Sainte-Maure Chèvre, Rosemary Oil and Olive Sandwich

When I picked up another amazing sourdough bread from Malin's kitchen of The Bread Exchange  -  this time with fragrant rosemary -  I had a clear scene in my head. Imagine a relaxed evening in late August, the air is already a little bit crisp and damp as autumn is nearing and you're sitting outside in your garden or close to the open kitchen window. The sky is glowing in all shades of purple and pink, you're cosy, wrapped in a cardigan, thinking about all your wonderful holiday memories. You have a glass of wine in front of you on the table and a pretty little snack which reminds you of all the wonderful flavours of summer. Think of a sandwich made with woody rosemary, fragrant olive oil, black olives and aromatic French goat cheese, like the fine Sainte-Maure de Touraine Chèvre, and some sweet cherry tomatoes on the side! It's so easy to feel good with the right food and the right mood and it's so easy to create this kind of treat, all you need are excellent ingredients!

When we started our eat in my kitchen x The Bread Exchange sandwich series last month, I mentioned how extraordinarily good Malin's bread is, its taste, texture and smell offers all you could possibly ask for in a sourdough bread. For my last sandwich creation I got a turmeric loaf from her, this time she pulled an aromatic rosemary bread out of her oven. It was so tempting, I stood in her kitchen together with Simone, another trader (I mentioned that Malin doesn't sell her bread, you have to trade with her) and I had this warm bread in my hands. The air was filled with the woody smell of rosemary and I couldn't have a single bite of it, I had to wait to make my Wednesday sandwich first. I had to go home, prepare everything and take the pictures, I had to be patient and I didn't feel like waiting at all! I think Simone felt sorry for me, she pulled out her loaf of bread from its brown paper bag and offered me a slice. Simone loves good food, design and photography and shares it with the world on her beautiful Instagram account (instagram.com/fraeuleinsonntag)!

Sainte-Maure Chèvre, Rosemary Oil  and Olive Sandwich

For 4 sandwiches you need

• the best loaf of sourdough bread you can get, cut into thick slices

• Sainte-Maure de Touraine Chèvre (or another soft, aromatic goat cheese), around 120g / 4.5 ounces

• olive oil 2 tablespoons

• rosemary, finely chopped, 2 tablespoons

• a pinch of salt

• a pinch of sugar

• black olives (preferably Kalamata olives), pitted and thinly sliced, 10

Mix the olive oil, rosemary, salt and sugar. Spread slices of goat cheese on the bread and sprinkle with rosemary oil and olives - enjoy!

Grilled Bell Pepper with Garlic and Thyme

When I see juicy strips of grilled bell pepper on an antipasti platter, colourful in red, orange and yellow, I can barely stop myself from eating all of them (which is unfortunate for my antipasti platter companion). I love this balanced taste of sweet and smokey, it's addictive! There are many ways to do this, some prefer to grill the fruit cut in half, some say you should cook it whole in one piece. Peeling the skin off can be a bit fiddly but it's manageable, there are many suggestions to make this part easier. The latest I heard was to put the grilled bell pepper in a plastic bag and shake it to get rid of the skin although I've never tried it myself.

This is how I grill and peel bell pepper, how I've done it for years and it works perfectly: I put the whole fruit in a baking dish under the grill, turning it as soon as one side gets dark (meaning partly black). When the skin is dark and burst all around, after about 25 minutes, I open the oven, take out the dish and lay a wet kitchen cloth or paper towel over the bell peppers to cover them completely. I wait just a few seconds as they should stay warm and moist for this process. Then, I take out one pepper after the other and pull the skin off with a knife. If you leave them to cool without the moisture it's impossible to peel them without damaging the flesh.

Sometimes I grill a big batch of bell peppers, I cut them in thick strips and keep them covered in olive oil in the fridge for days. Apart from the fact that it is a convenient (and healthy) nibble, it's perfect for an antipasti platter at one of our dinner parties, as a salad or to make sandwiches. This time I grilled only three peppers and marinated them in garlic infused olive oil and fresh thyme. They didn't last very long!

Grilled Bell Pepper with Garlic and Thyme

For 2-4 people you need

• bell peppers (red, orange or yellow) 3

• olive oil 3 tablespoons

• garlic, cut into thin slices, 1 big clove

• thyme sprigs 8

In a sauce pan, warm up the olive oil and garlic for 3 minutes on a medium-low heat to infuse the oil, the garlic shouldn't change colour.

Put the bell peppers in a baking dish under the grill and turn them as soon as one side gets dark and starts to burst. I turned them twice, after 10 minutes on each side, I cooked the third side for only 5 minutes. Take the baking dish out and cover with a wet kitchen cloth or paper towel immediately. Wait for 10 seconds, take out one pepper and peel it with a knife. Keep in mind that they are still hot, especially the inside! Cut the peeled fruit in half, take out the seeds and cut the bell pepper into strips.

Pour the olive oil over the bell peppers and sprinkle with the garlic and thyme sprigs (or just the leaves if the sprigs are hard and woody). You can season it with salt and pepper but I left it pure.

