Tagliatelle with Meatballs

Here' s another classic which at first might sound difficult to prepare but is very easy and tasty.

Ingredients for 2

250g minced meat
1 spring fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped
1/2 clove garlic chopped.
1 egg lightly beaten or breadcrumbs
plain flour for dusting
3 tbsp olive oil
1 onion sliced
1 celery stick chopped
1 carrod chopped
1 spring small fresh rosemary chopped
350 ml passata
250g rigatoni
Parmesan cheese freshly grated
salt and pepper.

Method

Mix together the minced meat, parsley and garlic in a bowl, then stir in the egg and seaons with salt and pepper.

Shape the mixture into small meatballs, dust with flour and set aside. 

Heat the olive oil in a pan, add the onion, celery carrot and rosemary and cook over a low heat stirring occasionaly for 5 minutes, then add the meatballs and increase the head to medium.

Cook until the meatballs are lightly browned all over, then add teh passata and season.
reduce the heat, cover and simmer, stirring occasionally for about 40 minutes.

Cook the rigatoni in a large pan of salted water until al dente, then drain and tip into the main with the meatballs. 

Mix well and heat through for 2 mintues. 

Serve with parmesan.

Jerusalem Arthichokes Soup

Ah!!! this is one of my favourites...Jerusalem Artichokes are so tasteful. If you never used them in your kitchen before, give them a try and if you did but not for a soup, you should really try this recipe out.

You will need the following ingredients

Serves 3-4

Jerusalem Artichokes

500g Jerusalem artichokes

1 onion, roughly chopped

4 celery sticks roughly chopped

2 carrots roughly chopped

4 garlic cloves

3 tbsp olive oil

1.2 litre vegetable or chicken stock

4 tbsp double (heavy cream)

salt and pepper

Method:

Preheat oven to 200C / 400 F.  Scrub the artichokes well and half them lengthways.

Toss the arthicokes, onion, celery, carrots and garlic together in a rosting tin.  Add the olive oil, mix well and spread the vegetables out in the pan.

Roast the vegetables in the hot oven for 30-40 minutes, until they are soft and golden brown.  Stir them once during cooking so that the edges brown evenly.

Tip the roasted vegetables into a larger pan, scraping any bits from the roasting pan.

Add the stock and bring to the boil.  Reduce the heat, cover and simmer the soup for 15 minutes.  Process or blend until smooth, then return the soup to the rinsed out pan.

Add the cream and reheat the soup gently, stirring to prevent it from sticking.  Do not boil.  Season to taste and serve seasoned with freshly ground black pepper.

Qastan tal-imbuljuta

It's beginning to get cold and I had been thinking of doing this recipie for a while... It reminds me of cosy winters at home with all the family.

Hope you enjoy it...

Kannoli tar-rikotta

These cornets / kannoli require specially shaped tin moulds which may be bought from any supermarket.

Ingredients

for the pastry

225g flour

2 tsp sugar

2 tsp drinking chocolate

2 tsp margerine

2 tsp shortening

2 tsp red wine

approx 470ml cold water

For the filling

400g rikotta

55 g plain chocolate

115 g glace cherries

55g icing sugar

115g blanched and roasted almonds

Method:

Mash the rikotta, chop up the chocolate, cherries and almonds.  stir these into the rikotta together with the sugar.  Make the pastry:  either place all ingredients in an electric mixer and blend, using a dough hook, or mix by hand, using the rubbing-in method.  Roll the pastry out thinly.  Cut into rounds with a cutter and place each round over a tube. Deep - fry the kannoli a few at a time turning them until they are evenly brown.  When the lemon rind gets brown, replace it with a fresh piece.  Cool the kannoli on absorbent paper.  They ought to be filled at the last possible moment.

Arjoli

 

This recipe is usually associated with ‘bebbux’ (snails) however it is really a shame to use arjoli only with snails considering a lot of people are not fans of such dish. 

This paste can be used both as a dip or even better,  as a paste for ‘hobz biz-zejt’.  I’d rather spread some arjoli instead of tomato paste.

This is how you do it….

 

Ingredients

200gr tuna,

400g tomato paste (kunserva)

1 large chopped onion

4 heads of garlic

100 g pitted green olives

6 anchovy fillets

250g breadcrumbs or crushed water biscuits

Fresh parsley

2 chilli peppers

¼ ltr good olive oil

Method

Mix everything into a bowl and put into a blender.  Add the olive oil while blending, until you arrive to the desired consistency.  The amount of chilli peppers depends on your taste-buds. 

nero di seppia

Just cooked this wonderful spagetti nero di seppia after buying fresh cuttlefish (seppia) from marsaxlokk.

anybody wants to know the recipie?

