...

1. Start by preparing the ricotta mixture by adding the ricotta, eggs, parsley and seasoning in a large bowl and mix well until you get a consistent mixture. 
2. When this is done, carefully starting filling the pasta shapes with a teaspoon, make sure you press the filling tightly in the shape (so it won't run away my nanna used to say).
3. Place the filled pasta shapes in two deep oven trays next to each other (see picture). 
4. Now gently pour milk until the filled pasta shapes are next to half way submerged. Leave to stand as long as you want (we left them for 15 minutes...we were very hungry). 
5. Whilst the pasta shapes are soaking prepare the tomato sauce. On a low to medium heat heat the garlic and oil and until garlic turns golden, Add the corned beef and cook for a couple of minutes, add the chopped tomatoes and season well. Simmer for about 20 minutes.
6. Preheat your oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4. 
   
7. When the sauce is done, using a ladle or large spoon gently pour sauce of top of the milk drenched pasta shapes. When all the sauce is used shake the dish slowly so as the wonderfully smelling tomato sauce mixes with the creaminess of the milk. Apparently, this is a very important step my mother says.
8. Top with the grated cheese and bake into the hot oven for 50 minutes or until top is nice golden and pasta shells are done.
9. Take out of the oven and leave to set for about 10 minutes.
10. Serve warm.
    

Enjoy!!

R&A

Mujaddara - Arabic Lentils, Rice & Onions - مجدرة

Well what can we say, I made this dish as a quick and cheap end of the month dinner and we fell in love with it....wow...sooo tasty!!! Simple, easy and quick to make I just hope you do try it. Obviously I added some spices to it but they are optional as this dish is quite simple as I said. This recipe is quite old and in fact, the first recorded recipe for Mujaddara appears in Kitab al-Tabikh, a cookbook compiled in 1226 by al-Baghdadi in Iraq. It was indeed known as a dish for the poor and there is a saying in the Eastern Arab world which says, "A hungry man would be willing to sell his soul for a dish of Mujaddara." I added Advieh (which is not an Arabic spice mix but Persian) but you can add Baharat a very popular Arabic spice mix or none at all. It is completely up to your taste! It is vegetarian, although some variations are served with meat but not this one. You can also make it vegan by omitting the yoghurt at the end. So for 3-4 people you will need...

• 3 onions, chopped
• 1 onion, sliced
• 1 cup brown or green lentils
• 1 cup long grain rice
• 3 ½ cups cold water
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon Advieh* or Baharat** spice mixture (optional) 
• 1 teaspoon Harissa paste (optional)
• Sesame seeds, to garnish
• Greek (thick) yoghurt, to serve

*To make Advieh spice mixture : Mix 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg, 1 teaspoon ground rose petals, 1 teaspoon ground cardamom, 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin in an airtight glass jar and store in a dry cupboard.

**To make Baharat spice mixture : Mix 2 teaspoons paprika, 2 teaspoons ground cumin, 1 teaspoon black pepper, 1 teaspoon ground coriander, ½  teaspoon ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg, ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom, ¼ teaspoon ground cloves in an airtight glass jar and store in a dry cupboard.

How to...

1. In a small pan heat 2 tablespoons of oil and fry the chopped onions together with the Advieh or Baharat if using on medium heat stirring occasionally until soft and brown. Set aside.
2. In a medium (5 litre) pot add the lentils and water, bring to the boil, lower heat and simmer covered for 15 minutes.
3. Now add the cooked onions, rice, salt and Harissa paste. Stir well and simmer covered on medium heat for 20 minutes, stirring frequently to avoid rice from sticking to the pot. 
4. In the meantime, heat the remaining oil in the same pan that you cooked the chopped onions in and cook the sliced onion until caramelized (stirring frequently).
5. When everything is cooked, serve the lentil/rice/onions mixture hot, some caramelised onions on top, sprinkle some sesame seeds and a couple of spoonfuls of yoghurt.

Enjoy!!