Black Olive and Parsley Pesto with Capers, Anchovies and Lemon

This pesto is so rich in unbeatably strong aromas, velvety black olives, fresh parsley, salty capers and anchovies, spicy onions and garlic and some lemon juice and mustard to finish it off! It resembles the Provençal tapenade but the parsley and onions give it a lighter and fresher touch, it makes this dish feel Italian. It's great with pasta but also as a spread on crunchy grilled bruschetta. Although I'm not the biggest fan of raw onions I must say that they make sense in this recipe, they add more of a sharp spiciness than an overpowering taste of onions which is quite often the case when this uncooked vegetable is involved.

This is another one of those convenient pantry/ fridge/ balcony dishes, made with ingredients that I always find in these three places! My mother used to make a similar pesto with pasta, I played around with it over the years, added a few flavours until it became this recipe. You could also add some sun-dried tomatoes, chop in some fresh tomatoes or replace the parsley with basil. That's what I love about pesto, it can follow your mood and kitchen stock!

Black Olive and Parsley Pesto with Capers, Anchovies and Lemon

For 3-4 people you need

• linguine or spaghetti, cooked al dente, 300-400g / 10.5-14 ounces

For the pesto

• black (preferably Kalamata) olives 15

• parsley, the leaves of a medium bunch (set aside a few leaves, roughly chopped, for the topping)

• anchovies, rinsed and dried, 2

• capers 1 tablespoon

• shallot 15g / 1/2 ounce

• garlic, 2 cloves

• pine nuts 15g / 1/2 ounce

• freshly squeezed lemon juice 1 teaspoon plus more to taste

• mustard 1/8 teaspoon plus more to taste

• olive oil 50ml / 1 3/4 ounces

• black peppercorns, crushed in a mortar for the topping

For the pesto, mix the ingredients in a food processor; it should be a smooth paste. Season with lemon juice and mustard to taste.

Serve the pasta with the pesto on warm, big plates, sprinkled with black pepper and parsley.

Espresso Ricotta Mousse with Ouzo and Bittersweet Chocolate

The past few weeks felt like living in ricotta heaven! If some places are called the land of milk and honey, Malta would be the land of ricotta and honey! Sweet and savory, you taste it in pies like Qassatat or Pastizzi, tarts, cakes like Cassata Siciliana or with pasta, there is an endless variety in the use of this delicious dairy product on the island. One might think that after a month of savoring all these delicacies I might need a break, but that's not the case at all. Now that I'm back home, I miss it already!

So, to ease my culinary longings, I came up with a dessert that satisfies my needs when I'm in the mood for ricotta, a coffee ricotta mousse with Ouzo, or Spuma di Ricotta al Caffè! It lifts you up like a Tiramisu, the espresso, sugar and anisette are the right kick after a long dinner. The ricotta makes it smooth and velvety and gives it a milky touch. I sprinkled some bittersweet chocolate on top, the perfect finish, visually and in flavours!

This dessert is perfect for a dinner with friends, it only takes a few minutes to whip the ingredients together. You can prepare the mousse either in advance and keep it in the fridge or eat it straight away if the ricotta is chilled enough like I did.

Espresso Ricotta Mousse with Ouzo and Bittersweet Chocolate

For 4 portions you need

• chilled ricotta, drained, 250g / 9 ounces

• instant espresso powder 1 1/2 teaspoons

• grainy espresso powder (for the espresso maker) 1 teaspoon

• granulated sugar 3 tablespoons

• Ouzo 2 tablespoons

• bittersweet chocolate, grated, 4 teaspoons, for topping

Whip the ingredients until well combined, add sugar to taste and fill the mousse in whiskey glasses. Serve immediately sprinkled with chocolate or keep in the fridge and add the chocolate just before serving.

Rabbit Stew, Fenkata and my beloved Valletta - my last post from Malta

My last Malta post celebrates a wonderful dish and an amazing city, both represent this island and what I love about it! Let's start with the food, the famous Fenkata (Fenek biz-zalza) which is the island's national dish! This meal is usually savored in a big group of friends and family at a big table, a whole rabbit (or a few), marinated and stewed in wine. The meat is cooked with aromatic spices and herbs and served in its aromatic sauce with pasta or potatoes. I'm sure that there are as many recipes for this meal as there are families on the island!

A Fenkata is fun to cook together with your guests, it's a celebration of the time we spend together with the ones we love, it's about enjoying life, food and wine together. We usually cook the rabbit in red wine, but white wine works as well, sometimes we add olives, capers and parsley. This time we kept it pure and simple and added just a few carrots, tomatoes, some onion, garlic, bay leaves and thyme. The meat was tender and the sauce was fantastic, rich in flavours and slightly thickened by the vegetables. We enjoyed our Fenkata together with our friends and family, with some pasta and a big smile on our faces!

And now it's time to tell you more about my favourite city, my beloved Valletta, Malta's capital! I love its graceful architecture, the tall buildings made of the island's typical limestone, the facades opened with wooden balconies, painted in dark green, blue, red or white. They line the main roads densely, Republic Street, Old Bakery Street and Merchant Street which snuggle into the city's hills like snakes, before they stop in front of the dark blue sea, at Fort St. Elmo. The atmosphere is magical, unique, it's busy during the day and relaxed at night, that's when I love it the most. When I visit Valletta to shop or to linger in the streets, I like to stop at Prego Café & Bar or Caffe Cordina for a cappuccino and some sweets, both are old family businesses. Prego is in a quiet side street, South Street, it's very popular with locals, especially in the morning or around noon. It opened in 1946 and today it's run by the brothers Giorgio, Joe and their cousin Carmelo. The coffee is exquisite, imported from Sicily, the minimal furniture didn't change since the sixties which adds a beautiful nostalgic charm to this place.

