Have you ever thought that pasta could be fried? in this recipe, you will learn how to fry the pasta, and if you get this right, this recipe will be on your menu every fortnight
Ingredients Serves 4
500g pasta (vermicelli no of 1)
5 whole eggs
20 cherry tomatoes
100g parmesan (grated)
Oil
seasoning
Method
Cook pasta
Cut tomatoes (or other ingredients that you use)
Crack the eggs and whisk with the tomatoes
Add parmesan, seasoning and mix well
When pasta is cooked mix in with the egg mixture
Heat frying pan then start adding the mix pasta to the frying pan
Fry on both sides until nice golden colour
Serve with nice salad or vegetables your choice Enjoy!!!!!!
In this video, we will see the complete preparation of garden snails from the island of Malta, from when the snails are caught to this lovely stew or even an appetizer too.
Ingredients for Snails Stew- Serves 6
2700g snails
50g of Salt
2 small onions (chopped)
2 garlic cloves chopped
45g tomato puree
10g curry powder
10g paprika
1 beef cube (oxo)
Bunch of mint (if not fresh use dried)
Bunch of marjoram (if not fresh use dried)
150ml of cooking red wine
7 medium potatoes (6 of them cut big chunks but 1 of them cut small pieces)
600ml of tomato juice
75g black olives
75g green olives (your choice)
75g capers Seasoning
Bayleaves
Method
For the snails
Let the snails die in ventilated box but the box is covered so they do not escape
Wash the snails and check if there is any dead ones
Re wash the snails again
3In the meantime, have water on the stove with the salt getting to boil
Once the snails are cleaned put them in the boiling water and cover
Now you have to let the water and bubbles from snails rise for 4 times. NOW IF YOU GOING TO SERVE THE SNAILS BY THEMSELVES SWITH OFF AND LEAVE THEM THE POT(on the stove) UNTIL THE NEXT DAY then the next day just reheat and serve by themselves
For The Sauce
Sweat the onion and garlic
Add tomato paste cook add curry and paprika
Add beef cube(oxo) add mint and marjoram
Add red wine
Now add the small cube of potato (this is to give thickness to the sauce)
Add the tomato juice bring to the boil then simmer
Add olives capers
add bayleaves
Add to the snails add the rest of the potatoes bring to the boil then lower the heat and simmer for about 45min to 1 hour until potato is done
Add peas switch off rest and serve
Note: The video recipe shows tomato juice frozen that is because it was made from fresh, and then was frozen
We have slightly twisted the original version of Gazpacho. We do not use bread but instead we give it an extra kick of healthy fats and protein with avocado and king prawns. It is said to be considered as a salad but most of us know it as ‘the cold soup’ so it makes a great dish for those hot summer days or whenever you don’t want to make use of your cooker, just like we are doing at the moment. Try it out!
Ingredients – serves 2
500g baby plum tomatoes or cherry tomatoes, halved
150g store bought ready cooked shelled king prawns
1/2 red bell pepper
1/2 medium cucumber
2 garlic cloves
2 spring onions
handful of fresh basil leaves
1/2 avocado, diced
olive oil
salt/pepper
fresh lime
parsley for garnish
Equipment
Large bowl
Hand blender or a food processor
Container for storage
Method
In a large bowl puree the tomatoes, red pepper, cucumber, garlic, spring onions and basil using a hand blender or a food processor. Blend until you reach your desired consistency.
Add the king prawns which you bought from store ready cooked.
Add the diced avocado and a squeeze from your fresh lime. Give it a gentle stir so all ingredients combine well together.
Season with salt and pepper.
Dress with some olive oil.
Garnish with a slice of lime and parsley.
Transfer the ‘soup’ to a container and refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving or until completely chilled. It is best to leave it overnight and then eat it the following day.
In this slow-cooked Pork Loin recipe we sealed the pork in the frying pan to give it a nice colour. We then cooked the mirepoix with white wine, cloves, peppercorns and stock. We put the mixture into an oven proof dish with the beautiful pork loin on top, we covered tightly with foil and finished it in the oven at 165C for about 1 1/2 hours.
Ingredients for Stuffed Pork Loin with Cinnamon Sauce
Stuffed pork loin (ask the butcher to stuff it for you)
1 onion, roughly chopped
3 garlic cloves
3 carrots, roughly chopped
1 leek, roughly chopped
1/2 celery stick, roughly chopped
2 bay leaves
70g tomato paste
6 peppercorns
10g ground cinnamon
4 cloves
225ml white wine
2 chicken cubes
250ml water
Few sprigs of thyme
Fresh rosemary
Equipment
1 oven proof dish
1 oven tray
1 deep frying pan
1 medium pot
1 wooden spoon
1 chopping board
1 knife
1 tong
Colander
2 containers, 1 for peelings and 1 for vegetables
Method
Pre-heat oven on 160/170C or gas mark 3/4.
