Pumpkin Pie Spice

This is very easy to do and use in all your delicious pumpkin concoctions, from pie to soup to pumpkin pie spice lattes...

Just mix the ingredients together and keep in a jar.

Pumpkin spice pie

Super easy pumpkin pie. 

Ingredients:

1 can condensed milk

400g cooked pumpkin

1 egg

1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice mix

Pie shell or shortcrust pastry for pie shell

Method:

Preheat oven to 225 degrees.

Prepare pie shell by opening pastry and covering your pie dish with the pastry. 

Cover with oven paper and fill with ceramic beads or dried beans. 

Bake for 20 min. 

In the meantime steam or cook the pumpkin in any way you prefer and when done, blend to make pumpkin purée. 

In a bowl beat the egg, condenced milk and pumpkin purée together with the spice mixture. 

When the pie shell is ready, remove beans and paper and fill with the pumpkin condenced milk mixture. 

Bake in the oven for another 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. 

Remove from oven. 

Let it cool and voila. You can slice and serve alone or with a scoop of ice cream. 

Spiced pumpkin soup

With all the pumpkin carving happening at home, I ended up with loads of fresh pumpkin.

This soup is simple, creamy and delicious...

Apple Cinnamon Greek Yogurt

This is a very simple recipe which can be prepared in no time for breakfast, snack or desert.

Kusksu

Kusksu is a traditional maltese dish usually prepared in spring when broad beans are in season, but I keep loads of frozen broad beans to cook this delicious meal in winter.

Parma ham and mozzarella salad with basil fig balsamic vinegrette

Another wonderful light salad for summer.

Maltese rucola and fig salad

It's summer here and it's fig time in malta. After work I go for a walk in the countryside and as fig trees grow on the walkways, I help myself to this wonderfull fruit. 

This is one of my favourite summer salads and it's very easy and simple. 

Tabouleh

Tabouleh is uswally greener, but when I did this I had a limited amount of parsley

• Summer is a good time to try different salads. 
• The first time I was in Damascus I had this wonderful parsley salad and I have been trying to find the recipie ever since... 
• Tabouleh... it is very refreshing and tasty and you can still get free parsley from your vegetable vendor here in Malta... actually it's the only free thing we still get :)

So try it out and enjoy... 

Zeppoli ta San Guzepp

Ingredients

1 cup hot water

1/2 cup butter

1 Tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup sifted all-purpose flour

4 eggs

1 tsp grated orange peel

1 tsp grated lemon peel

honey and chopped almonds for finishing

Ricotta Filling 

3 cups ricotta cheese

1 ¼ cups sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 Tsbp grated orange peel

2 Tbsp grated lemon peel

Kwarezimal

Ingredients:

done yesterday (with pistaccios and cashews instead of just almonds)

100g of blanched almonds

100g of plain flour

125g of caster sugar

a dash of brandy or orange-flower water

the grated rind of one orange, one tangerine and one lemon

one tablespoonful of cocoa

honey and almonds to decorate

Method:

Toast the almonds briefly and grind them fairly roughly so that they are chunky rather than powdery.

Put them into a large bowl and add the rest of the ingredients.

 

Stir them together adding enough water to make stiff dough. Be careful as after you add just a little water, the dough will still look dry. Do not add more water untill you knead it by hand. If it is still too dry add a little more water. Be carefull not to use too much water.

 

roll the dough and shape them into rectangles. Don't forget to make the traditional diamond pattern with the back of a knife.

 

Place them on well-greased baking-sheets and bake at 190 degrees celcius for 20 minutes.

They should be crisp at the edges but still soft. Don't worry if they feel soft, they will keep on hardening. If you leave them too long, they will be too hard.

Remove them from the oven and spread them with honey, scattering almonds on top.

The almonds will stick to the honey.

 

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...

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. 

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.

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).

 

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.

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.

Risotto with Mushrooms

A light but filling dish.  The addition of wild mushrooms gives this risotto a wonderful flavour.

Ingredients

15g dried mushrooms, preferably porcini

200g fresh mushrooms thinly sliced

Juice of ½ lemon

75g butter

2 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley.

900 ml simmering meat, chicken or vegetable stock (I prefer mushroom stock)

2 tbsp olive oil

1 small onion, finely chopped.

275 g Arborio rice

120 ml dry white wine

Grated Parmesan

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

Soak the dried mushrooms in a small bowl in 300ml warm water for 30 minutes.  Rinse mushrooms thoroughly.  Reserve water.