Cooking Tuna with a difference

Another video recipe of one of the most favourite Mediterranean fish (in Maltese)

Ingredients

2 tuna steaks of 250g each
2 garlic cloves
Mint
basil
half a glass of white wine
lemon
300g polenta
Olive oil

For decorations
4 king prawns
Soy sauce
2 Tbsp brown sugar
red capsicum
lemon juice

White sauce
Butter
2 Tsp flour
Fish stock
Glass of wine

Dark Sauce
Tomato pulp
mint
cuttlefish ink
Onion
garlic

Green Pea Pesto

A friend of mine gave me this recipe, which is a different take on the traditional pesto.  This is what I call a summer mediterranean dish.  Easy to prepare, very tasty, especially if you use very good olive oil.  Vegetarians, write this one down..

 Ingredients

500g penne
1 1/2 c  green peas fresh / frozen
3/4 c packed basil leaves
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp capers, drained
1/3 c extra virgin olive oil
1/2 c chopped walnuts, toasted
salt and pepper, to taste

Method

Bring a large stock pot of water to a boil and add penne. Cook until al dente. Drain and transfer to a serving bowl.

In a food processor or blender, blend the peas, basil, lemon juice and capers. Add the olive oil in a slow stream, and blend until combined. 

Add to serving bowl with pasta and mix well. Add walnuts and season to taste with salt and pepper.

My Tuscan Experience

Have you ever been to Tuscany?  No?  What are you waiting for?  Tuscany's go it all.  If you want to get away from the city-like atmosphere and enjoy some of Italy's most picturesque sceneries and medieval cities,  still intact, then you ought to visit Tuscany.  Florence  is its capital city, the birthplace of the renaissance, home to the influential De Medici Family and Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo.

Tuscany is also famous for its cuisine, varying from the famous Bisteccha Fiorentina, Cacciucco Livornese to the numerous wine regions amongst which, that of Montepulciano.

This is where me and my better half decided to spend our 5 day summer holiday.   A short holiday of course, considering the vast stretch of land of the Tuscan Region.  We landed at the Galileo Galilei Airport in Pisa.   This is where all the major low cost airlines land.  A reasonably small airport considering the constant flow of tourists pouring in from around the world. We had to wait in the blazing sun for a few minutes before the airport bus took us to the car depot  to pick up our pre-booked car.  

Driving in Tuscany is a must if you really want to enjoy the hidden gems this region has to offer, the far stretching lands covered in sunflowers complimenting the vastly green areas and the occasional lonely tree sitting on a hilltop.

Our first taste of the Tuscan cuisine was at VignaIlaria.  A wonderful place nestled in the countryside outside the city walls of Lucca.  

We noticed a beautiful garden on our way in and opted to eat outside however we had to cancel our plans, rain started pouring down heavily.  

 The ambient inside is equally pleasant.  Vigna Ilaria is what I call a casual fine dining spot.  We were greeted by Andrea, the owner and left it up to him to impress us with his tasty dishes.   

Inside Vigna Ilaria

We had a selection of 4 starters followed by a main course and desert.  We had some red wine of the region suggested by the sommelier.

The antipasti we chose were Insalata Lia and Acciughe di Monterosso (anchovies).  

Insalata Lia

Fresh anchovies with lemon juice are a speciality of the region with the fish being caught from Viareggio and Livorno (famous for the Cacciucco alla Livornese which I managed to taste as well.  My next dish was also fish based, the Carpaccio di Sarago bianco

Carpaccio di Sarago Bianco

and an interesting small pan for Vanessa.  Inside was an egg immersed in some of the best cheese the area has to offer.  

An evening to remember, a brilliant food experience with dishes which taste like poetry.

We bid Andrea, the owner and his staff farewell and took to the road for a 30 min drive back to our base in Pisa.  

To be continued...

Barley with rucola and parmesan

This is a very easy to prepare summer dish which could serve both as a healthy lunch or else as a filling dinner.  Smaller portions could also be served as a starter.  

Ingredients
(for 2 )
 

1.5 cups cooked barley
rucola or mixed green leaves
parmesan shavings
olive oil
fresh baby tomatoes
olive oil

Method
 

1. Cook barley as per instructions
    
2. Run under cold water to stop it from cooking any further
    
3. In a salad bowl add the sieved barley together with  the mix rucola / mixed green leaves
    
4. Add some parmesan shaving / pecorino cheese
    
5. Cut the baby tomatoes in half and add it to ingredients
    
6. Season with salt and pepper and extra virgin olive oil.  (I used Tartufo flavoured olive oil).

 

Video Recipe - Pagell (Bream)

Here goes our second video recipe for this summer season. For all you fish lovers, today's recipe is Paġell - (Bream)

Penne with Maltese Sausage

This one is a summer favourite..