R&A

Stuffat tal-Qarnit - Maltese Octopus Stew

Well here is another classic from the Maltese islands which is one of Amanda's favourites...oh and mine as well!! Not everyone like octopus because of its rubbery texture but try and cook it this way and you will definitely love it. It is absolutely gorgeous served on some freshly cooked spaghetti (that is how this stew is usually served in Malta). Octopus in the Maltese islands is very common and is quite easily caught as they lurk around the rocky seashores of the islands. I remember going to the very famous Marsaxlokk market (do check it out if you ever visit Malta) on a Sunday morning and having a peek at these creatures that used to be still alive, crawling around the fish trays of the fishmonger. I also remember that every time we bought a huge octopus to cook at home, my mother used to put it in the kitchen sink with some salty water before cooking it and it was not the first time that we saw the octopus crawling out and attaching its tentacles to my mother's kitchen tiles. It was hilarious. Any way, do try this recipe as it is delicious. For 4-5 people you will need...

• 500g spaghetti
• 1 kilo octopus, cleaned and cut into bite size pieces
• 2 medium onions, roughly diced
• A handful of frozen peas, defrosted
• 6 small potatoes, cut in half or thirds
• 500ml tomato passata
• 250ml boiling water
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• A handful of green olives
• ½ cup red wine
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• Salt & pepper, to taste

How to,,,

1. In a heavy based pot heat the oil and cook covered on medium heat until soft and transparent.
2. When onions are cooked add the octopus and increase the heat, cook for about 10-15 minutes stirring occasionally. Sometimes it releases a lot of water so make sure all the water is evaporated.
3. Add the wine and stir until all the wine has evaporated. 
4. Now add the passata, water, tomato paste, olives, potatoes, sugar and season well with salt and pepper. Stir well bring to the boil and simmer on medium heat for about 45 minutes stirring occasionally so it does not stick.
5. In the meantime cook the spaghetti al dente.
6. After 45 minutes, add the peas to the octopus sauce and simmer gently for another 15 minutes.
7. Drain the spaghetti. Serve in a bowl or plate and spoon some octopus stew/sauce on top.
8. Serve hot.

Enjoy!!

R&A

Aljotta - Maltese Fish Soup

This Maltese soup obviously comes to be because of Malta's geographical location, that is, an island in the middle of the Mediterranean sea. Originally this soup was made by fishermen's wives to use up any small fish that would have gotten into the fishermen's nets. Most of the time this soup is made using these very famous Mediterranean small fish called Vopi (in Maltese). Funnily enough, these fish in English are called Boops Boops or Bogue, which is a species of small sea-bream. These fish are available in any Mediterranean fish market from Spain to Turkey but since I cannot find them over here in England I usually use either sprats or sardines. The soup will turn out equally delicious. This soup needs to have liquid consistency, like a broth and usually rice is added to it. Also, Amanda and most of the Maltese people leave this soup as it is but if you do not like small fish bones (which are completely edible) all you need to do is put it through a sieve before you ladle the soup into your serving bowl. It can be served as a starter or even as a main meal on its own when bread with crusty bread (preferably Maltese bread). Give it a go and if you want let us know if you like it or not. For about 6 portions as a starter you will need...

• 500g small fish like vopi, sprats, sardines, gutted but left whole
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 4 tomatoes, de-seeded & chopped
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon dried mint
• ½ teaspoon dried marjoram
• 100ml dry sherry or dry white wine
• 2 Knorr fish stock pots or stock cubes
• 1.5 litres boiling water
• Salt & pepper
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• Lemon wedges, to serve

 How to...

1. Heat the oil and cook the onion & garlic until golden brown.
2. Add the tomatoes, fish, mint, marjoram, salt, pepper and stir slowly, so as not to break the fish. Cook for about 5 minutes stirring occasionally.
3. Add the sherry or wine, give it a stir and cook until all liquid has evaporated.
4. Now add the stock pots or cubes to a measuring jug and dissolve them in some boiling water, about half a litre or so. Now add to the fish in the pot, add the remaining litre of boiling water. Stir carefully, add the tomato paste and stir again.
5. Bring to the boil and simmer on low to medium heat for about 30 minutes.  Now if you do not like munching on the edible tiny fish bones, just pass the soup through a fine sieve before serving.
6. Serve hot with lemon wedges.

