Tomato & Ricotta Pasta Sauce - Zalza tat-Tadam u Rkotta

Well hello all!!! I am back!! Haven't blogged in a while because I have been quite busy with life. We have returned from a wonderful holiday in Mexico and now we feel really refreshed. I did come back with lots of Mexican recipes and food ideas but that is not what I am blogging about today. I will definitely be sharing some delicious Mexican recipes in the near future though. In the meantime here is a pasta sauce that is a huge favourite within Maltese households. A sauce that is very easy and quick to prepare and that everyone in your family will enjoy. Try it and you will definitely do it again...mark our words!! You can serve it with any pasta shapes you like, originally my mum used to boil some spirals/cellentani but anything will do. We like penne too as the sauce gets into the pasta...mmmm!! So here goes our version; for the sauce you will need...

• 350ml Passata Rustica (Thick tomato passata)
• 100ml water
• 125g ricotta
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ½ teaspoon dried marjoram
• Pinch peperoncino (chilli flakes) - optional
• Sea sat & freshly ground pepper, to taste

How to...

1. In a small pot, add the garlic to the olive oil and heat gently on a low heat until the garlic is golden.
2. Now carefully add the passata and water and give it a good stir. Add the marjoram, salt & pepper and chilli flakes (if using) and give it a good stir. Simmer covered on medium heat for about 10-15 minutes.
3. Add the ricotta and stir well to incorporate within the tomato sauce. Simmer for a further 5 minutes and turn off the heat.
4. Serve hot with your boiled pasta and add more black pepper.

Enjoy!!

R&A

Stuffat tal-Fenek - Maltese Style Rabbit Stew

Usually hailed as Malta's national dish, stewed rabbit is popular with most of the Maltese people, whether living on the tiny island or living all around the globe. Rabbits in Malta are famously bred for food and rabbit dishes are a staple in a traditional Maltese family. The most famous rabbit recipes are rabbit stew (Stuffat tal-fenek/fenkata - Stoo-ff-aht tahl- Fehneck/Fehn-kah-tah) and fried rabbit (Fenek moqli - Fehneck mohq-lee). Amanda's mum used to do a wonderful rabbit stew and Amanda used to love eating this so I made sure that during our last trip to the market, to get us a couple of wild rabbits. Around Maltese households, rabbit stew is also traditionally served ladled over some spaghetti. So, in this post I will tell you step by step how to prepare a traditional rabbit stew the Maltese way. It is very easy to prepare and you do not need a huge number of ingredients. For 4 hungry people you will need...

• 1 rabbit, cut up into pieces
• 5 medium potatoes, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 1 large onions, cut into large pieces
• 500ml (2 cups) tomato passata
• 1 heaped tablespoon tomato paste, dissolved into 250ml (1 cup) hot water
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• Handful frozen peas, defrosted
• Salt & pepper, to taste
• Vegetable oil

For the marinade

• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped or crushed
• 500ml (2 cups) good red wine
• Salt & pepper

To serve

• 400g spaghetti
• Grated Kefalotiri or Grana Padano cheese

How to...

1. Start by marinating the rabbit into the red wine, garlic and salt & pepper. Mix well by hand so as all of the meat is covered in marinade (add more wine if you want to). Put in the fridge to marinate for at least an hour.
2. Remove the rabbit pieces from the marinade and discard the marinade). In a large frying pan heat some vegetable oil and fry the rabbit pieces until slightly brown. 
3. Now transfer the rabbit pieces into a large pot and add the passata, tomato paste, potatoes, onion, sugar, salt & pepper. Give it a good stir and simmer on medium heat for about an hour or so, stirring occasionally.
4. Now add the peas and cook for another 10 minutes. If you are serving it with spaghetti now it is time to cook your spaghetti. Turn off the heat and let it rest for a while until the spaghetti are done. 
5. Plate up the spaghetti and ladle the rabbit stew on top.
6. Serve with grated Kefalotiri or Grana Padano cheese.

Enjoy!!

R&A

Pastizzi

Pastizzi are ever so popular in Malta. There are so good. My dad used to buy loads of these on a Sunday morning. They are made with flaky all butter puff pastry and filled with a variety of two fillings, with peas or with ricotta cheese. Unfortunately pastizzi are not available here in the UK so I decided to make my own on a Sunday morning and surprise my wife which as every Maltese person is a big fan. She was so surprised :) The hardest bit is always the pastry which honestly nobody can perfectly replicate the one one buy from Maltese pastizzerias [Pastizzi shops]. I used ready-made all butter puff pastry which turned out to be a success...luckily...my favourite pastizzi back in Malta where from Roger's Bakery at Zejtun. He used to sell these from his van on  a Sunday morning by the village church, he also sells frozen ones from the shop. So if you are a Maltese immigrant do give these a go...they are really worth all the work :) You will need...