Ingredients

(for 2 persons)

300 grams of pasta (I used penne rigate)
3 fresh sausages
Frozen mushrooms or dried mushrooms
Garlic
Oil
Chili
1 / 2 cup white wine
Chopped parsley and basil

Method

Put some olive oil in pan and fry the garlic and chilli flakes.

Crumble sausage in a skillet and squash it with a fork.  Cook until browned.

Halfway through the process, remove the garlic.

When the sausage is browned, add the chopped mushrooms (without throwing the water of dried mushrooms, if you used them) and cook for a few more minutes.  Add the white wine until reduced by half.

Finish the sauce by either adding some of the reserved liquid of the dried mushrooms or  by dissolving 1 / 2 mushroom cube in hot water.

Add some fresh cream and stir.

Meanwhile cook the pasta al dente and then toss with the sauce in the pan of sausage and mushrooms. 

Stuffed Calamari - (in Maltese)

Welcome to our first Video recipe in Maltese - Stuffed Klamari.  Please let us know how you like it by posting your comments below.  

Part 1

Part 2

For this recipe you will need the following ingredients:

Klamari

Gambli friski imqaxxrin

Rikotta

Tewm u Tursin

Bajda u ftit frak tal-ħobż

Bżar u melħ

Għaz-zalza

Żejt taż-Żebbuġa

Basal

Tadam

Ftit zokkor

Spaghetti

Peppered Tuna

If you like steak, you will love this black pepper-crusted tuna steak recipe. Best enjoyed medium-rare.  The spicy pepper crust is perfect with this meaty fish. 

Ingredients 

1 teaspoon basil, chopped
4 teaspoons thyme, chopped
4 tablespoons cracked black pepper
2 large tuna steak
6 Tbsp olive oil
1 teaspoons wasabi paste
1 cups fish stock
4 Tbsp soy sauce

Method

Mix the basil, thyme and the black pepper together. Season the tuna with the mixture. 

In a hot saute pan, add the olive oil and sear the tuna until cooked rare or to desired temperature. Remove the tuna. Then add the wasabi, fish stock and the soy sauce to the hot saute. Reduce the stock by half. 

Remove from heat and pour sauce on tuna.

Serve with roasted potato wedges.

Apple Dumplings

Sweet and tasty all year round..

Ingredients

4 apples

Sweet pastry

Strawberry jam

Sultana

1 egg

Cloves

Method:

Sweet Pastry

This is a recipe I got from Honey and Butter blog.  The particular ingredient is Vodka.  This may sound odd however this is a sweet pastry recipe which I fell for.  Of course you can use your own pastry recipe or even the ready made ones from the supermarkets.

2 1/2 cups (12.5 oz) unbleached all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
2 TB sugar
12 TB (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-in slices and chilled
1/2 cup vegetable shortening, cut into 4 pieces and chilled
1/4 cup cold vodka
1/4 cup cold water

Pulse 1 1/2 cups of the flour, salt and sugar in a food processor for about 2 one-second pulses. Add butter and shortening and process for about 15 seconds. Scrape down the bowl with a spatula and distribute the dough evenly around the processor blade. Add remaining flour and pulse until dough has been broken up, about 5 quick pulses.

Open the processor lid and sprinkle the cold vodka and water evenly over the mixture. Process until the mixture clumps together into a sticky ball. 

Empty the contents onto a countertop and split into two piles. Form each pile into flat disk and wrap in plastic wrap for at least 45 minutes before using.

To bake: Roll out onto generously floured (up to 1/4 cup) work surface to about 1/8 inch thick.

Apple Dumplings

Peel and core apples.

Fill in with one clove and sultanas and top up with strawberry jam.

Open dough in square sizes.

Place apple on dough and fold the corners to the center of the top of the apple.

Wash dumplings with beaten egg

Bake in 180° preheated oven for 45 minutes.

Traditional Ice Cream

Today I relived my childhood days.  I remember my grandpa doing this really tasty and particular ice-cream which for some reason I have never tasted anywhere else.  I did enjoy some really good ice-creams especially in Sicily, but believe me, this is nothing like the others…it stands out.   A friend of mine gave me the recipe which he got from his grandmother and here it is for all of you to enjoy.  Try it out and let me know how you like it.

Ingredients

1 400g condensed milk

400 ml water

100gr sugar

1 cinnamon stick

4 whole cloves

1 lemon zest

A few drops of vanilla essence

Some grounded roasted almonds·        

Method:

In a sauce pan add the water, sugar, cinnamon stick, cloves and lemon zest. 