Pre-heat a deep frying pan on a medium-high heat and add some oil. Leave it to get really hot.
Preparing the mirepoix (onion, garlic carrot, celery and leek) chop roughly and leave on the side in a container for now. Add the thyme and bay leaves.
Place the loin on the pre-heated frying pan so it can be sealed. Partially cover it and be mindful of the oil as it can start to be really bubbly and it can hurt you. Leave to cook until it gets a nice brown colour all the way round. When turning the loin onto the other sides make sure you lower the heat and then put it back to medium-high to brown the other side. Also, always partially cover.
When loin is sealed (browned nicely) from all sides you can remove it from the frying pan and put it on the side on an oven tray.
Add mirepoix to the frying pan, add cinnamon, give a stir and let it cook until vegetables are all nice and soft. Keep stirring occasionally.
Add tomato puree, stir and let it cook as much as you can. This adds colour and thickness to the sauce.
Add white wine, bring it to the boil and let it reduce. Make sure you give it a really good stir, scraping the bottom of the pan.
Add the stock, bring it to the boil and let it reduce.
Add peppercorns and cloves.
Transfer mirepoix mix with all the sauce in an oven proof dish and put the loin on top.
Cover tightly with foil and place it in the oven. Make sure no steam is allowed to come out of the foil. Leave to cook for 1 1/2 hours.
After 1 1/2 hours take it out of the oven and put the loin back onto the oven tray. Keep it out of the oven.
Making the Cinnamon Sauce
Place the colander over the pot and pass through the mirepoix. You are left with all of the vegetable juices.
Place the pot on the hob and simmer to reduce to the consistency you prefer.`
This chocolate tart is literally To Die For! Step-by-step method how to make the perfect chocolate tart. We use a blind baked sweet pastry crust, a mixture of melted dark chocolate, evaporated milk and cream which gives this chocolate tart recipe an incredible taste and texture.
Ingredients (serves 8)
500g dark cocolate, at least 64% cocoa solids
3 eggs
150ml single cream
2x170g evaporated milk
200g Baked-blind sweet short crust pastry
Icing sugar to decorate
Equipment
Loose-bottom flan ring, 25cm
1 large mixing bowl
1 medium bowl (for melting chocolate)
Medium pot (for bain marie)
Saucepan
Spoon
Spatula
Rolling pin
Method
Pre-heat the oven to 180C/gas mark 4.
You should have your baked-blind pastry ready to use. Click here for sweet pastry recipe and here for baking blind method.
Break the chocolate into small pieces and put into a china bowl. Set over a pan of boiling water and let it melt slowly on a very low heat. Cover and leave to melt for 5 minutes, then take it off the heat and stir.
Whisk the eggs together in a large bowl.
Pour the cream and evaporated milk into a saucepan and bring to the boil. Pour this onto the eggs and whisk together.
Strain the milk and egg mixture over the chocolate. Transfer the mixture to a bigger bowl and mix well.
Pour this into the blind-baked tart case.
Place the tart in the oven. Shut the door and immediately turn the oven off. Leave the tart in the oven for 40-45 minutes.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely (about 1 1/2 hours).
Sprinkle some icing sugar and some chocolate curls (optional).
Here’s the full step-by-step process of Maltese Gbejna, from the warming of the milk to the drying and storing. Although it takes a few stages to arrive to the final product, it doesn’t consume you any time and you can carry on with your chores whilst having your delicious gbejniet curing along the way!
Ingredients (makes 10 cheeselets)
2 ltrs mik, we used unhomogenised cow’s milk and as creamy as possible. If you don’t find this kind of milk, you can use full fat cow’s milk.
1.5 tsp Rennet powder
22ml water
Salt
Cracked black pepper
Vinegar, preferably white
Equipment
10 cheese baskets (qwieleb)
Food thermometer
Large pot to warm the milk
Tray or dish to store cheese baskets, a dripping tray is preferred
Method
Warm the milk on a very gentle heat. Use your thermometer to check the temperature of the milk and remove off the heat immediately when it reaches 38C.
Mix quickly the rennet powder and water. Gently stir into the milk. Leave aside for 3 hrs.
After 1.5hrs cut along vertical lines with a knife. This helps the curds and the whey separate. Leave on the side for another 1.5 hrs.
After 3hrs are completed, start scooping the curds until you’ve filled up all of your baskets. Place on the dripping tray.
Sprinkle salt on top of each basket and place in fridge. Leave overnight.