One of our most frequently visited restaurants in Valletta is Legligin where Chris cooks delicious Maltese tapas and offers a great selection of wines (I love the local Syrah which he produces with one of his friends). Il Horza restaurant is famous for its meat dishes and Michael's for fish but at the moment he hosts Aziamendi100 at his place until October, a temporary restaurant by the Basque 3 Michelin star chef Eneko Atxa. Nenu, the Artisan Baker makes a nice Maltese Ftira pizza but I'm particularly fond of their traditional coffee made with spices and their wonderful desserts. I can recommend the Maltese bread pudding which isn't as good as Joanna's but still very good, the trifle and the Mqaret (pastry filled with dates).

If you want to learn more about life in Valletta you should visit Casa Rocca Piccola, a beautiful private 16th century palazzo with a big collection of antique furniture and artworks. Nicholas de Piro, the owner, is a member of Malta's aristocracy, he lives with his family in some of the more than 50 rooms of this grand building but opened most of them to the public.

Another very special Valletta experience is the Sunday morning service at the Baroque St John's Co-Cathedral. The intimate mass is held in Latin accompanied by a great choir. The cathedral's museum shows some of Caravaggio's master pieces, like the Beheading of St John the Baptist, the artist lived and worked in Malta from 1607-08.

If you like Jazz music, don't miss Bridge Bar's Friday night concerts! A nice crowd of  people sits outside on the stairs under a big pink Bougainvillea listening to the music and enjoying the atmosphere with a glass of wine!

Now, it's time for my Berlin kitchen agin, time to say good bye to my Maltese summer, to my big Maltese family, Jenny's kitchen, the sea, my vegetable man Leli and all the others who make every stay on the island so special. It's a thankful good bye!

Fenkata, a Maltese Rabbit Stew

The rabbit is best when it's marinated in red wine for about 8 hours.

For 4 hungry people you need

• whole rabbit, with innards, cut into 8 pieces, 1

• dry red wine 0,75l / 1.5 pints

• carrots, cut into big pieces, 3

• big onion, cut in half and into slices, 1

• garlic, cut in half, 8 cloves

• large tomatoes, quartered, 3

• bay leaf 1

• fresh thyme, a small bunch

• olive oil

• plain flour

• sugar about 1/2 teaspoon

• salt and pepper

In a large bowl, marinate the rabbit in half of the wine for about 8 hours. Keep the wine, take the meat out, dry with kitchen roll, dust the rabbit pieces lightly with flour and season with salt.

In a casserole dish, heat a splash of olive oil and sauté the rabbit for a few minutes until golden brown on all sides. Take out the meat and set aside. Add the innards and sauté for a few minutes. Add the garlic, onion and carrots and cook for 5 minutes on medium heat. Deglaze with a splash of red wine, add the tomatoes, the meat and the rest of the wine (from the marinade and the bottle). Add the bay leaf and thyme, close with a lid and cook for one hour on medium-low heat. When the meat is tender, take it out and set aside. Sieve the sauce, put it back into the casserole dish, season with salt, pepper and sugar to taste and add the meat (either on the bones or boned, as you prefer).

Serve with spaghetti or potatoes.

Basil and Mint Lemonade and organic farming on the island

My Maltese brother Alex has been telling me about his own juices, lemonades and non-alcoholic cocktail creations for months and when I saw him in the kitchen, chopping herbs and fruits, crushing ice cubes and working on new colourful compositions every few days, I asked him if he would like to come up with a refreshing lemonade recipe for eat in my kitchen.

It was a hot afternoon and I had just come back home from my visit to a farm in Bahrija. I had a peppermint plant in my hand which I got from Peppi Gauci who runs the Bahrija Oasis farm and Alex decided to mix a chilled basil and mint lemonade for me. It was delicious, not too sweet, fresh, lemony and with strong herbal flavours! You should try this recipe on one of these hot August afternoons, you just need to mix everything in a blender and within a few seconds you'll have a drink ready to revitalise your senses!

In the past few weeks I went to two farms in Malta which have completely different visions and approaches to farming. One of them is Bahrija Oasis which is a bio dynamic farm with organic produce (although not certified organic). Bahrija is part of the Permaculture Research Foundation Malta project, a holistic design philosophy which aims to create "community eco-systems in which plants, animals and human beings, and all forms of ecological diversity interact to produce a prolific, ecologically-sound and regenerative system that can support itself and life indefinitely". The idea is to provide all we need to live, like food, water, shelter, energy and health consistent with the Earth's natural balanced ecosystems, symbiotic and synergistic. This project brings together likeminded people with interests in green issues, ecological designers and students and the Bahrija Oasis provides the ground and platform for this work.

Eleven years ago Peppi got the land from his family and it wasn't cultivated at all at that point, just rocks, some weeds and steep hills, but over the years he managed to establish a working permaculture project. He changed the dry and arid landscape into a fertile farm, a biotope with a much greater biodiversity producing organic crops such as sprouts, herbs, seeds, medical plants and vegetables. Many students and volunteers visit the farm to learn more about sustainability, eco-education, wildlife and permaculture at the workshops hosted at the farm.