Bring to a  boil and simmer for 10 minutes

Let cool and strain through a sieve

Add the vanilla essence and milk

Transfer everything to a glass or stainless steel bowl and leave in freezer for an hour.

Break up the ice-cream using a fork and transfer to an ice-cream maker machine.  If you don’t have an ice cream maker machine return mixture to freezer and let stand until completely frozen. 

Add the grounded almonds on top of ice cream before serving

Aubergine Dip

Following the delicious and healthy Parmeggiana, this is some aubergine dip you should try out with some warm bread or Maltese galletti.

Ingredients

3 medium aubergines

6 tbsp olive oil

2 level tbsp parsley, finely chopped

¼ tsp ground cumin

1 clove garlic

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

Place the whole unpeeled aubergines and bake in a preheated oven for around 30 minutes.
    

Cut the aubergines in half along their length and scoop out the flesh. Put the flesh into a liquidizer or processor and blend until perfectly smooth.

    
Gradually add the oil, very slowly like making a mayonnaise, continue until all the oil has been added.

 
Stir in the chopped parsley and the cumin. Add the peeled and crushed garlic

 
Season the puree with salt and pepper to taste and put in the fridge to chill until it’s required.

Watermelon Drink

I bought my first watermelon for this summer and decided to do something different.  This is a very refreshing drink.  Should you like an alcoholic version you can add some vodka.

4 cups chopped seedless watermelon (about 1 kg)

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 tablespoons sugar

1/4 cup vodka. (optional)

Method

1. Working in batches, puree in blender watermelon with lime juice and sugar until smooth. 
   
   
2. Transfer puree to a pitcher; add vodka, if desired. Cover, chill until ready to serve.
   
   
3. Stir, pour into tumblers, over ice. Garnish with mint.
   

Melanzane Parmiggiana

For all aubergine lovers, this is a must... a wonderful appetising starter.Whenever I buy aubergines, I always buy an extra one to prepare this way. It can be eaten as a starter, a snack or if you're hungry, with maltese bread.

Ingredients


1 aubergine (brungiel in Maltese) cut in 1/2 inch discs
400g Canned Tomatos
2 cloves garlic chopped
handful of basil shredded
olive oil
parmesan cheese grated



Method

Fry or roast the aubergine disc so that they are browned and tender.
In the meantime prepare the tomato sauce by frying the garlic, add the canned tomatoes and when it starts to sizzle, season with salt and pepper and add the basil.

In a roasting dish, lay down the aubergines next to to each other.

Cover each aubergine with a spoonful of the tomato sauce.

Sprinkle with grated parmesan.

Grill for a couple of minutes untill the cheese has melted.

Serve and enjoy.

Liver and Onions with a Rich Onion Gravy

This is my collegue's recipie inspired from his Mum which she used to cook for him as a little boy. It brings back happy memories. Served with roast potatoes, chips or creamy mash. This is a little slice of heaven! And as Liver is inexpensive, easy on the wallet too.




Ingredients

  - 450g lamb's liver, trimmed
  - 2 tbsp plain flour
  - 1 tbsp vegetable oil
  - 25g butter
  - 4 rindless smoked bacon rashers, chopped
  - 2 onions, sliced or wedges
  - Some garlic half chopped
  - Mushrooms well washed
  - 175ml beef or vegetable stock
  - 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
  - 1 cup red dry wine
  - 1/4 tsp dried mixed herbs
  - salt and freshly ground black pepper
  - 5 large potatoes
  - Some milk & butter (for mash)





Preparation method

1.    Heat half the oil and half the butter in a saucepan over a low heat, add the onions and garlic and gently cook them for 10 minutes until soft and just starting to turn golden.

2.    Meanwhile, rinse the liver, then pat dry with kitchen paper. If it is not already sliced, cut into thin slices. Toss each piece in the flour, seasoned with  pepper. Do not salt as it will hard the liver

3.    Add the mushrooms, the stock, Worcestershire sauce, and herbs to the onions and bring to the boil. Add wine and stir until you have a smooth sauce.

4.  Meanwhile, heat the remaining oil and butter in a large frying pan over a moderate heat until sizzling. Add the liver and bacon and fry for 3–4 minutes on each side until the liver is just cooked and the bacon is lightly browned and crispy. Do not cook for too long or the liver will become tough.

5.    Remove the liver and bacon from the pan using a draining spoon and put onto warm serving plates, with the bacon scattered over the top of the liver. Spoon the onion and sauce on the side, then side each serving with mashed potatoes, pita bread and sprinkle with parsley. Serve immediately.