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Celebrity Maltese Chefs and Recipe Enthusiasts

Cabbage Lasagne

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In a deep oven dish do a layer of sliced potatoes. Cover with a layer of cabbage. In a separate bowl, mix the ricotta with the eggs, salt and pepper and spread it over the cabbage. Spread some grated cheese. Cover with another layer of the remaining cabbage. Do another layer of the sliced potatoes. Sprinkle the top with hot paprika and a dash of oil. Bake in oven at a temperature of 180c until the potatoes have a golden colour.

Chicken Arrabbiata Stew & Parm...

Heat the oil in a large shallow casserole dish. Fry Mayor Diced Onions over a low-medium heat for 7 mins or until soft and turning translucent. Turn up the heat slightly, add the chicken and fry for 5 mins until beginning to brown around the edges. Tip the garlic and chilli into the casserole and fry for 1 min. Stir through the pesto, pour in Pinto’s Pride stock and Mayor Polpa, then add the thyme, sugar and some seasoning. Turn the heat to low and cover with a lid. Cook gently for 40 mins. Remove the thyme and check the seasoning.

Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. To make the dumplings, put the butter and flour in a bowl with ½ tsp fine salt, then rub the butter into the flour with your fingertips until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Mix in 50g of Hanini Pekorin cheese and pour in 50ml of the milk, then swiftly combine with a cutlery knife until everything is well distributed and you have a soft dough (add more milk if it’s too dry). Briefly bring the dough together on a worksurface, then divide into eight balls.

Arrange the dumplings over the stew, then scatter each with the remaining cheese. Put in the oven and bake, uncovered, for 25 mins or until the dumplings are doubled in size and golden brown. Scatter over the parsely and serve.

Ravioli with Artichokes, Leek &...

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Heat the oil from Mayor artichokes in a large saucepan, then add the leek and garlic. Fry for 5 mins over a medium heat until the leek is soft. Stir in the artichokes, cream cheese and lemon zest, then heat through. Season to taste and add a squeeze of lemon juice.

Meanwhile, cook Divini ravioli following pack instructions. Drain, add to the pan with the artichokes and cream cheese, and toss through. Serve topped with the rocket and a grating of Hanini Pekorin cheese.

Jacket Potato with Whipped Hanini C...

Heat oven to 220C/200C fan/ gas 6. Prick the potato all over with a fork and bake for 1 hr until it is golden outside and soft inside. Mix 1 tsp olive oil with the garlic salt. Cut a deep cross into the top of the jacket, drizzle the garlic oil into the cross and rub it all over the outside. Return to the oven and bake for 15 mins more until the edges are golden and crispy. Meanwhile, crumble Hanini cheese into a bowl, add Hanini yogurt and whisk together until creamy. Stir in the red pepper with a good grind of black pepper and spoon the whipped cheese into the jacket. Sprinkle with the fresh chives, drizzle over the remaining 1 tsp olive oil and scatter a few torn basil leaves on top, if you like.

Coconut Fish Curry

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Heat the oil in a wide, lidded frying pan, then soften the onion for 5 mins. Increase the heat a little, stir in the ginger, garlic, shrimp paste, chilli and lemongrass, and cook for 2 mins. Add the curry powder and sugar, and keep stirring. When the sugar starts to melt and everything starts to clump together, add the coriander stems, Pinto’s Pride coconut milk and 2 tbsp water, then bring to a simmer.

Add the fish to the sauce, tuck the prawns in here and there, then squeeze over half the lime. Pop on the lid and simmer for 5 mins more or until the hake is just cooked and flaking, and the prawns are pink through. Taste for seasoning, adding a squeeze more lime to the sauce if you like. Scatter over the coriander leaves and serve with rice.

Leek & Potato Soup

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Clean and slice the leeks and the potatoes in small pieces. In a large pan, melt the margarine and cook the leeks for around 7 minutes. Add the potatoes and lower the flame and close lid for another further 3 minutes. Add the stock and bouquet garni and simmer on low flame until potatoes are well cooked. Blend everything with a hand processer. Serve hot with some parsley on top.

Pot-Roast Beef with French Onion Gr...

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Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Rub the meat with 1 tsp of the oil and plenty of seasoning. Heat a large flameproof casserole dish and brown the meat all over for about 10 mins. Meanwhile, add 2 tsp oil to a frying pan and fry the carrots and celery for 10 mins until turning golden.
Lift the beef onto a plate, splash the wine into the hot casserole and boil for 2 mins. Pour in Pinto’s Pride beef stock, return the beef, then tuck in the carrots, celery and bay leaves, trying not to submerge the carrots too much. Cover and cook in the oven for 2 hrs. (I like to turn the beef halfway through cooking.)
Meanwhile, thinly slice the onions. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan and stir in the onions, thyme and some seasoning. Cover and cook gently for 20 mins until the onions are softened but not coloured. Remove the lid, turn up the heat, add the butter and sugar, then let the onions caramelise to a dark golden brown, stirring often. Remove the thyme sprigs, then set aside.
When the beef is ready, it will be tender and easy to pull apart at the edges. Remove it from the casserole and snip off the strings. Reheat the onion pan, stir in the flour and cook for 1 min. Whisk the floury onions into the beefy juices in the casserole, to make a thick onion gravy. Taste for seasoning. Add the beef and carrots back to the casserole, or slice the beef and bring to the table on a platter, with the carrots to the side and the gravy spooned over.

Chickpea Stew with Tomatoes & ...

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Heat the oil in a wok and fry the onion over a low heat until softened. Stir in the garlic, ginger and chillies and cook for a further 5 mins until the onions are golden and the garlic slightly toasted.

Add the turmeric, garam masala and cumin, stirring over a low heat for a few secs. Tip in the chopped tomatoes and add Three Hills Kunserva tomato purée, then simmer for 5 mins.

Add Mayor chickpeas to the pan with 300ml water (fill the can three-quarters full). Simmer for 10 mins before stirring in the spinach to wilt. Season and serve with rice or naan.