Baked Tomato & Cheese Rigatoni

This has been my favourite pasta dish since I was a child and in fact in my family this dish is called Ramon's Pasta. :) I love it so much, the gooey pink sauce, the melted cheese, the sweetness of the tomatoes...heaven!! This recipe has been adapted by my mum from a 1970's cookbook written by Marguerite Patten. I can tell you that if you try this pasta dish, you will go for seconds :) It is quite easy to make and the most "difficult" part of it is making the pink sauce. So, do give it a go and let us know how it turns out for you. 

For 6-8 people you will need...

• 500g Rigatoni
• 6 tomatoes, sliced
• 300g Edam cheese, grated
• 800ml whole milk
• 500ml tomato passata
• 2 teaspoons wholegrain mustard
• 50g butter
• 50g plain flour
• Ground black pepper

How to...

1. Start by boiling a large salted pot of water. Cook the pasta until nearly al dente...about 9 minutes.
2. Whilst the pasta is cooking, make a roux by melting the butter and adding the flour on a medium heat. Stir until you get a golden coloured (but not brown) mixture. Add the milk bit by bit whilst stirring continuously until the sauce thickens and you have used all of the milk. Make sure there are no flour lumps. About 10-15 minutes in total. You need a creamy and silky white sauce. 
3. Preheat the oven at 200°C.
4. Turn off the heat and add ground black pepper to taste and the passata, stir until you get a pink sauce. Add the mustard and some of the grated cheese (optional), stir again.
5. Drain the pasta and rinse quickly with cold water to remove any extra starch.
6. In the large pasta pot, add the pasta (make sure it is not in one big lump), add the pasta and about 75% of the pink sauce. Mix carefully until it is well combined.
7. Butter or spray a rectangular oven dish and spread the leftover pink sauce on the bottom. Add half of the pasta and pink sauce mixture. now sprinkle most of the cheese and some sliced tomatoes, add more black pepper.
8. Pour in the rest of the pasta, sprinkle the remainder of the cheese and cover with the sliced tomatoes. Add more black pepper if you like. 
   
9. Now, to get better results move the oven rack to the top shelf and bake the pasta for about 30 minutes. You can put the pasta dish under the grill for about 5-10 minutes if you like to crisp up the tomatoes. Serve hot!!

Enjoy!!

R&A

Tandoori Chicken

Originating from India & Pakistan, Tandoori chicken is one of our favourite Indian recipes. So tasty and delicious!! Unfortunately a proper Tandoor oven in our kitchen is nowhere in sight but when we cook these lovely marinated red pieces of chicken in a hot oven, the result is very close. We served them some home-made pilau rice and some raita (yoghurt dip)...so goood!! You can also cook these on a hot BBQ. The secret is long marination as this will also tenderise the meat. Give them a go and we are quite sure your friends and family will love them and also ask for more. To marinade around a kilo of chicken pieces you will need...

• 1 kg chicken drumsticks and thighs, skin removed

For the marinade

• 350ml (1 ½ cups) plain whole milk yoghurt 
• 3 tablespoons Tandoori masala (Tandoori spice mix)
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed or grated
• 1 thumb sized piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated
• Salt & pepper

For the Raita

• 150ml (¾ cup) plain whole milk yoghurt 
• 1 tablespoon dried mint
• Salt & pepper

How to...

1. Start by mixing all the marinade ingredients in a bowl. Mix well until you get a bright red homogenous mixture.
2. Slash the chicken pieces with a sharp knife in a couple of places. Add the marinade to the chicken pieces and mix well. Transfer the whole lot to a ziplock bag or a covered bowl. Leave to marinade in the fridge for at least 2 hours or overnight.
3. When ready to cook, take the chicken out of the fridge, line a large rectangular oven dish with foil, lay a rack over the pan and pre-heat your oven to 220°C.
4. Place the chicken pieces on the rack. Pour all the marinade on top of the chicken pieces.
5. Once the oven is hot, put the chicken pieces in the oven and bake for 30 minutes, after 30 minutes turn over the chicken pieces and cook for a further 15 minutes until slightly charred on the other side.
6. In the meantime prepare the raita by mixing all the ingredients in a small bowl.
7. Take the chicken out of the oven and serve hot accompanied by some raita on the side and also some pilau rice or even Naan bread if you like.