For the Pastizzi tal-Piżelli - Pea ones

• 300 g dried marrowfat peas
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• Oil for frying
• Salt & pepper
• 1 tsp Bicarbonate of soda
• 1 egg beaten, to use as egg wash
• 500 g all butter puff pastry

Method

1. Soak the peas overnight. Wash them in plenty of salted water. Put the peas in a pan and cover generously gently with water, add a teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda. Cook the peas until they’re very soft. Drain well and set aside.
2. Preheat the oven at 200°C.
3. In the meantime, fry the onions in oil until soft and transparent. Add the onion to the cooked peas, mix well and season to taste.
4. Roll out the puff pastry thinly and cut out circles about 10cm in diameter. Egg wash the edges. Put about a teaspoon of the mixture onto each of the circles in the middle. Pick up the pastry circle from two edges and seal the edges together. Egg wash and bake in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes or until the pastry is well golden.
5. Serve hot.

For the Pastizzi ta' l-irkotta - Ricotta ones

• 300 g ricotta
• 2 eggs
• Parsley, finely chopped [optional]
• 1 egg beaten, to be used as egg wash
• 500 g all butter puff pastry
• Salt & Pepper

Method

1. Mix well the ricotta, eggs, parsley and salt & pepper.
2. Roll out the puff pastry thinly and cut out circles about 10cm in diameter. Egg wash the edges. Put about a teaspoon of the mixture onto each of the circles in the middle. Pick up the pastry circle from two edges and seal the edges together. Egg wash and bake in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes or until the pastry is well golden.
3. Serve hot.

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

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

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

Bzar biz-zalza - Peppers in Tomato Sauce Maltese Style

This recipe is definitely a Maltese classic. A summer classic dish that can be eaten hot or cold and usually eaten with Maltese bread and/or fried fish, mainly Lampuki [Dolphin Fish or Dorado in English]. We love it and whenever we cook it, it reminds Amanda of when her mother used to prepare fried Lampuki and this pepper sauce. My dad love it a lot as well...to be fair, every Maltese person does I guess!! This dish is a relative of the Sicilian dish Peperonata. Give it a go and as I said you can serve it as a side dish or as a delicious vegetarian dish on its own and eat it with some nice crusty bread or tortillas even....preferably Maltese obviously...for 4 people you will need...

• 3 Green peppers, de-seeded & sliced
• 3 Red peppers, de-seeded & sliced
• 700 ml tomato passata
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• Handful whole green olives
• 3 teaspoons capers
• ½ teaspoon dried mint
• 4 Fresh basil leaves
• Salt & pepper
• Extra virgin olive oil

How to..

1. In a medium sized pan heat some olive oil & the garlic and fry until golden brown. 
2. Then add the peppers and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Now add the rest of the ingredients and give it a good stir and simmer on low/medium heat until the peppers are cooked through. We left ours simmer gently for about 3 hours (The longer the simmer, the tastier the sauce...gives it more flavour) but you can simmer for an hour on medium heat always stirring occasionally.
4. Serve hot or cold with bread/tortillas or as a side dish.

Enjoy!!

R&A

Kawlata bix-Xikel tal-Majjal - Maltese Vegetable Soup with Pork Shank

For the majority of Maltese people, this is heaven in a bowl. It is a simple dish made out of the freshest vegetables and meat. If you are not so keen on the meat bit, just eliminate the pork shank, although this has now turned into another recipe as a Kawlata  without meat is called Minestra. Anyway, I could not resist when we got our vegetables box delivered and saw all that colourful and fresh produce in front of me, I had to prepare a good old Maltese vegetable soup. When we do this, we do a huge pot of it and in fact the amount of ingredients that we prepared for it were enough to fill a very large pot. After we just freeze what is left in portions, although if eating during the following days just store it in the fridge for a couple of days and reheat as necessary. In Malta it is traditional to serve it with grated cheese and Maltese crusty bread. The best thing about this soup is that when I chop the vegetables I chop them roughly to give the soup a very rustic look :) Also, slow cooking makes sure that all the flavours infuse together. We use the a cured pork shank for this soup, this can also be found labelled Ham Hock or Ham Shank here in England. It gives the soup a delicious flavour and when the soup is cooked, you can flake the meat it in the soup as Amanda likes it or else after having a bowlful [or two] of soup, eating it on the side with some bread. Heaven!! Well, enjoy making it, the ingredients list is very versatile and the amounts can be changed depending on the size of the pot. For a huge pot you will need...