To get to the farm, we had to walk along a little stream covered with tall bamboo for  about 10 minutes. This water is home to the very rare, endemic Maltese freshwater crab, Qabru. Their population is declining steadily and we were lucky to find one  in the shallow water looking at us!

My second visit brought me to a beautiful place in Ahrax in Mellieha which is owned by Louis Cini (you can see his farm in the last 10 pictures). It's been in his family's hands for generations and his concept is completely different. It's a certified organic farm producing a great selection of wonderful fruit and vegetables. Organic farming isn't as established in Malta as it is in northern Europe but Louis is one of the pioneers. His fields produce some of the best grapes, figs and tomatoes I've ever eaten. He also grows sweetcorn, various kinds of lettuce, cabbage and marrows and much more, this farm looks as peaceful and welcoming as Louis' smile!

What made this visit very special to me, apart from meeting Louis, was being able to see the old rooms at the back of the farm which are no longer used and where his relatives used to live. Louis decided to leave them untouched, in the exact way they looked when his uncle who was the last to live there, passed away. It felt like traveling in time, to see the old furniture, the small, very basic kitchen working without electricity in the olden days, colourful enamel cookware in shelves that have been rusting for years, battled boots from the times of war, manual farming tools under piles of dust, quilts and pillows, photographs eaten away by time, by the wind and the salty air. Louis told me to take pictures, and I took many but at first I wasn't sure if I should show them. It felt like such an intimate insight in someone's life who isn't even here but Louis encouraged me, he feels proud to share his family's heritage. This is what life in the Mediterranean looked like 100 years ago, nothing changed in these rooms, this is a great gift!

Basil and Mint Lemonade  

For 500ml / 1 pint of lemonade you need

• fresh big basil leaves 10

• fresh mint leaves 20

• water or soda water, chilled, 500ml / 1 pint

• freshly squeezed juice of 1/2 big lemon

• granulated sugar 1 teaspoon plus more to taste

• ice cubes for serving

Put the ingredients in a blender and mix well. Fill the lemonade in big glasses with ice cubes.

This is Louis Cini's beautiful farm in Mellieha

Grilled Bell Pepper and Zucchini Sandwich with Basil

My Maltese summer is coming to an end and the next couple of posts will be the last ones from the islands, on Saturday I will continue writing from my Berlin kitchen again! Till then I will share a few more of the special places that I have fallen in love with over the years. I will tell you about some of my favourite spots which I haven't mentioned yet and tease you with a few more photos of my beloved Mediterranean sea!

Before I start my list I will show you my perfect summer sandwich, a sourdough bun soaked with lemon oil and filled with grilled green bell pepper and slices of zucchini. I sprinkled the smokey vegetables with some fresh basil leaves, flaky sea salt and crushed black peppercorns to add a little spiciness. The bell pepper and zucchini are at the peak of their season at the moment, full of ripe green flavours! The composition was so light and juicy, almost fruity, I could have eaten two of them!

I promised to tell you a bit more about Gozo, so this would be a typical, perfect day on Malta's sister island:

We leave Malta on the ferry very early in the morning and reach Mgarr harbour after only 25 minutes as the channel between the islands is just 6km (4 miles) wide. I always spend the journey on the top deck in the front of the boat as the view is stunning! When we arrive we drive straight to our apartment or farm house which doesn't take too long as Gozo is just 14 x 7 km (9 x 4 miles)!

We often start our day with a cappuccino, a couple pastizzi and a piece of chocolate fudge cake at Bellusa in the capital Victoria (also known as Rabat). Joe Bugeja runs this café at the main piazza, he took over from his father who opened this pretty little place in 1960 and since then you can see him at the café taking care of the orders every day.

Gozo is one of the best places for diving and snorkeling in the Mediterranean, some people even say in the whole world, so we spend lots of time under water. These are a few of my favourite spots:

• Dewjra (we like to snorkel right next to the Blue Hole, here you can see the most beautiful blue, sparkling, deep and endlessly)

• Wied il Ghasri

• Ta' Cenc / Il Kantra

• Qbajjar Bay

• San Blas

For lunch or dinner we like to order pizza or Maltese Ftira at Maxokk Bakery, a take away bakery with an oven that is more than 100 years old! This family run business is famous for baking the best pizza on the islands. You should always give in your orders a few hours in advance! We often enjoy the pizza at sunset right above the San Blas Bay on a bench in a little park.

My favourite restaurant on the island is on a beach, at Mgarr ix-Xini, it's called Rew Rew. Noel, the owner, is famous for his delicious fish and seafood dishes. Normally, the restaurants opens just for lunch but unfortunately, it's closed this summer due to filming taking place in the bay. For dinner, I can recommend Tmun in Mgarr, Tatita's in San Lawrence and Oleander in Xaghra and for my last pastis on the island I love to sit on the balcony of  Gleneagles Bar in Mgarr, right at the harbour!

 Grilled Bell Pepper and Zucchini Sandwich with Basil

For 2 big sandwiches you need

• crusty sourdough buns, cut in half, 2

• green bell pepper, cut into thick slices, 1

• medium sized zucchini, cut into slices, 1

• fresh basil leaves 8

• olive oil 6 tablespoons plus more for the vegetables

• freshly squeezed lemon juice 2 tablespoons

• flaky sea salt

• black peppercorns, crushed in a mortar

Brush the bell pepper and zucchini with olive oil and grill until golden brown.