Enjoy!!

R&A

Vegan Gluten Free Pizza

So, one of my friends asked me to help her with a vegan gluten-free dough recipe and I said that I will accept the challenge. Well after lots of research and experimentation, I managed to come up with this delicious, tasty millet based dough. It is a very good alternative to wheat if you are gluten intolerant and/or follow a vegan diet. The amounts of the ingredients are for 1 pizza so you have to increase the amounts if you are doing more than one pizza. When it comes to toppings I used what I had in my fridge/pantry and again feel free to use anything you like or prefer. Millet flour is sometimes marketed as Bajra/Bajri flour which is the Indian flour for millet, I made my own and ground some millet seeds in my spice grinder. I also added some ground golden flaxseed/linseed but it is optional if you cannot find it.  It is quite easy and quick to prepare, just throw the ingredients in a food processor and voilà. for one pizza you will need...

For the dough

• 215g millet flour
• 65g coconut oil
• 100ml boiling water
• ½ teaspoon rock salt
• 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed/linseed

For the topping

• 3 tablespoons kalamata olive hummus
• 1 small yellow pepper, de-seeded and cut into rings
• 2 slices white onion, separated into rings
• 1 mushroom, thinly sliced
• 2 smoked garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• Harissa paste, to taste
• Pinch dried oregano
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Freshly chopped dill

How to...

1. Preheat the oven to 240°C/475°F.
2. Prepare the dough, in a food processor  put the millet flour, coconut oil, salt and flaxseed, if using, and blitz until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. With the motor running, add the boiling water tablespoon by tablespoon until you get a smooth dough. I used nearly all of the 100ml. 
3. Now, place a large piece of greaseproof paper on the kitchen top and dust with some millet flour. With your hands take the dough and shape into a ball on top of the greaseproof paper and with a rolling pin slowly roll out into a pizza base about 5mm thick. Don't worry if it is not round!! 
   
4. Spread the pizza base generously with the hummus and spread evenly the sliced pepper, mushroom, onion and smoked garlic. Dot with harissa paste to taste, sprinkle with dried oregano. Carefully transfer onto a large oven tray together with the greaseproof paper.
5. Bake into the preheated hot oven for 15-20 minutes.
6. When cooked take out of the oven, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with freshly chopped dill. Slice into 8 pieces and serve immediately.
   

Enjoy!!

R&A

Shiitake Mushroom & Asparagus Risotto

"Well, that was worth the lifetime wait" That is what I said as soon as I finished my last spoonful of this risotto. The reason behind that saying was the fact that I never had a proper risotto before and also I had never cooked one before yesterday. For some strange reason I never felt confident enough to cook a risotto, always thinking that I'm going to mess it up. But hey, as they say, I nailed it!! I was browsing as usual and found this recipe which I adapted to our own taste. The recipe says to use dry white wine but we used a good Spanish dry sherry, which has the same colour and dryness as white wine but a fruitier crisper taste, in my opinion, but if you do not have it feel free to use a dry white wine. This recipe is completely vegetarian as well. I actually found out that the secret to the perfect risotto is patience, in fact you have stir calmly for nearly 20 minutes but do not be put off by this, it is certainly worth the effort. So here it goes, for 4 people you will need...

• 1.5 litres boiling water
• 2 vegetable stock pots (or cubes)
• 250g (1 ½ cups) Arborio rice
• 150g asparagus, ends discarded and chopped into 3 pieces
• 60g dried Shiitake mushrooms, soaked in boiling water for about an hour
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 120ml (½ cup) Spanish dry Sherry
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 60g (½ cup/½ stick) butter
• 50g grated Parmigiano Reggiano

How to...