• 1 Pork/Ham shank
• 3 large Potatoes, roughly diced
• ½ butternut squash or 500g pumpkin, diced
• 1 small Cabbage, chopped
• 1 courgette or Marrow, diced
• 4 small Onions, split into 4 pieces
• 1 small Cauliflower, split into florets
• 4 Carrots, diced
• 1 Turnip or ½ a swede, diced
• 100g Pulse mix or yellow split peas (pre-soaked overnight or longer)
• 3 tbsp tomato paste
• 2 vegetable or pork stock cubes or stockpots 
• 75g of small shaped pasta such as ditalini
• Salt & pepper
• 2 litres of water

How to...

1. To start with, put the pulse mix or yellow split peas in a small pan cover with water, bring to the boil and simmer for 5-10 minutes. Drain and set aside. 
2. At the bottom of the large pot, put the shank, skin part down and then add all the other ingredients, apart from the pasta. Give the pot a stir with a wooden spoon. 
3. Bring to the boil on a medium heat and then turn heat to low and simmer for 3-4 hours, stirring occasionally. About 10-15 min before turning off heat, add the pasta and cook until pasta is done. Serve with grated cheese and some crusty bread!

Enjoy!!

R&A

Baked Imqaret - Maltese Date Pastries

Imqaret are a very famous deep fried sweet Maltese treat. There used to be just one place where Maltese people used to buy them, "il-Gabbana ta' Bieb il-Belt' but later on they could easily be found at village feasts and local markets' mini-stalls. We missed them so much that we had to make our own. We chose to bake them and used already made pastry. If you want to make your own pastry it is quite easy to do and you can always deep fry them!! The deep frying method does give it a unique taste but in my opinion the taste is in the filling. The delicious orange blossom water that we Maltese have been using for ages, from curing a poorly tummy to creating delicious tasty sweet pastries and the use of aniseed give these pastries their unique taste. Try them out, they are exquisite!! We used only 250g dates but feel free to double the amount to make more. You will need...

• 250g dates, pitted and chopped
• 1-2 tbsp water
• 1 tsp grated orange zest
• 1 tsp orange flower water
• Pinch ground cloves
• ½ tsp ground aniseed
• 1 ready-made sheet shortcrust or sweet pastry
• Flour, for dusting

1. Start by blending all the ingredients, apart from the pastry obviously in a food processor. Add the water bit by bit, you do not want a very liquid mixture. Do leave the mixture a bit lumpy. Set aside.
2. Preheat the oven to 200°C.
3. Dust your kitchen bench with flour and roll the pastry sheet, using a flour dusted rolling pin roll out the sheet so it becomes thinner. Cut into two long strips, put the mixture in the middle alongside the pastry strip leaving an inch on each so you can seal easily. Wet the edges with some water and cover with the other strip of pastry and seal well, packing the date mixture well. Slice into diamond shapes or slices (see picture) and bake into the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes. 
4. Serve hot or cold.

Enjoy!!

R&A

Qagħaq tal-Ġunġlien (Maltese Biscuit Rings with Sesame Seeds)

Served with a sweet cup of tea creamed with evaporated milk, these Maltese biscuits have been very famous amongst the Maltese people. They can be found in any bakery and supermarket all over the island. So, I felt like a nice cup of tea but had no biscuits and considering today was quite cooler than usual, I decided to make these delicious beauties. Once you get the preparation done, they only take minutes to prepare and bake, but unfortunately seconds to devour! Give them a go and share them with your friends (or not). Oh well, give them our recipe at least. For 8 large rings (you can always make more by making them smaller) you will need...

• 250g plain flour
• 100g sugar
• 7g baking powder
• 1 egg
• Pinch of salt
• Pinch ground aniseed
• Pinch ground cloves
• 85g butter, at room temperature, cut into cubes
• 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
• 3 tablespoons water
• Grated lemon rind
• Grated orange rind
• Sesame seeds

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
2. In a mixing bowl mix flour, salt, sugar, baking powder and spices, add the butter and rub into the mixture until it resembles breadcrumbs.
3. In a separate bowl crack the egg, add the oil, water and lemon and orange rinds and mix them well.
4. Add to the flour/butter mixture and mix by hand until you get a soft dough. Shape into a ball.
5. Put the sesame seeds in a plate.
6. Dust your hands with flour and get some dough (about the size of a golf ball) and roll into a long fingerlike shape, carefully place the dough into the sesame seeds and turn slowly to coat. Shape into a ring and transfer to a buttered and floured baking tray.
7. Bake for about 20 minutes. Let cool down and serve.