Whisk the olive oil and lemon juice and brush the inside of the buns with it. Spread the grilled zucchini slices, bell pepper and basil on top and sprinkle with salt and pepper, close the bun and enjoy!

meet in your kitchen | Golden Calamari with Chorizo and the Meridiana Wine Estate

The "kitchen" I visited for today's meet in your kitchen feature creates the completion of every fine meal, wine! When I thought about all the culinary places I wanted to visit and write about during my time in Malta I knew that a vineyard would definitely be one of them. My choice was easily made as for years I've enjoyed Meridiana's wines, a winery that lifted the quality and the international image of Maltese wine to another level. Their Isis made from Chardonnay grapes is one of my favourite white wines and the Fenici Red is a beautiful, velvety red wine made of Syrah and Merlot, just the thought of it makes me wish I had another bottle of it in the house!

Meridiana is a boutique winery, all the grapes used for the nine different labels grow on Maltese ground. The production only reaches 140,000 bottles a year, most of their wines are sold out before the following vintage's release. Unfortunately, only a few countries are lucky to be on the wine estate's export list and Germany isn't one of them. I bought a few bottles after my visit and I will definitely have some shipped to my own kitchen for a little taste of Malta in my glass when I feel like.

Compared to Italian or French wine estates, Meridiana's history is relatively young. In 1985, a Bordeaux oenologist convinced Mark Miceli-Farrugia that Malta's climate and soil offered all a high quality wine needs, a produce that didn't exist on the market at that point. Two years later, Meridiana Wine Estate was established but it took another 8 years and lots of patience and persistence to be rewarded with the first harvest of a limited quantity of red and white wine between 1995/96. During those first ten years, Meridiana experimented with various kinds of grapes and acquired a 19-hectare site in Malta's agricultural heartland below the city of Mdina. The partnership with one of the oldest winemaking families in the world helped the young winemakers to fulfill their vision. Marchese Piero Antinori joined in in 1992 and brought in his family's experience in winemaking gained over hundreds of years all over the world (Giovanni di Piero Antinori joined the Winemakers Guild of Florence in 1385).

I spent a few wonderful hours on the estate with Karl Chetcuti, my knowledgable host, who showed us around the fermentation tanks, the cellar filled with old oak barrels and we tasted some wines which we hadn't tried yet. We spoke so much about wine but also about the best places to buy fish, restaurants, bakeries and our favourite butchers. Before we left, Karl mentioned his favourite recipe for calamari, fried in rings and served with spicy chorizo on the side. On one of the following nights, we opened a bottle of chilled Isis and took his advice. We threw a few calamari in hot garlicky oil and ate them with thinly sliced chorizo, it's a great combination of spice and sea!

If you would like to visit Meridiana and learn more about winemaking just get in touch with Karl at meridiana.com.mt!

Golden Calamari with Chorizo

For 2 people you need

• big calamari tubes, cut into slices, 4

• chorizo, very thinly sliced, 70g / 2.5 ounces

• plain flour

• garlic, quartered, 1 big clove

• olive oil

• lemon 1/2

• optional: small fennel bulb, very thinly sliced, 1

On a large plate, dust the calamari with flour, they should be coated with a thin layer.

In a large heavy pan, heat a splash of olive oil with the garlic. Add the calamari and fry for 2 minutes, stirring gently. Don't overcook them or they will become hard.

Arrange the chorizo and fried calamari on a large plate (and the optional slices of fennel), sprinkle the rings with a little freshly squeezed lemon juice and serve with a glass of chilled, fruity white wine.

Mashed Potatoes with Fennel Oil and Sea Salt

The hot afternoon air is filled with the sweet fragrance of fennel, Buzbiez in Maltese, mixed with the earthy smell of the rocky, red soil and wild thyme, this is the addictive smell of Malta's countryside! The ground is burst open by the sun and covered with twiggy plants, growing like sticks and crowned with golden umbels which carry the tasty fennel seeds which I love to use so much in my cooking. When we drive down some of the lonely narrow streets I touch the fennel with my hands as they grow so close to the asphalt that it feels like they want to take back their territory. Sometimes we jump into the car to drive around in these desolate parts of the island, to find a new hidden spot to snorkel or to stop somewhere in the middle of the soft hills and listen to the silence surrounded by the beautiful scent of fennel, thyme and sea air!

I always buy my fennel seeds in Malta, from a very sweet lady at the Sunday market in Marsaxlokk. I got used to the little seed's taste which is so sweet, strong and unique here, I've never found tastier fennel anywhere else! It's great to infuse olive oil for pasta, to cover the skin of roast poultry or to flavour potatoes. There is a popular Maltese dish, oven potatoes cooked with onions and fennel seeds in white wine, it's often served as a side dish in restaurants with fish. It tastes so good that it doesn't need anything else with it, we often eat it on it's own and enjoy the aromatic potatoes.

Sometimes I feel the need to eat potatoes, my body just calls for them, so I decided to make my Mediterranean mashed potatoes which I  chop with a knife while I pour olive oil into the chunky mixture. Normally, I just season them with sea salt but this time I infused the olive oil with my aromatic fennel seeds from Marsaxlokk!