1. In a pan add the boiling water and vegetable stock pots. Bring to the boil and throw in the asparagus and simmer for 4 minutes. Take out of the stock and put into ice cold water to stop the cooking process completely. Drain and set aside.
2. Now prepare the mushrooms. Start by discarding the steams and slicing the mushroom caps thinly. Heat the olive oil in a small pan and add the mushrooms, sauté for 5 minutes stirring frequently. Set aside. 
3. In a large heavy based frying pan or pan (I prefer a frying pan because it spreads the heat evenly during cooking) heat up half the butter and add the onion and cook covered on medium to low heat until soft and transparent. When onion is cooked, increase the heat to medium, add the rice and cook, stirring frequently for about a minute. 
4. Now add the sherry and simmer whilst stirring until it is absorbed, this will only take about a minute. Now add a cup of the vegetable stock whilst constantly stirring until all stock has been absorbed by the rice, this takes about 2 minutes.
5. From now on, keep adding the remaining stock ½ cup at a time, always adding the next one when the previous one has been completely absorbed by the rice. Keep doing this until you used all the stock or until rice is looking creamy. It is very important that you keep stirring the rice constantly to ensure an even absorption. This will take about 20 minutes. 
6. When done, take off the heat, stir in slowly the remaining butter and half the cheese. Now stir in carefully the cooked asparagus and Shiitake mushrooms. Serve immediately with extra grated Parmigiano.

Enjoy!!

R&A

Tortelloni Cheese & Peas

Tortellini or tortelloni with cream is quite a famous dish in Malta and is a must on numerous restaurant menus around the Maltese islands. We do like the classic ham, mushrooms & cream but this is another version that we love and thought we'd share it with you all. In this dish, we used whole milk instead of cream but you can use cream as well if you wish. The sweetness of the peas contrasts the sharpness of the Gorgonzola cheese whilst the paprika adds extra flavour. For 3-4 people you will need...

• 2x 250g Packets tortelloni
• 100g frozen peas, defrosted
• 75g Gorgonzola Piccante, cut in cubes
• 75g Extra mature cheddar, grated
• Freshly ground pepper
• ½ teaspoon sweet paprika
• 2 teaspoons corn flour dissolved in 1 cup whole milk
• Chopped parsley, to serve

How to...

1. Cook the tortelloni as per packet directions.
2. In the meantime, start preparing the sauce by adding all the ingredients into a small pan and stir frequently and slowly until all the cheese has melted. Keep stirring until the sauce bubbles and starts to thicken. Turn off the heat.
3. Drain the tortelloni cooked al dente and add to the cheesy sauce or viceversa. Stir slowly and serve hot with plenty of chopped parsley sprinkled on top.

Enjoy!!

R&A

Baked Cod with Sweet Peppers & Cherry Tomatoes

Recently my parents and youngest brother visited us and my dad wanted me to cook something for them so I thought why not cook some local fish with a Mediterranean touch for all of us. So, whilst we were at Doncaster market, I visited my friend Vince of Penny's Fisheries and got a good deal on some fresh cod. Then on our way home I browsed the net  for ideas whilst thinking what I had in our pantry at home and I found a recipe on the BBC Food website and adapted it to our own taste. So, off we headed to the supermarket to buy the rest of the vegetables that I was missing at home. Since cod is not everyone's favourite fish as some might say that it is quite bland on flavour I decided to add some natural flavour enhancers that made this dish super tasty and flavourful. I added some more herbs and capers. As you might imagine this amount of ingredients fed all five of us so feel free so adapt the ingredient amounts. Give it a go, you can use any fish you like and also vary/omit the vegetables to your liking. For 5-6 people you will need...

• 1.2kg fresh large cod fillets
• 4 red sweet peppers, chopped into medium sized-pieces
• 3 yellow sweet peppers, chopped into medium sized-pieces
• 2 red onions, diced into 8 pieces
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed or finely chopped
• 250g cherry tomatoes
• A large handful of green olives
• 2 tablespoons capers
• 500ml (2 cups) tomato passata
• Fresh basil leaves
• Fresh or dried mint leaves
• Some dried oregano
• Dried parsley
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Extra virgin olive oil

How to...

1. Preheat the oven to 220°C/425°F/Gas Mark 7.
2. In a large bowl put the chopped peppers, onions, garlic, cherry tomatoes, olives, capers and some olive oil and mix well. Divide the mixed vegetables between two large oven dishes and put in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes.
   