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

Gołąbki - Polish cabbage rolls

Polish food is one of the most famous foods in the Western world. Along with Pierogi - Polish dumplings, Gołąbki - Polish cabbage rolls are a favourite not just with people of Polish origin but with anyone that has the honour of biting into these tasty traditional dishes. Once eaten, you will come back for more, guaranteed. These cabbage rolls are well worth boiling and separating the cabbage leaves (the tricky bit). I can vouch that once cooked these cabbage rolls are addictive. I used a mixture of minced beef and pork and the result was some really delicious, tasty and juicy cabbage rolls. If you find it you can also add some minced veal as well. The accompanying tomato sauce gives it the Eastern European taste, the tanginess of the tomato sauce, the sweetness of the caraway seeds, the herbiness of the marjoram and parsley...oh, heaven! Give them a go, you will not be disappointed. You will need...

For the Gołąbki - cabbage rolls

• 1 large cabbage head
• 750g minced beef & pork
• 1 large carrot, grated
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup cooked rice, cold
• 250ml (1 cup) tomato passata + ½ cup tomato passata
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 ½ teaspoons salt
• Fresh ground black pepper, to taste
• A knob of butter, for frying

For the tomato sauce

• 300ml (1 ½ cups) beef stock
• 1 heaped tablespoon tomato paste
• 175ml (¾ cup) tomato passata
• ½ teaspoon dried marjoram
• 2 teaspoons dried parsley
• ½ teaspoon caraway seeds
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• Fresh ground black pepper, to taste
• 30g butter
• 30g plain flour

How to...

1. Start by boiling a very large pot of salty water. Now put the cabbage core end up and using a paring knife remove the hard core. Put the cabbage in the boiling water and boil for about 10 minutes. At this point some of the leaves will start to come off, that is what we want. After 10 minutes, carefully take the cabbage out of the boiling water, be very very careful as it will be very hot. Use 2 large spatulas or ladles when doing this process. Leave to cool slightly. When slightly cool, start peeling off the cabbage leaves with extreme care (remember they are the star ingredient of the dish). Separate them and put them flat on a platter and set aside to cool further.
2. Now it is time to prepare the filling. Start by frying the onions and garlic in the butter until brown (about 5 minutes on medium heat). Set aside to cool. In a large bowl add the minced meat, cooked rice, grated carrot, passata, eggs, cold fried onion/garlic mixture and salt & pepper. Put a pair of gloves on (optional) and mix by hand until all ingredients are incorporated, do not mix too much or else the meat will toughen. 
3. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F.
4. Now here comes the fun part, firstly if the spine of the leaf is too tough carefully trim it with a sharp knife). Now spread the cabbage leaves end bit away from you, put some filling (about a tablespoon or more...this depends on the size of the leaf), now roll the sides first and roll up all the way up to the stalk/spine part. Stack them up into a casserole next to each other (see picture).
   
   Keep going until all the filling is used up. If you have spare leaves or torn leaves save them so you can cover the rolls in the end. 
5. Now fill the casserole with water half way up to the rolls and add the half cup of passata. Spread the torn/spare leaves on top, cover and put into the preheated oven for 30 minutes.
6. Whilst they are cooking away, start the tomato sauce by melting 30g butter, add the flour and cook stirring constantly for about 2-3 minutes. Add all the other sauce ingredients and stir until thickened, lower the heat and simmer for about 10 minutes, make sure you keep on stirring or it will stick to the bottom of the pot. Turn off the heat and remove from the heat.
7. After 30 minutes take the cabbage rolls out of the oven and pour the tomato sauce on top, cover again and put in the oven for another 30 minutes.
   
8. Take out of the oven, let stand for about 10 minutes and serve hot with a couple of spoonfuls of tomato sauce on top. Gołąbki can also be enjoyed cold as appetizers...an absolute delight!!
   

Enjoy!!

R&A

Manchego, Spanish Paprika & Leeks Mac 'n' Cheese

We had some Manchego cheese and a huge leek in the fridge and both of us were starving Saturday lunchtime. So, I had a look in our pantry and rustled up this recipe quite quickly to be honest. It took me about an hour to prep and cook it. This dish is kind of a Spanish take on the American classic and is very tasty. Do not worry if you do not have Spanish paprika or Spanish sherry, use whatever paprika or sherry you have but if you manage to get the real deal it will definitely be worth it. The Manchego cheese and Spanish paprikas give this dish its piquant, smoky flavours and the leeks provide the sweetness whilst the breadcrumbs provide the crunchy bit. Give it a go and I can guarantee that you will ask for more!! For 4 people (or 2 very hungry people) you will need...