When we go to Marsaxlokk we like to stop at Delimara to snorkel and dive off the cliffs. The sea is beautiful here, crystal clear, in different shades of blue and turquoise! The bay is surrounded by white rocks and steep cliffs that look like abstract sculptures created by nature! One of the next bays, St. Peter's Pool, is just as stunning!

Mashed Potatoes with Fennel Oil and Sea Salt

For 2 people you need

• big potatoes, cooked and peeled, warm, 3

• olive oil 5 tablespoons

• fennel seeds, lightly pressed in a mortar, 1 teaspoon

• sea salt

In a sauce pan, warm up the olive oil and fennel seeds for 3 minutes on low heat.

Chop the warm potatoes with a knife into small chunks while pouring the fennel oil into the lumpy mixture. Season with salt to taste.

meet in your kitchen | Arnold, the Beekeeper and Peaches filled with Honey Basil Ricotta

Last summer, I read Arnold Grech's name on a jar of golden Maltese honey for the first time. I had visited Antoine Vella, one of the last artisan weavers on the island who makes beautiful carpets with traditional patterns. He is one of Arnold's close friends and he had suffered from allergy problems for years. His friend, the beekeeper advised him to take a spoonful of honey collected from the area where he lives twice a day. Since that day the weaver has been cured and there is always a jar of honey to be found next to his weaving loom!

A year has passed and finally I find myself at Arnold Grech's house to talk about bee keeping. Everybody I asked recommended him to learn more about bees and the island's delicious honey! Malta is supposed to have its name derived from the Greek word for honey, meli, the ancient Greeks called the island Melite (meaning honey-sweet) and later, the Romans called it Melita. Malta has always been famous for its production of a unique honey due to its endemic species of bees, which also led to its nickname, the land of honey!

I looked forward to meeting Arnold and to listen to the man with 65 years of beekeeping experience, he is known to produce some of the island's best honeys! When we met the first time to drive up to one of his apiaries in the north, a pinched nerve got in our way and we had to change our plans. I interviewed Arnold at his bed-side as he couldn't move at all. We spoke for hours and I was fascinated by his stories, his knowledge and passion. He told me so much about his beloved bees that it was hard for me to wait until we could finally drive up to Mellieha where many of his colonies of bees live at the moment. One of the many stories which amused all of us when we imagined the scene was the mating of the bees. When the Queen leaves the hive to mate, she makes a shrill noise to inform the drones (the male bees) that she is ready. She leaves the hive, followed by hundreds of male bees, accelerating constantly until there is just one drone left which can keep up with her. She tests him further by speeding up a bit more to make sure that he's the right one. When her choice is made he's allowed to dock onto her!

So finally the day had come, Arnold felt much better and we met in his "honey kitchen", his apiary in Mellieha which looks like a place in heaven! It's right under the famous Red Tower which was built in 1649, the sparkling Mellieha bay lies to the east and the Ghadira Natural Reserve spreads to the south and west. I learnt so much about the bees, the colony's organization, the different honey flows and much more! Arnold keeps his bees in a few apiaries, he produces his own honey but he is also the island's main Queen (bee) breeder which he sells to other beekeepers. He makes various kinds of exquisite honey throughout the year and we didn't leave him without taking a couple of them home with us, Wild Thyme and Orange Blossom honey.

There is a high demand for Maltese honey, its unique taste and quality made it very popular, in and outside Malta. You should only buy the island's honey from trusted beekeepers as there isn't always Maltese honey in a jar when it's written on it. This is a  problem that occurs in every country that creates a high quality product with a limited production. If you're unsure about a certain honey's origin, just get in touch with Arnold who has been an agriculture consultant in Malta for decades and who knows Malta's honey producers and their production like no one else! When we went to Gozo, he told us to visit one of his students in Gozo, Joey Xuereb. He has a beautiful apiary right at the harbor in Mgarr and sells delicious honey as well!

One the many recipes I tried with Orange Blossom Honey are Peaches filled with Honey Ricotta and Basil - just divine! Fittingly, a bee decided to have a taste as soon as I served them in the garden!

Peaches filled with Honey Ricotta and Basil

For 4 people you need

• ripe peaches, cut in half and pitted, 4

• ricotta, drained, 250g / 9 ounces

• flowery honey, such as orange blossom, 2 tablespoons plus more to taste

• basil leaves, cut into thin slices, 8

Whisk the ricotta and honey, sweeten with honey to taste and fill a tablespoonful into each peach half. Sprinkle with the basil and, if you like, pour a little more honey on top.

When and how did you become a bee keeper?

I had to sit for a competitive Grammar School examination way back in 1950. I used to visit my uncle who was a bachelor, frequently. On hearing that I had to study hard for this examination, he told me that if I passed on my first attempt, he would give me a colony of bees. He had three colonies in his garden. Each one was housed in an Earthenware pottery jar. After successfully passing the exam, my uncle kept his word and put one of the three colonies of bees he had at my disposal. I used to go to his house so that together we see the bees. And from then on I never looked back.

How many colonies of bees do you keep and how often do you visit them?