3. In the meantime cut the large cod fillets in two pieces. When the vegetables are done, leave the oven on, take the vegetables out of the oven and pour 250ml (about 1 cup) of passata on top of the vegetables. 
4. Now, put the cod fillets on top of the partially cooked vegetables. Drizzle with olive oil and scatter with some fresh basil leaves, mint, oregano and parsley. Freshly grind some black pepper and put into the hot oven for a further 20 minutes until fish is flaky and falling apart. Serve hot!
   
   
   

Enjoy!!

R&A

Pineapple & Coconut Kebabs

Watching afternoon TV, I felt like a sweet treat but remembered that I did actually promise myself not to have sugary treats during weekdays and so far I have stuck to it. So, we had a giant pineapple sat on the kitchen floor (that is where we leave it to ripen) and thought that is quite sweet. Obviously, for myself munching on just freshly chopped pineapple is not enough so I came up with these sweet and delicious kebabs. Very quick and easy to prepare and cook you will have a great healthy, sweet treat in minutes. You can used canned pineapple chunks if you like but believe me fresh ripe pineapple is so so good, so do try and get your hands on a fresh pineapple. They are also great to grill on the BBQ to finish a great meal. Give them a go...for 8 kebabs you will need...

• 32 large pieces fresh ripe pineapple
• 6 tablespoons desiccated coconut
• ¼ teaspoon mixed spice
• ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 8 bamboo skewers

How to... 

1. In a bowl or plate mix the coconut, mixed spice and cinnamon well. 
2. Roll the pineapple pieces in the coconut/spice mixture and put 4 pineapple pieces on every skewers.
3. Grill on a hot grill pan or BBQ for a couple of minutes on each side until slightly charred.
4. Serve.

Enjoy!!

R&A

Tunisian Lablabi - لبلابي

Lablabi is Tunisia's national dish. It is very common in eateries all around the country as it is very quick to plate up once you have the base for the dish. The base for the dish is simply a chickpea soup flavoured with garlic and cumin. I cooked the chickpea soup in our slow cooker but you can cook it on the hob by letting it simmer for 3 hours on low/medium heat. It is very important though that if you do not cook the chickpeas in the slow cooker you need to pre-soak the chickpeas before cooking. Once you have the soup, it's all easy peasy from there onwards. Give it a go...you will love it. You will need...

For the soup

500g dried chickpeas 

6 garlic cloves, crushed

1 tablespoon ground cumin

2 litres boiling water

½ tablespoon bicarbonate of soda

To plate up...

• 4 small French Baguettes or other crusty bead
• Tunisian Harissa paste
• 1 Lime, cut into quarters
• Capers
• Olives
• 2 cans Tuna chunks
• Extra virgin olive oil
• 4 Soft boiled eggs
• Ground cumin, to taste

How to...

1. Start by cooking the chickpeas in the slow cooker or on the hob. Remember to pre-soak them if not using the slow cooker. Put the chickpeas in the slow cooker add the garlic cloves, ground cumin, bicarbonate of soda and cover with the boiling water and cook for 4 hours on high. Alternatively, simmer on the hob for 3 hours on a low/medium heat.
2. When the soup is done, cook the eggs to your liking. Traditionally.the egg is served either raw (it cooks in the hot soup) or else soft boiled. To cook a soft boiled egg just plunge it into boiling water for 3 minutes. If you want it hard boiled, leave it for 8 minutes.
3. You are now ready to plate up. Firstly start by tearing the bread by hand into bite pieces and placing it at the bottom of the bowl. Now pour 2 ladles of soup, including chickpeas obviously. From now on, you can put the amount of ingredients you like...more of this...none of that...less of that...whatever you like. I like everything so...
4. Start with a sprinkling of capers, then green olives, then some tuna. Add harissa (as much as you want...be careful it is spicy). Drizzle with the olive oil and lime juice. Sprinkle with extra ground cumin, crack the egg on the dish, mix all up and enjoy!

Enjoy!!

R&A