• 1 large leek, washed and thinly sliced
• 15g +25g butter
• 60ml Spanish Dry Sherry
• 500ml whole milk
• 25g plain flour
• ½ teaspoon Pimentón Dulce (Spanish sweet paprika)
• ½ teaspoon Pimentón Picante (Spanish hot paprika)
• 1 teaspoon Pimentón Ahumado (Spanish smoked paprika)
• 250g Pennette or Macaroni
• 200g Manchego cheese, grated
• 2 tablespoons breadcrumbs
• Salt & pepper 

How to...

1. Start by cooking the pasta until nearly al dente. When cooked rinse with cold water and set aside.
2. Now, let’s cook the leeks. Add 15g butter to a small frying pan and when melted, add the leeks and cook on medium heat for a 5 minutes. Now, season with salt & pepper and add the sherry. Cook for a further 10 minutes or until the sherry has evaporated and leeks are soft. Turn off the heat and set aside.
3. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F.
4. For the cheese sauce, add 25g of butter to a medium pan and when melted add the flour and stir for about 3 minutes until golden brown. Add the milk and the 3 types of paprika and stir on a low to medium heat stirring continuously until the sauce thickens. Turn off the heat and add about 150g of the grated cheese. Stir again until the cheese is melted.
5. Now in the cheese sauce pan add the cooked pasta and cooked leeks. Stir well to mix the pasta with the sauce and pour into a small oven dish (we used a round 20cm diameter earthenware dish). Sprinkle the top with the remaining cheese and the breadcrumbs and more freshly black pepper.
6. Bake for 30 minutes. Take out of the oven and leave to rest for 15 minutes. Serve!
   

Enjoy!!

R&A

Vegan Nutty Avocado & Mango Mousse

I love vegan desserts, they are so light and scrumptious. Here is another creation of ours that we made as an end of the week treat. As usual, it turned out absolutely divine. I added a tablespoon of crunchy peanut butter to add a wee bit of a crunchy texture. Needless to say the avocado added a luscious creaminess to the mousse that went down a treat. The mango and maple syrup (or honey if not vegan) added sweetness and the vanilla extract added a wonderful aroma to this delight. Give it a go and you will love it. For 4 servings you will need...

• 1 large avocado, stoned and roughly chopped
• 1 large mango, flesh roughly chopped
• 1 heaped tablespoon crunchy peanut butter
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup or agave syrup (or honey if not vegan)
• 1 teaspoon natural vanilla extract

How to...

1. Put all the ingredients into a food processor and process until you get a smooth consistency.
2. Transfer into ramekins and put into the fridge for about 30 minutes before serving (optional).
3. Serve!!

Enjoy!!
R&A

Raw Carrot, Cucumber & Tomato Salad

As promised our previous blogpost, here is the recipe for the salad that we served with our Turkey & Cumin Burgers. It is very quick to prepare...just some dicing to do. :) Amanda came up with the idea of a salad with our burgers and this salad is basically the tasty result of what we had in our fridge. I used Spanish paprika and Mexican oregano but if not available you can use normal sweet paprika and regular dried oregano. It is a completely vegan & vegetarian salad and can be served with anything,..as a side dish, as a quick lunch or even as a tasty and refreshing sandwich filler. Also, the small the diced vegetables the better in our opinion. For 2-3 servings you will need...

• 1 carrot, grated
• ½ cucumber, deseeded & diced
• 2 tomatoes, deseeded & diced
• 1 spring onion, finely chopped
• 1-2 small gherkins, finely chopped
• 1 celery stalk, diced
• ½ tsp Spanish sweet paprika (use sweet paprika if not available)
• Pinch dried tarragon
• ½ tsp dried dried chives
• Pinch Mexican oregano (use regular oregano if not available)
• Sea salt & freshly ground black pepper

How to...

1. In a medium sized bowl mix all the ingredients with a spoon. Transfer the salad into a fine sieve and let it rest on top of the bowl for a couple of minutes. This will get the excess moisture out of the salad. 
2. After a couple of minutes, discard the drained liquid and serve.

Enjoy!!

R&A

Turkey & Cumin Burgers

We found a version of this recipe online and decided to adapt it and we instantly fell in love with these wonderful tasty burgers. We discovered that turkey mince is so lean, delicious and surprisingly light!! Apart from turkey obviously these burgers have cumin as one of the main ingredients and it goes really well with the tasty turkey mince. This time I had my burgers with Danish blue cheese instead or regular cheese and it turned out to be a match made in heaven but feel free to use any cheese you prefer such as Cheddar, Edam, Emmental or Maasdam, We also made a refreshing raw carrot & tomato salad to go with it. I will post the recipe of this salad in my next blogpost. In the meantime do give these burgers a go. For 6 burgers you will need...