Toss the fresh mushrooms with the lemon juice.  In a large, pan melt a third of the butter.  Stir in the fresh mushrooms and cook until they begin to brown.  Add the fresh parsley, cook for some more seconds, then remove and set aside.

Place the stock in a saucepan.  Add the mushroom water and simmer gently until needed.

Heat another third of the butter with the olive oil in the pan the mushrooms were cooked in.  stir in the onion and cook until soft and golden.  Add the rice, stirring for 1-2 minutes to coat the grains.  Add the soaked and sautéed mushrooms and mix well

Pour in the wine and cook over moderate heat until it is absorbed.  Gradually add the hot stock.  Following steps 4-5 for making risotto.

Remove the risotto pan from the heat.  Stir in the remaining butter and the parmesan.  Season to taste.  Allow the risotto to rest for 3-4 minutes before serving.

Wine & Thyme risotto

Last week I had some unexpected guest at home and was low on supplies, but needed to prepare something to impress my guests. I only had some arborio rice. Them I remembered the thyme plant I bought when we started this blog and it clicked. A good creamy risotto with fresh herbs never fails to impress...

Serves 5

Ingredients:

Approximately 2 litres chicken stock (vegetable stock for vegetarians)

1 tablespoon olive oil

3 shallots or 2 medium onions, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

500 grams arborio rice

3 wine glasses dry red wine

Sea salt

1 good handful fresh thyme, leaves picked

Freshly ground black pepper

80 grams butter

130 grams freshly grated Parmesan cheese

160 grams roasted almonds, lightly crushed, cracked or chopped

Olive oil

Method:

Heat the stock or prepare the stock by dissolving stock granules in boiling water.

In a frying pan, heat the olive oil, add the chopped shallots or onions and chopped garlicand fry slowly for about 4 minutes.

When the vegetables have softened, add the rice and turn up the heat. Stir gently to fry the rice till it becomes translucent.

Add the wine and keep stirring. Don't worry about the alcohol as it will evaporate.

Once the wine has cooked into the rice, add your first ladle of stock to the rice. In cooking risotto, it is imperative that you keep stirring throughout the cooking process. Add a good pinch of salt, the thyme leaves and black pepper and continue stirring. Turn down the heat to a high simmer.

When the stock is absorbed, add another ladle and repeat this process till the rice is cooked.

When the rice is cooked, remove from the heat and add the butter and parmesan. Stir gently and leave to rest coveredfor about 2 minutes.

Serve immidiately and garnish with the chopped roasted almonds.

and voila...

a perfect creamy aromatic risotto that will impress... thyme and thyme again :)

Mediterranean Couscous

Feel like something really easy to do, very fast and can be adapted with whatever ingredients you have at hand... This is one of my favourites when I don't know what to do or when I do not have time. Can be served as a main course or as a side salad.

Ingredients:

460ml stock (or stock powder dissolved in water)

300g couscous

quater cup raisins

1 ts tumeric

1 small chillie chopped

1 ts sage

1 ts thyme

400g Chick peas boiled and drained (or 1 can)

8 chopped sundried tomatoes

2 chopped peppered gozitan cheeslets (gbejniet tal bzar)

1 tbs capers

1 chopped pickled onion (basla tal-pikles)

Olive Oil

Method:

In a small pan, bring the stock to a boil (or dissolve the stock powder in boiling water).

Add the raisins, tumeric, chillies, sage and thyme to the stock and stir.

As soon as it starts to boil, turn off the heat, add the couscous, stir once and cover for 5 min.

In the meantime, chop the sundried tomatoes, the pickled onion and the cheeslets.

After the 5min, add some olive oil to the couscous fluff with a fork.

In a mixing bowl, add the couscous and the rest of the ingredients.

Mix and serve.

You can also garnish with some chopped almonds.

Enjoy.

Mediterranean Minestrone

Ok, so you want to cook something really healthy, tasty and filling.

This is one of my favourites which I tend to cook on a regular basis.

Ingredients:

200g packet of mixed pulses (legumes)

1 onion

1 beef cube (or vegetable cube for vegetarian option)

2 litres water

1 bayleaf

Tomato puree

2ltrs of water

Mixed herbs

I usually leave the legumes in cold water for an hour or so and rinse touroughly before the cooking process.

Method:

In a stock pot sautee onion in olive oil until transparent.

Add 1 litre of water together with the the beef cube

Add the mixed pulses, bayleaf, mixed herbs.

Bring to a boil, add the tomato puree and simmer for approx 4 hours until pulses are tender constantly adding the remaining 1 litre of water

PS (leaving the legumes in cold water reduces cooking time)