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Celebrity Maltese Chefs and Recipe Enthusiasts

Sweet Ricotta Stuffed Cannoli Shell...

In a food processor, pulse the flour, sugar and salt. Add the butter and pulse again until there aren’t clumps of butter. Add the marsala wine and whole egg and pulse to mix well (if needed add more marsala wine) to bring the dough together in a soft dough. Shape into a round, cover, and let rest at room temperature for at least 30 minutes and up to 1 hour. Heat the oil in a large deep pot for a temperature of 180c. In the meantime, working with half of the dough at a time, and keeping the other half covered. Roll the dough very thinly onto a well flowered surface. Using a 4 to 4 1/2 inches cookie cutter, cut dough into rounds. Spray lightly the cannoli forms with cooking spray, then wrap these dough rounds around each cannoli form, while brushing about 3/4 inches of one end lightly with the egg white. Press edge of the dough to the opposite side of the dough brushed with the egg white. Carefully immerse 3 or 4 cannoli at a time in the heated oil and fry until golden brown and crisp. This takes about 1 to 2 minutes. ( always check the temperature so that the oil will not burn the cannoli ) Remove from the oil using a metal tong to grasp the cannoli shells ( let oil from inside the forms drain back into the pot ) Transfer onto paper towels to drain. Fold layers of paper towels and wrap a paper towel around the shell to carefully slide from the form. Let the forms to cool and repeat process with the remaining dough circles. At this point one could store these cannoli shells in a sealed box covered with baking paper, then place the cannoli and cover again with baking paper.  

For the filling, in a bowl, mix the Irkotta, icing sugar and whole nuts. Brush some melted chocolate in the inside of the cannoli shells. Dip both sides of the cannoli shells in the melted chocolate and then in the chopped pistachios and let these to dry. Spoon the filling in a piping bag and cut the tip of the piping bag. ( about 3/4 inches down from the tip ) Fill the cannoli shells by piping the filling from both sides of the cannoli shells. Place the filled cannoli on a plate and sift the icing sugar over the ready-made cannoli. Recipe by Tonia Grima

Cheesecake bil-Bajd tal-Għid

Oil a 20cm deep springform cake tin and line with baking parchment. Tip the digestive biscuits into a food bag or the bowl of a food processor and crush or blitz to a fine crumb. Mix with the melted butter, then press into the base of the prepared cake tin and chill for 30 mins.
Roughly chop half the chocolate mini eggs. Beat the soft cheese with the icing sugar and vanilla until just combined using an electric whisk. Clean the beaters, then beat the double cream to stiff peaks in a separate bowl. Gently fold the whipped cream into the soft cheese mixture along with the chopped chocolate mini eggs. Spoon the cheesecake mixture over the biscuit base, then smooth the surface with a palette knife or spatula. Chill overnight.
The next day, carefully release the cheesecake from the tin (you may need to run a cutlery knife around the edge to loosen it) and top with the remaining whole chocolate mini eggs to decorate.

Xikel tal-Ħaruf

Ixgħel il-forn 1900C, gass numru 5. Naddaf l-ixkla, poġġihom fuq dixx tal-forn u roxx ftit klin fuqhom. Sajjar fil-forn sakemm jieħdu kulur ħamrani. Qaxxar t-tewm u qattagħhom f’biċċiet żgħar. Naddaf il-karrotti u qattagħhom ukoll f’biċċiet żgħar. Saħħan ftit żejt ġo taġen u qalli l-basal u t-tewm għal ftit minuti. Ħawwad il-ħin kollu. Baxxi n-nar, żid il-karrotti u ftit klin ieħor u kompli sajjar għal ftit minuti oħra. Żid il-kunserva l-inbid u ftit ilma. Roxx ftit bżar u ħawwad tajjeb. Kompli sajjar għal madwar 5 minuti. Żid ir-rand u ara jekk ikunx hemm bżonn li żżid ftit melħ. Neħħi l-ixkla mid-dixx, poġġihom ġo casserole li jkollha l-għatu u ferra’ z-zalza lesta fuqhom. Sajjar fil-forn għal madwar 90 minuta. Zid ftit ilma fietel jekk tinnota li l-likwidu ikun qed jonqos waqt is-sajran. Tista sservi ma’ ftir ross jew patata-il forn.