• 1 egg
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tablespoons light soy sauce
• 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• ¼ teaspoon hot paprika
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt
• 4 tablespoons dried breadcrumbs (we used Panko)
• 500g minced turkey

To serve

• 6 burger buns, split and toasted
• 30g Danish blue cheese, crumbled

How to...

1. In a large mixing bowl, mix all the burger ingredients well. (I use my hand so all the flavours infuse equally into the meat. (Always make sure your hands are clean, alternatively you can wear disposable gloves or use a spoon).
2. Shape into 6 equally shaped burger patties.
   
3. Cook on a hot grill or BBQ for about 5 minutes on each side or until there is no pink in the middle anymore.
4. Serve on the toasted buns, sprinkle some crumbled Danish blue cheese. Our carrot & tomato salad will go very well with these burgers...definitely tried and tested. :)

Enjoy!!

R&A

Divine Meatballs in Tomato Sauce

Spaghetti meatballs is one of my favourite pasta dishes. I love its meatiness, its tomatoey goodness. Absolutely divine!! This dish is an Italian-American classic and "It is widely believed that spaghetti with meatballs was an innovation of early 20th-century Italian immigrants in New York City; the National Pasta Association (originally named the National Macaroni Manufacturers Association) is said to be the first organization to publish a recipe for it, in the 1920s" - Wikipedia. Usually meatballs are done with 2 or 3 different types of minced meat, namely beef, pork and veal but I decided to do ours using lean beef mince and they turned out super delicious and very tasty. You can serve them the classic way (with pasta) or else with some crusty bread. Instead of spaghetti this time we used Fusilli lunghi bucati which are long thin fusilli shapes tubes, For 12 meatballs you will need...

For the meatballs...

• 500g lean beef mince
• 1 egg
• 1 cup breadcrumbs (I used Panko)
• ½ cup grated parmesan
• 1 tbsp dried parsley
• 1 tbsp dried oregano
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp ground black pepper
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• ½ cup water

For the tomato sauce...

• 500ml tomato passata
• 1 tin plum tomatoes
• 1 tbsp tomato paste dissolved in 200ml boiling water
• 1 small onion finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• ¼ tsp dried basil
• 1 tsp sugar           
• Salt & pepper
• Olive oil

How to...

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C.
2. Now start preparing the meatballs. In a large mixing bowl add all the meatball ingredients apart from the water and mix well (I use my clean hands, this way the flavours infuse better into the meat). Gradually start adding the water bit by bit until you get a wet but not too much mixture.
3. Shape into 12 meatballs (about 60g each) and place on a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper. Put into the preheated oven for about 15 minutes.
   
4. In the meantime start the tomato sauce. Heat about 2 tablespoons olive oil and add the onion and garlic and cook until translucent, add the rest of the ingredients and some extra-virgin olive oil, bring to the boil and simmer for about 10 minutes. Take the meatballs out of the oven.
5. Now lower the heat add the meatballs to the tomato sauce and simmer covered for about 45 minutes on low heat. Stir only once.
6. Serve hot with pasta or bread and extra grated parmesan.

Enjoy!!

R&A

Marmitako Euskera - Basque Fresh Tuna Stew

Marmitako in Basque means 'from the pot' and is also the name for this tuna and potato based stew. Using the freshest tuna possible this stew will turn into a gorgeous unique stew. In this recipe I use Choricero peppers which are dried red Spanish peppers that come from Spain but if you do not have them do not worry just omit them. I also made my own fish stock but you can use any fish stock cubes or stock pots you have available. I must admit that both Amanda and myself loved this recipe and will definitely give it another go. Fresh tuna is one of my favourites when it comes to fish and being the main ingredient in this wonderful dish made this an instant favourite!! Just because I love flags, here is the Basque flag :) For six people you will need...

• 500g fresh tuna, cut into chunks
• 500g potatoes cut into chunks
• 1 red or yellow pepper, diced
• 1 green pepper, diced
• 2 choricero peppers, soaked in boiling water for 1 hour, flesh scraped (optional)
• 2 tomatoes, peeled, deseeded and chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2 small onions, finely chopped
• 1.5 litres fish stock
• A pinch of cayenne pepper
• 75ml white wine
• 240ml (1 cup) tomato passata
• Salt & pepper, to taste
• Olive oil, to serve

For the fish stock...

