It’s all about luck in this world. Why is it that some domesticated animals share our bed while others get stuck in the mud? It’s the story of the dog and the pig. The former nowadays even have their own trimming parlours – and if the owner is one Paris Hilton, then the dog will have a diamond studded collar. Not so the pig. Apart from the movie “Babe”, pigs have always had it tough, labelled as the dirtiest animal on earth (remember Rasher in the Beano?). Pork in Malta has always been a bit of a speciality. D.H. Lawrence, the twentieth century English author, who came to Malta in 1920 remarked that Maltese bacon was excellent. According to Pippa Mattei, in her book “25 Years in a Maltese Kitchen”, he was so taken to it that: “when staying in a villa outside Taormina in Sicily, he wrote to a Maltese friend asking him to send some Maltese salted butter and some of that good Maltese bacon, because Italy was suffering from depravation after the first world war.” One wonders what he would have said to this scrumptious pork fillet rolled in puff pastry.
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Ingredients:
Serves 2 Preparation time: 30 min Cooking time: 20 min |
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Method: Heat the oil in a large frying-pan, add butter and cook the fillets over moderate heat until they are lightly browned in order to seal the meat. Remove from the frying-pan and drain on absorbent paper. |
Archive for the ‘News & Recipes’ Category
Pork fillet in puff pastry
Thursday, June 24th, 2010Christmas Turkey
Thursday, June 24th, 2010
If you think about it, Christmas is all about making wishes. Children write letters to Santa with their wish lists for presents, while adults make wishes to bump into other adults under the mistletoe. If you’re the host of a Christmas lunch for twenty or so, your wish would probably be that the food you’ve just presented on the table is edible enough. It is a known fact that the majority of families in Europe will serve up a succulent roast turkey as the centre piece of their festive meal this Christmas. It will never be a game up for the turkeys, bless ‘tem. |
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Ingredients:
Serves 4 Preparation time: 30 min Cooking time: 45 min |
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Method: For the sauce, sauté the finely chopped onions. Add the chopped mushrooms, glass of white wine and a teaspoon of tomato paste and the fresh cream. Simmer for 10 min. |
Lamb Shanks with Mashed Potato
Thursday, June 24th, 2010
Mary Sawyer was a young girl who lived in Massachusetts in the early 1800s. There was nothing particularly striking about her except that one day, at the suggestion of her brother, she took her pet lamb to school. A commotion naturally ensued, which ended up with the teacher writing a poem about it, which in turn became a very popular nursery rhyme. A statue representing Mary’s Little Lamb stands in the town center of Sterling, Massachusettes and till today mere tots know about her and can sing to her tune. Yes, Mary’s lamb is probably the most popular lamb in the world, except perhaps for Dolly. Surely you got the gist by now. It’s lamb talk today. Or perhaps we could say lamb fodder. Lamb has long been a staple of the Maltese kitchen and chef Mark Triganza has laid out a delicious dish of lamb shanks. |
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Ingredients:
Serves 4 Preparation time: 15 min Cooking time: 50 min |
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Method: Prepare the mashed potato and put aside. Heat some oil in a pan. Place the lamb shanks in the pan. Add a rosemary twig. Leave on heat till lamb is sealed. In a separate dish, place the sliced onions, carrots, marrows and aubergines. Remove lamb from pan and place in dish with the vegetables. Add mint sauce to the remaining sauce in the pan and leave to simmer for a few minutes, also adding two glass of white wine. Pour over the lamb and vegetables. Place dish in oven at 180C for 50 min. Serve over a bed of mashed potatoes. |
Quails with Honey
Thursday, June 24th, 2010
I’ve heard it’s all rumours’ is the latest album of that British indie rock band from Devon called, aptly, The Quails. Perhaps you haven’t heard of them yet, but there’s a chance you might soon enough. According to the “independent family-owned newspaper” issued in their hometown of Teignmouth: “The Quails are fast gaining a reputation as one of the most impressive bands to emerge recently”. Bless. Anyway if they do make it big one day, remember that you first heard about them in this space. And actually a close look at these rock boys, smallish, plumpish, with chubby cheeks and spiky quiffs, sort of remind one of quails – the bird version. They too are small, plump although of course unlike the rockers, come with brown plumage and a short tail. Taste of Home has sparked off this new year with a lovely delicious recipe of quails wrapped in rashers of streaky bacon. Quails are richer in flavour than chicken but are comparatively mild for a game species. They pick up flavours from marinades quickly, so one has to be especially careful of marinades that are high in salt, and which is why Chef Mark Triganza opted for a touch of honey in the marinade. |
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Ingredients:
Serves 4 Preparation time: 20 min Cooking time:40 min |
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Method: Juice two oranges and add a tablespoon of honey to the juice of an orange. Stir in some orange zest. Slice the lemons in half and stuff the quails. Brush the quails with the honey and orange mixture. Spread the bacon rashers in a dish and put quails on the bacon. Place a bay leaf on each quail. Spread the sliced onions and garlic over the quails. Season. Pour remaining orange and honey sauce over the quails. Add the olive oil and a glass of red wine. Cover dish in foil and place in over at 180 C for 40 minutes. |
Baked Fresh Fish
Thursday, June 24th, 2010
According to new research from the University of North Carolina, mothers who want bright little children should eat fish regularly during pregnancy, as it makes their babies brainier. Children aged 15 months were tested for their understanding of words and those with mothers who ate fish more than once a week scored 7 per cent higher than those who ate no fish. Similar patterns were seen in tests on social activity and language development. Children who ate fish once a week before their first birthday also scored higher. So, armed with this data, fish is a definite must in any kitchen. Moreover, in these days of headlines of global-warming, carbon footprints and runaway food costs. sustainability is a buzz word. As eco-warriors, journalists and foodies are giving ever more advice and opinion on what we should be eating, drinking and thinking, fish always tops the health food list. On the one hand, fish require no fossil fuels to rear them, and perhaps the only fuel used is for transport, namely for the fishing boats and the vans to take said fish to their markets. And on the other hand, fish is high in protein and, in some species like mackerel and sardines, rich in the omega 3 oils that we are told are so good for us. These fatty acids help to prevent heart disease and may help to prevent mild depression and to improve problems like dyslexia. Eating protein on a regular basis also helps to ward off the dreaded obesity. The thing is fish needn’t be a daunting task to cook. As Chef Mark Triganza shows in this week’s recipe, it’s easy peasy. Why, even your little Einstein sprogs can do it – provided you’ve eaten fish when they were in the bun. Enjoy. |
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Ingredients:
Serves 4 Preparation time: 10 min Cooking time: 35 min |
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Method: Place fish in a dish. Add the sliced onions and the chopped garlic. Add olive oil and fresh mint, basil and parsley. Pour some olive oil and fresh mint, basil, and parsley chopped. Season and add the juice of a lemon. Flip the fish over so both sides absorb the sauce. Add olives and the quartered cherry tomatoes. Pour a glass of white wine and cover. Place in oven at 190C for 35min. |