The numbers of colonies of bees fluctuate from time to time. I am the main Queen (ed. queen bee) breeder of the Islands of Malta. I rear Apis mellifera ruttneri queen bees only, the Maltese honey bee. Today, there are many beekeepers who import Apis mellifera sicula from Sicily. Having ten months of sunshine and good weather, plus two months of mild winter, I take advantage and keep rearing Queen honey bees throughout the year. This is coupled with eight honey flows in a continuous honey season beginning from 1st September and finishing on the 31st of August the year after. The honey flows occur in October - carob trees, then in December asphodel. In January the bees forage on borage flowers and in February it's red clover. In March, we have white thistle and in April orange blossom. From the last week of May and all June it is wild thyme.The last honey flow would be eucalyptus in late August and September.At present I have 183 colonies and some 38 Virgin Queens in the mating period. This year I have already reared 600 Queen bees. More than half of my Queens are normally requeened after the second year. And some of my customers are understanding the tricks of lessening swarming in the apiary. In European countries this could be done after the third year, since they have a shorter period for honey flows.

You have called the bees "your drug", what about them fascinates you so much? What did you learn from them?

During the last 50 years (I've been keeping bees for the last 65 years) I've been studying beekeeping in Israel, England, Spain, Switzerland and Tunisia. I have won all these scholarships through CHIEME. I have also studied Apitherapy on a personal basis. Together with Prof. Walter Sheppard of the Washington State University, Prof. Maria Arias of Sao Paolo, Brazil, I carried a study (DNA) on the Maltese honey bee i.e. Apis mellifera ruttneri. We gave it the name of a German scientist who worked on many a DNA of honey bees. Today, I can say that I have studied a wide sphere of beekeeping in European and North African countries.

As I have already stated, our beekeeping season is stretched throughout the year. Nowadays, when a honey flow is nearing, I prepare to move a number of colonies of bees to the area. Already set with Supers on (where the honey nectar is stored), the only inspection takes place three days after moving them. Then, according to the progress of the flowering period, another inspection takes place fifteen days later. What fascinates me is the way they build the comb. From experience I know how to introduce new foundation in the right time. Bees do not produce beeswax if there is no honey flow on. You can also help the colony in increasing the amount of nectar collected.I do not use chemicals to treat Varroa jacobsoni (ed. a disease). Today we know that apart from Varroa jacobsoni there is Varroa destructor which is immune to certain chemicals. I use drone brood. A Queen, in her first year, does not lay drone eggs. By keeping a couple of old Queens, you can produce sets of unsealed drone brood which one can distribute to 1st year Queens. As usual, before the brood is sealed the varroa mite enters the cell to meet the larva. Both are sealed in. When the larvae are nearing to emerge from the thin cocoon (after 24 days), I take them off without bees and see the varroa is killed. Thus saving money and I get a better crop -organic.Another thing which really fascinates me, is the way they accept irregular spacing in Supers which I make and how they keep expanding on the same comb. Thirdly, I can create a situation in the brood chamber where the Queen increases her laying powers and arrives earlier in her top numbers of eggs (worker bees) by four to five weeks before the honey flow. This is done on a work phase of 28 weeks beginning from the 1st week in October to March. The end results in a peak of flying bees before the honey flow in April (orange blossom) and wild thyme (June). From the bees you have seen in Mellieha (ed. where Arnold keeps some of his colonies, in the north of Malta), I estimated that the crop is nearing 200 kg (400 pounds).

Could you give a short description of the cycle of a bees life and the inner workings of a colony?

The Queen bee is an egg laying machine. The drone supplies the goods when needed in case of a Virgin Queen. The worker bees do all the rest. The worker bee, in her first three days after emerging from the cocoon, cleans the empty cells preparing them for the Queen to lay. In the following three days, having developed a gland in its head, the bee prepares and feeds what is called the bee-milk. In the next three to five days, the worker bees will be supplying the Queen with royal jelly. After the 11th day, they can produce beeswax, through thin pockets beneath the abdomen. On the 16th day, they begin guard duties at the entrance of the hive. They begin practicing their way to and from the hive by making orientation flights until on the 21st day they begin foraging. These bees follow scouts which had left the hive before to find new pastures. When these scouts arrive home fully laden with nectar and pollen, they do not drop their goods in cells and leave the hive to bring back more. They begin going on a pattern on the comb challenging new foragers to follow. As these new recruits are identified they are given a taste of the goods. Then they keep following her to get more information, where the new source is situated, if this is in front or behind the hive, how far it is by means of the shaking of the abdomen and by using the sun as their compass to find their way back (ed. this is called the dancing of the honey bees).Search for "Dancing of the honey bees" on the internet to get a detailed scientific description of theses scouts and their way forward.

What is the biggest threat for bees today? What do you think we must change about how we treat our environment?

There are many factors which are threatening bees worldwide. In Malta, one factor is the rearing of undervalued Queen bees. Other beekeepers are importing Queen bees from Sicily which is a different race/ species from the Maltese one, with a different orientation.Beekeepers don't settle for bee's honey flows but need more. Stress takes over and the end result would be diseased due to stress. They are feeding bees early in the season whilst normally Queen bees are left to lay during the year, according to the honey flows. They also tend to keep the bees without medication when they need it, so they get weak and are attacked by stronger colonies robbing their honey and spreading diseases. In Malta, insecticides are controlled and spraying in fields is controlled too.

What are your favourites in the Maltese cuisine?