• 2 litres water
• 1 large fish head or 2 small ones
• 1 onion, sliced
• 1 spring onion, chopped
• 1 tsp dried parsley
• A pinch dried thyme
• 1 bay leaf

How to...

1. If making your own stock, put all the ingredients in a pot and bring to a boil. When it boils, skim the foam that will float on top of the stock. Simmer for 20-25 minutes. Turn off the heat and strain through a fine sieve.
2. Now onto the stew. In a saucepan, add onions, garlic, red pepper, green pepper and tomatoes, cook until soft about 10-15 minutes on medium high heat stirring occasionally. Now add the wine and when the wine has evaporated, add the passata and choricero pepper flesh (if using). Turn off the heat and blend with a stick blender or in a blender and set aside.
3. In the meantime, in a large pan add the strained stock, cayenne pepper and salt & pepper. Bring to boil and add the potatoes. Cook for 15 minutes. Add tomato/pepper mixture and stir well. Simmer for a further 10 minutes.  Add tuna chunks, stir once and simmer for about 5 minutes. Do not overcook the tuna as it will crumble and ruin the stew. Turn off heat and set aside to sit for about 15 minutes before serving.
4. Serve warm with crusty bread.

Enjoy!!

R&A

No Bake Chocolate & Biscuit Layered Cake

I was introduced to this delicious cake by my mother-in-law. Sometimes, she used to make this for us when we used to go visit her. I love it and always asked for seconds!! Lately I was craving for it as I haven't had it for years so I asked my mother-in-law for the recipe. I decided I would like to share it with you on our blog. It is very quick and easy to prepare. I used Morning Coffee biscuits but I believe Rich Tea biscuits would work too. Also my mother-in-law used to use tinned Nestle Cream but I could not find it here in England so I used extra thick double cream. Give it a go and am quite sure your family and friends would love it. For a 21cm/8 inches square cake you will need...

• 2 packets Morning Coffee biscuits
• 150g cooking milk chocolate 
• 150g unsalted butter, diced
• 250ml instant coffee (at room temperature)
• 300ml Extra thick double cream
• Unsweetened cocoa powder, to decorate

How to...

1. Start by melting the chocolate and butter at bain marie or on a double boiler. I used a pyrex bowl on a pan of boiling water and heat stirring gently on a low heat until both chocolate and butter have melted. See photos. Set aside to cool a bit.
   
   
   
   
2. Now layer the biscuits evenly until you cover the bottom of the dish and moisten the biscuits sparingly with the coffee.
3. Now pour some of the chocolate/butter mixture and make sure it covers the biscuits.Put another layer of biscuits and sprinkle with the coffee once again. 
4. Now spread a layer of cream (about a third of the cream) and keep repeating Step 3 until you use all the biscuits and chocolate mixture. 
5. Now to finish, spread the remainder of the cream evenly on top and sprinkle with the cocoa powder.
6. Put in the fridge for a couple of hours at least to set. 
   
7. Cut into portions and serve!

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

Reduced Sugar Ovaltine & Dates Cake

Hello all hope you are all well!! So, after a sabbatical month of not blogging, here we are with a new recipe for you all. Apparently Ovaltine cake is a wartime classic here in Britain and here is our take on this cake recipe. I reduced the amount of sugar and increased the amount of dried fruit. I also used rice milk instead of dairy milk and the cake turned out surprisingly light. You can, of course, use cow's milk. It turned out so good and because it is not overly sweet I cheekily spread some proper butter on a slice of this tasty cake whilst it was still warm. Heaven!! The ingredients down here are for a small cake so feel free to double the amounts for a larger cake.  Give it a go...very easy to prepare. For a small cake you will need...

• 170g self-raising flour
• 40g caster sugar
• 70g chopped dried dates
• 3 tablespoons Ovaltine
• Pinch of salt
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 1 cup (240ml) rice milk (or cow's milk)

How to...

1. Pre-heat oven to 180°C/350°F.
2. In a medium sized mixing bowl sieve the flour, baking powder, bicarb, salt, Ovaltine and sugar. Mix them well with a wooden spoon.
3. Add the chopped dates and rice milk and mix well until you get a runny batter.
4. Pour into a silicon mould or a lightly greased small loaf tin.
5. Bake into the preheated oven for 50 minutes.
6. Serve warm with or without butter.

Enjoy!!

R&A

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