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

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