Ġamm tat-Tin

Put the figs and 150ml water in a large heavy based saucepan. Bring to a simmer and gently bubble for 5 mins or until the figs have softened and released their juices. Add the orange zest, sugar and lemon juice. Bring to a boil and cook, stirring regularly for around 5-7 mins or until thick, skimming off any skum that rises to the surface. Remove from the heat and leave to sit for 10 mins.

Ladle the mixture into sterilised jars. Seal with the lids and leave to cool completely. Will keep for six months unopened and 2 weeks in the fridge once opened.

Kannelloni Mimlijin bl-Irkotta u Spinaċi

First make the tomato sauce. Heat the oil in a large pan and fry the garlic for 1 min. Add the sugar, Pinto’s Pride vinegar, Mayor tomatoes and some seasoning and simmer for 20 mins, stirring occasionally, until thick. Add the basil and divide the sauce between 2 or more shallow ovenproof dishes. Set aside. Make a sauce by beating the mascarpone with the milk until smooth, season, then set aside.

Put the spinach in a large colander and pour over a kettle of boiling water to wilt it (you may need to do this in batches). When cool enough to handle squeeze out the excess water. Roughly chop the spinach and mix in a large bowl with 100g Hanini Pekorin cheese and ricotta. Season well with salt, pepper and the nutmeg.

Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Using a piping bag or plastic food bag with the corner snipped off, squeeze the filling into the cannelloni tubes. Lay the tubes, side by side, on top of the tomato sauce and spoon over the mascarpone sauce. Top with Hanini Pekorin cheese. You can now freeze the cannelloni, uncooked, or you can cook it first and then freeze. Bake for 30-35 mins until golden and bubbling. Remove from oven and let stand for 5 mins before serving.

Kejkini bil-Pastard u l-Ġibniet

Bring a pan with water to a boil and cook the cauliflower. When cooked, drain and mash it in bowl. Add the eggs, half of the grated dry ġibniet and parsley. Season with salt and pepper. In another bowl, mix the fresh cheeselets with the remaining dry, and add some pepper. Pour the caulflower mix into muffin moulds, make a whole in the middle and add one teaspoon of ġibniet mix, and close top with the cauliflower mix. Bake at 200°C for around 30 minutes. Decorate with mustard and a cherry tomato half. These can be served as a starter, or a snack and prepared before and heated when necessary.

Patata Maxx il-Forn bit-Tewm

Cook the potatoes in a large pan of water for 15 mins or until soft. Drain well. Place the pan back on the heat. Melt a little butter and cook the garlic for 1 min to soften, then stir in Hanini Creamylight and heat through. Return the potatoes to the pan and mash until smooth.

Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Spoon the mixture into a 20 x 30cm baking dish. Sprinkle the breadcrumbs, Hanini Pekorin cheese and thyme over the top. Can be made up to this point the day before and stored in the fridge or frozen for up to 1 month. Cook for 15 mins until the crumbs are crisp and the cheese has melted. To cook from frozen, simply cook for 1 hr 10 mins.

Tiġieġa fl-Inbid Aħmar

Qaxxar it-tiġieġa neħħilha x-xaħam u aqsamha fi 8 biċċiet. Roxx ftit bżar u melħ u għaddiha mid-dqiq. Ixgħel il-forn 1800C, gass numru 4. Saħħan ftit żejt f’taġen u aqli l-biċċiet tat-tieġieġa sakemm isiru ħomor. Mhux importanti li jissajru kompletament. Poġġihom f’casserole. Qalli l-basal u l-faqqiegħ għal ftit minuti fl-istess taġen. Żid il-bżaru u lkompli qalli filwaqt li tħawwad il-ħin kollu. Żid il-kunserva, il-polpa, il-werqa randa u t-taħlita ta’ ħwawar. Ħawwad tajjeb. Żid l-inbid, l-ilma. Għalli, baxxi ftit in-nar u kompli sajjar għal 10 minuti. Ferra’ din iz-zalza fuq il-biċċiet tat-tiġieġa u sajjar fil-forn għal madwar siegħa u nofs. Ferrex it-tursin fil-wiċċ u servi. Żid ftit żebbuġ iswed fil wiċċ.