Enjoy!!

R&A

Corned Beef & Tomato Pasta Sauce

This sauce has been a staple in Maltese cooking since the 1940's when canned corned beef came to prominence during WW2. The traditional version of this recipe uses only corned beef and peas (traditionally canned marrowfat peas) but our take on this recipe is really tasty and delicious and full of flavour. We use medium curry powder but you can use mild or hot, depending how spicy you would like it. Serve on top of your cooked pasta or mix it all up just like we do, so all the sauce goes into the pasta. Give this version a go and let us know how it turns out for you! For 4 people you will need...

• 1 large tin of corned beef, diced
• 500ml tomato passata
• 1 large onion, sliced
• 150g frozen peas
• 1 tablespoon medium curry powder
• ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
• ½ teaspoon sugar
• A few dashes of Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tablespoon vegetable oil

How to...

1. Heat the oil in a thick based pan and fry the onion until transparent and just started turning brown, stirring frequently to avoid sticking.
2. When onion is cooked, add the curry powder, pepper & cinnamon and cook for a minute until spices are fragrant, stirring well.
3. Add the corned beef and stir well with the onion/spice mixture. Now add some Worcestershire sauce (about 1 tablespoon) and stir well. Cook for a further minute.
4. Add the passata, sugar and peas and stir well. 
5. Simmer on medium heat for about 15-20 minutes. (Make sure you keep stirring frequently because the corned beef will stick to the pan).
6. Turn off the heat and serve with cooked pasta, sprinkled with grated Kefalotiri cheese.

Enjoy!!!

R&A

Maltova a la Maltija - Fine Pasta with Cheese & Bovril

This dish is an old Maltese recipe that used to be given to us during our infancy and childhood. Ahhh what memories!! Mothers and grandmothers alike used to prepare this for us and we used to love it!! I still do :)) It is very easy to prepare...I shared the picture on Facebook earlier and had quite a number of likes for it so I decided to post how I (and my mum and grandma) used to make it :) It was originally done with Maltova infant food and Bovril. If you cannot find Maltova you can use Sabbiolina by Plasmon. Fine couscous will do the job too!! For a vegetarian you can do this by using Marmite, Vegemite or Vecon instead of Bovril!! So these amounts will suffice for 2 or 3 people as it is quite filling! You will need...

• 150g coarse Maltova (or fine couscous)
• 3 Cheese triangles
• 1 level tablespoon Bovril/Marmite/Vegemite
• 500ml boiling water

How to...

1. In a pan dissolve the  Bovril/Marmite/Vegemite in the boiling water. Keep stirring until it is all dissolved.
2. Put the pan on a low heat.
3. Add the cheese triangles and Maltova and bring to the boil stirring continuously. Make sure you keep stirring or else it will stick to the pan.
4. Simmer for a few minutes until it reaches a thick consistency.
5. Serve hot!!

Enjoy!!

R&A

Gallettini - Plain Biscuits

These biscuits are so quick and easy to make. This version is plain, they are basically like Rich Tea or Morning Coffee biscuits. You can always cover them with melted chocolate. We love dunking them in tea or coffee...yummmm....this is an old Maltese recipe (about 50 years old). They are so crispy and they smell so nice whilst they are in the oven and most of all they are delicious in their simplicity. Give them a go...these amounts make around 30 biscuits. You will need...

• 110g plain flour
• 100g sugar
• 100g cornflour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 100g butter, cut into cubes
• 1 egg, beaten
• Extra flour for dusting

How to...

1. Preheat the oven at 175°C.
2. Sieve all the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Stir to combine.
3. Rub the butter/margarine cubes into the flour with your fingertips, until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
4. Add the beaten egg, and mix well with a wooden spoon or spatula until you get a dough. If the dough is sticky add a bit more plain flour.
5. Knead well on a lightly floured surface until you get a smooth dough. Roll the dough thinly and cut into round shapes using a glass or other shapes if you want.
6. Carefully put the shapes on a tray covered with baking paper.
7. Bake the biscuits for 15 minutes. Keep checking on them because if they are too thin they will burn.

Enjoy!!!!

