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Celebrity Maltese Chefs and Recipe Enthusiasts


Anton Dougall

Renowned Maltese Chef Anton B Dougall has been on the culinary scene since the early 70’s. He was one of the first pioneers in the local scene to create a cooking club “Klabb tat-Tisjir”, which is still very active till today. With his monthly recipe cards, numerous cooking books and television exposure, Mr Dougall has revolutionized Malta’s cooking by documenting both traditional recipes and also creating innovative ones using quality local ingredients.

Anton B. Dougall has been an avid chef for over 50 years and his contributions to the Malta’s cooking culture should be highly merited.

Spaghetti with Garlic and Oil

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Fill a pot with plenty of water and when the water opens to boil, add some salt and toss the pasta. As long as the pasta is becoming ready for oil and garlic. Take a saucepan and make 8 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the garlic and some salt. Place the saucepan over very low heat and while stirring all the time, cook until the garlic takes color. Turn off the fire. As the pasta has been made, remove from the water and drop it thoroughly. Put it in a large bowl. Add to it the oil with garlic and mix well. Add the remaining peppers, parsley and tablespoons of olive oil. Serve right away.

Meat Stew

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Coat the meat with the flour. In a large pan, heat some olive oil and shallow fry the meat from outside. Place the mean in a casserole dish. In the same pan, cook the onion for 2 minutes and then add the nutmeg, bay leaf, the beer, stock and Kunserva and cook for around 4 minutes. After, pour onion mixture on the meat. Slice the carrots, potatoes, peas and celery and cook on low flame for around 70 minutes. Serve hot with some Maltese bread.

Shrimp Cocktail

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Peel all but four of the prawns (reserve these for the tops). Break the lettuces into individual leaves, then divide the leaves evenly between four small glass bowls. Sprinkle the prawns over the lettuce and season with black pepper. Mix the mayonnaise, tomato chutney, Worcester sauce, horseradish and hot pepper sauce together. Season to taste with lemon juice and salt and pepper, then spoon sparingly over the prawns. Dust the top with a little paprika and sprinkle with chives. Top with the remaining prawns and serve immediately. Delicious with brown bread.

Oven Baked Red Mullet

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Heat the oven to a temperature of 1800C, gass number 4. Clean the fish well. You may ask the fishmonger to clean the fish for you. Place in an oven dish. Drizzle some olive oil and lemon juice. Add some salt and pepper and cook in oven for around 20 to 25 minutes. Half way through the cooking time, rotate the fish. Serve immediately with some grilled vegetables and lemon slices.

Salmon with Rosemary

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Heat the oven at 1800C or gass number 4. Place salmon on a clean surface and cover well with pepper from both sides. Place in an oven dish, add the rosemary and some sea salt. Cook in oven for around 35 minutes. Serve with some roasted potatoes and fresh vegetables.

Sanizza

Grease a loaf tin, or else line it with moistened baking paper. Roll out the pastry quite thinly on a lightly floured surface and line the loaf tin with it. Leave some pastry for the top. Preheat the oven 1800C, gas mark 4. Cut a number of thin slices of sponge cake and spread some apricot jam on them. Use these slices to cover the bottom and sides of the pastry, jam side facing the pastry. Put the ricotta in a mixing bowl.  Add the sugar and liqueur and mix well until you have a creamy texture. Quarter the cherries and add them, together with the vanilla essence and the grated lemon rind, to the ricotta mixture.  Mix well. Cut some more slices of sponge cake. Fill the loaf tin with the ricotta mixture.  Smooth the top and cover it with the sponge cake slices.  Spread some more jam on them. Moisten the edges of the pastry with a little water and cover with the remaining pastry.  Seal well and trim the edges. Make some slits in the top, brush with beaten egg and bake for around 60 minutes. Leave the Sinizza to cool completely before removing it from the tin and slicing it.

Apple Tart

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Prepare the sweet shortcrust pastry. Preheat the oven 1800C, gas mark 4. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pastry thinly and line a 24cm diameter, non-stick baking dish with it. If possible, use a loose bottomed tin. This will make it easier to remove the baked tart later on. If you will be using baking paper, moisten it slightly before lining the tin. Press the pastry lightly and firmly all over the base and sides of the tin, easing any overlapping pastry back down the sides, as it is important not to stretch this bit too much. Trim the edges, leaving a small edge of pastry sticking over the edge of the baking dish to allow for shrinkage in the oven. Prick the pastry’s bottom and sides a few times with a fork. Core, peel and slice the apples according to your taste. Place the sliced apples in a mixing bowl. Add the sugar, cinnamon, cloves, lemon rind and sultanas and mix well. Fill the baking dish with the apple mixture. Moisten the edges of the pastry with a little water. Cover completely the top with the remaining pastry, or else cut the pastry in strips and form a grid with them. Seal well and trim the edges of the tart. Make some slits in the top and brush with beaten egg. Bake for around 50 minutes, until the pastry gets a rich, golden colour.

Chocolate Swiss Roll

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Warm the oven at 235C, gas number 8. Sieve the flour together with the chocolate powder. Grease a rectangular dish, of 45cm long by 38cm wide, with a little margarine and cover the bottom with a piece of baking paper. Put the eggs, sugar and vanilla essence in an electric mixer and work until the mixture turns white and thickens like a cream. You can also use an electric hand beater. Add the glycerin and continue to mix. Gradually add the flour little by little to the mixture while beating all the time. IMPORTANT: NEVER throw in all the flour at once! Pour the mixture into the prepared dish and see that its height is the same allover. Cook for about 4-5 minutes. Take the sponge out of the oven, remove it from the dish and place it face down on a napkin until it cools. For the filling: Put 2 jars of fresh cream or half of the UHT cream in a bowl and stir well. UHT cream is better to fill the Swiss roll. Cover the sponge with this cream and roll it. Place the Swiss roll in the fridge for at least two hours. In the meantime. melt the chocolate in the microwave or a bain-marie. It is very important that neither water nor steam come into contact with the chocolate and that you do not cover it whilst melting. If you use chocolate that is button-shaped and not block-shaped, it will melt much faster. Place the remaining 2 jars of fresh cream or UHT cream in a saucepan and heat over a moderate heat. Add the melted chocolate and mix well. Remove from the heat and let the mixture cool. Beat the cold cream well with an electric hand beater or mixer. Take the Swiss roll out of the fridge, place it on a large, oblong plate and cover it with this cream. Put it back in the fridge for at least two hours. Take out of the fridge and scratch the surface of the chocolate with a fork to make it look like a tree trunk (see photo). Sprinkle some icing sugar on top and decorate with Christmas decorations.