The following morning turn the cheese over and sprinkle some more salt again.
Place in fridge for another 12 hours.
Fresh gbejniet are now ready to eat!
If you prefer dried gbejniet, continue the following steps.
Drying and Storing
Take the tray out of the fridge and cover with insect screen. Put outside in the shade, avoiding direct sunlight. If this is not possible, dry them inside by an open window or a well ventilated room. We use a little fan to help the drying process. They should dry in about two days.
After a day of drying, sprinkle fresh black pepper. This is better done at this stage as it helps the pepper to stick better. Cover again with insect screen and leave to dry to your desired consistency.
Once they have dried to your liking (we normally leave them to dry indoors for 2 days in total) place them in jar full of white vinegar and refrigerate for 24hrs.
After 24hrs, remove from the white vinegar and place them in an air-tight sterilized jar filled with oil and a little bit of vinegar. Make sure that all of the gbejniet get a good coating and keep stored in the fridge.
Bolognese Sauce also known as ragu, is a Sauce made with minced beef. In This recipe we kept the bolognese as simple as we can but we added some mixed spice for that extra flavour. Also a couple of tricks for a good bolognese sauce is one, to cook the tomato paste as much as you can and two, to leave the bolognese sauce simmering for about 2 hours.
Ingredients for Traditional Bolognese Sauce
1kg minced beef
2 medium onions, peeled and roughly chopped
4 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
3 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 rosemary stalks
2 bay leaves
Oil
300ml cooking red wine
280g tomato puree
800g chopped tomatoes
500ml passata (tomato juice)
20g mixed spice
Dried mixed herbs
Seasoning
Equipment
1 pot
Wooden spoon
Small knife
2 small containers (1 for peelings, 1 for vegetables)
Chopping board
Method
Heat the pot on a medium-high heat and add some oil. When the oil is hot; add the beef, rosemary, bay leaves and mixed spice. Give it a good stir and leave it to cook until all beef turns brown.
Add the onions, garlic and carrots to the pot. Give it another good stir and leave to cook until the onions soften.
At this stage make sure you have the tomato paste, red wine, chopped tomatoes and passata ready to add to the pot.
Start with adding the tomato paste, give it a good stir and let it cook until almost sticks to the pot. Keep stirring occasionally. The longer you cook it the less acidic it will be which will prevent the uncomfortable feeling of heart burn after eating.
In this full of flavour Beef and Mushroom Stew, we cooked the onions and garlic in a casserole dish, added some fried bacon to give the stew that extra flavour. We tossed the beef in flour and paprika then fried and added to the casserole. We then deglazed with red wine and beef stock and finished by cooking it in the oven.
Ingredients for Beef and Mushroom Stew(serves 8)
900g beef shoulder, diced about 2 cm
100g butter
4 onions, sliced
4 garlic cloves, sliced
50g plain flour, seasoned with 30g paprika and salt
30ml oil
200g streaky bacon, diced
400g mushrooms
400ml cooking red wine
2 beef cubes melted in 400ml hot water
2 bay leaves
Chopped parsley
Rosemary
Equipment
1 Casserole dish
1 Frying pan
Wooden spoon
Knife
2 small containers, 1 for peelings 1 for vegetables
2 Chopping boards
Oven dish or another container for flour/paprika/salt mixture
Method
Pre-heat the oven on gas mark 3-4 (160-170 C)
Heat the casserole dish on medium – high heat. Add some butter and let it melt. Add sliced onions and garlic and let them cook for about 10 minutes, until softened.
Heat the frying pan on a medium – high heat and add some oil. In the meantime, change the chopping board and dice the bacon. Add bacon to the frying pan and give it a stir.
Mix the flour, paprika and salt in a dish or container. Toss the beef in the flour mixture and make sure all beef is covered by using your hands.
Transfer the fried bacon to the casserole dish together with the onions and garlic. Put back on the heat.
Put the frying pan back on the heat, add some oil and add the mushrooms. Leave to cook until half cooked. When ready, transfer these to the casserole dish and put back on the heat. Keep stirring occasionally. Add rosemary and bay leaves.
Use the frying pan again to fry the beef. Let it cook until all sides are sealed and nicely browned in colour. When ready add this to the casserole dish.
Put the frying pan back on the heat and add the wine. Make sure you scrape the pan thoroughly, so all flavour is kept.
Add the 400ml beef stock, give it a stir and bring it to the boil.
You can now turn off the casserole dish.
Once boiling, transfer to the casserole dish gently. Give it a good gentle stir and cover.
Put in the oven for 1 – 1.5 hrs.
When ready, take out of the oven and add the chopped parsley. Give it another good stir and serve!