R&A

Maltese Balbuljata [Tomatoes & Eggs]

This is another Maltese classic dish. It is very easy and quick to prepare. I love it and I could eat a whole Ħobża maltija [Maltese bread loaf] with this dish. That is how it is eaten in Malta. It is a very old dish and I can remember eating it everywhere...from my mum, to both of my nannas and also my mum-in-law. Eggs and tomatoes go very well together, in fact there are loads of dishes which consist from these two ingredients from the Tunisian dish Ojja to Huevos Rancheros which is a very famous dish in Spanish speaking countries. So here is what you will need...

• 4 eggs
• 1 large tin chopped tomatoes
• 1 small onion, chopped
• Salt & pepper
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• Crusty bread, to serve

How to...

1. Fry the onion in the oil for a few minutes until soft and transparent.
2. Add the tomatoes, sugar, salt & pepper and simmer covered for about 10 minutes on medium heat.
3. Turn the heat to low and crack the eggs in the pan and stir to combine the tomato sauce with the eggs until the eggs are set,
4. Serve with crusty bread.

Enjoy!!

R&A

Crab Mousse with Maltese Carob Liqueur

Saturday morning at the market, I could not resist the urge I had to buy fresh crabs from the fishmonger as soon as I saw the size of them, they looked awesome. So if you manage to get your hands on a fresh crab it would be great but if you cannot find it use canned crab meat instead. Obviously do not use surimi sticks which are erroneously called crab sticks. In this recipe you can see that I used light and dark crab meat, the light crab meat coming from the legs and claws of the crab whilst the dark crab meat comes from the body cavity of the crab. I also used a Maltese Carob Liqueur which gave this mousse a wonderful carob scent. If you do not have or cannot find it, you can use good quality sherry instead. It is a pretty easy recipe as all you need to is blend all the ingredients. So, here is what you will need...

• 60g light crab meat
• 60g dark crab meat
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 190ml double cream
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• Pinch of Cayenne Pepper
• 2 tsp Maltese Ħarruba (Carob) Liqueur or Sherry if not available
• Few leaves fresh thyme or a pinch of dried thyme

How to...

1. Lightly grease 3 ramekin dishes or small glass tumblers.
2. Preheat the oven to 190°C.
3. Blend all the ingredients in a blender until you get a smooth velvety mixture.
4. Pour the mixture into the ramekins/tumblers and place them into a deep oven dish.
5. Pour boiling water in the dish up to about ¾ of the outside of the ramekin/tumbler.
6. Place in the oven for about 25-30 minutes.
7. Serve with some wild rocket or salad of your choice and some crunchy grissini or Maltese galletti.

Enjoy!!

R&A

Torta Tal-Corned Beef - Corned Beef Pie Maltese Style

This pie has been in my family and possibly in loads more Maltese households since World War 2. Tinned Corned Beef (Bulu Bijf) used to be used as a substitute for fresh meat which was scarce during the war. It is a very straightforward recipe and we even used pre-prepared pastry as making puff-pastry takes loads of skill and time. My mother-in-law does her own pastry which makes this pie tastier, while my grandma used to send me to the Pastizzeria (Traditional Maltese pasty shop) to buy her pastry from there, oh what memories!. There is a secret to this recipe which is, using Tomato Paste (Kunserva) instead of any other tomatoes/tinned tomatoes. So here it goes...you will need...

• 2 large tins corned beef
• 1 small can kunserva [tomato paste] [about 120g]
• 4 large carrots, finely diced
• 1 large onion finely diced
• 8-10 very small potatoes, cooked and cut into 4 pieces
• A handful of frozen peas
• 2 packages ready-made puff or shortcrust pastry sheets
• 3 tbsp vegetable oil
• A little water

How to...

1. Heat the oil and add the carrots and onion and cook until carrots are soft. If necessary add a little water.
2. Preheat the oven at 180°C.
3. In the meantime cook the potatoes, do not cook them too much, you can boil, microwave or steam them. Cut them in 4 and set aside.
4. When carrots & onion are cooked, add the corned beef and tomato paste. Give it a good stir and simmer for a couple of minutes until the corned beef smashes down.Add the potatoes and peas and stir carefully again.
5. Turn off the heat. Set aside.
6. Roll the pastry sheets and put it onto an oiled/buttered 28cm round pie dish or a rectangular pie dish.
7. Add the corned beef filling and cover with the remainder of the pastry. Prick the top as well so excessive steam comes out of the pie.
8. Cook in the preheated oven for about 35 minutes or until pastry is golden.

Enjoy!!

R&A