My favorite dishes are cooking rabbit in different ways and using honey to get a better blend and aroma. I also prefer to have white fleshed fish such as grouper and sea bass and tuna. Again cooking in different styles, especially steamed, I only use honey, sauces are optional. Spices are rare in my cooking.

What is your feeling about the state of home food culture in Malta today? What has changed over the past 5, 10 or 20 years?

Home cooking was the best as it was 20 or 30 years ago, I'm still doing it today. As a matter of fact you don't see me using milk, yoghurt and such items in my cooking. Plain and simple is the best.

What was the first dish you cooked or baked on your own, what is your first cooking memory?

I have been cooking since I was eleven. Being the elder child in a family of ten, you have to put your hands in to help. My first dish was fried pork and chips.

What are your favourite places to buy and enjoy food in Malta?

I am not a fan of eating out. But there is a time when I feel having a go at either Michael (Michael's in Valletta, he is called Il Re del Pesce), known for his exceptional cooking of fresh fish, or Il Gillieru, Tony Cremona, in St Paul's Bay.

If you could choose one person to cook a meal for you, who and what would it be?

I have already spoken about my choice, definitely it's Michael.

What was your childhood's culinary favourite and what is it now?

By time, you increase your experiences and add to your list. When I was a bachelor, I used to catch pilot fish and cook for another 20 or 30 bachelors. We used to meet in one's house and I would cook grilled pilot fish with a special tomato uncooked sauce - the Maltese way.

Thank you Arnold!

Crisp Whitebait with Parsley

This was one of our first lunches when we arrived in Malta, but I had forgotten about it: golden fried whitebait sprinkled with parsley! For years I didn't touch this dish as I didn't like the idea of frying little fish in one piece until I tried it in a Portuguese restaurant and I loved it. That dinner changed my mind!

The fish has a fine taste, like the sea, so it shouldn't be mixed with too many flavours. I like to cook a big batch of them and serve them on a big plate, with a salad and a glass of white wine on the side. This is perfect as an easy lunch and it brings a Mediterranean feeling to the table! Close your eyes, smell the aroma of the cooked fish and imagine that you're sitting in a restaurant close to the sea!

When I cook whitebait (a big handful), I like to dust them lightly with flour, dip them in a beaten egg and fry them in 1 tablespoon of butter mixed with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. They just need 3-4 minutes in the pan to turn golden brown and crisp. I sprinkle them with a heaped tablespoon of chopped parsley and a tiny bit of freshly squeezed lemon juice, that's it!

meet in your kitchen | The Cini Salt Pans and Sun-dried Tomatoes in Gozo

Gozo is one of the most magical places I know, it's Malta's silent and peaceful sister island, full of natural beauty. Whenever the ferry reaches Mgarr harbour in the south of the island after a 20 minute crossing of the channel between the two islands, I feel overwhelmed by its serenity and happy to be there again!

There is so much to write about Gozo, so many places to introduce you to and I will do that in the next few days, but for now I will show you just one of them which is very special to me. It's a place that produces a product which I use every day in my cooking, Gozo sea salt. I buy my salt at the Xwejni pans in the north, owned by the Cini family. Rose Cini's family has been harvesting sea salt for five generations. She herself has worked in the pans which are cut into the porous rock, all her life until the family almost stopped using them in the early sixties. Together with her husband Emmanuel, their daughter Josephine and David, their son-in-law, they have revived this tradition.

Salt pans have been in this location since Roman times. The position, the climate, the rock and the good quality of the sea water are perfect for salt harvesting.

When Emmanuel married into the family most of the pans hadn't been used for a few years and they weren't in the best state. He decided to repair and clean them and to continue the family tradition in 1969. He built up a little family business which is now run by the four family members Emmanuel, Rose, Josephine and David. The four of them keep the pans filled with sea water between May and September. In June and July, the peak of the harvest season, they carry up to 3 tonnes of salt off the 300 pans each week! Sea water contains about 3.7% of salt, the water in the pans about 5%, as soon as the water is pumped up it will take around 7 days for it to evaporate. 24 liters of sea water are necessary to harvest 1 kg / 2 pounds of salt.

Emmanuel Cini has always wanted to keep the traditional way of harvesting the salt, work which is mainly done by hand; it demands lots of passion but also physical strength. In 1974 he made a decision which was considered very modern at that time in Gozo, he was the first to pack the salt in plastic bags with his name printed on and sold it in shops all over the islands, he became the Salt Baron from Gozo!

When I asked him if he sees his work as the perfect job he said "Yes, of course!". Although it's physically very straining, he never complains, as his daughter says. The whole family works at the pans, fills them, empties them and carries the salt up into a little cave which is cut into the stone to store the salt, the salt shop. That's where you can buy it, or from the little table under an umbrella which they put out on the street from 10:30 to 17:00, every day, that's where you can find the Cinis between April and December.

Gozo sea salt contains more than 80 trace minerals, I love the crystal's flaky texture and the fine taste for my cooking!

I have been buying my salt from the Cinis for many years and when I asked them if they would like to share a recipe on eat in my kitchen, Rose said that she would show me how to make sun-dried tomatoes in her mobile outdoor kitchen outside the salt shop. It takes between 4-6 days to sun-dry the tomatoes and the final result tastes divine! You need a hot climate and constant sun for this period of time to dry the fruits!

Sun-dried Tomatoes by Rose Cini

All you need is

• ripe tomatoes

• coarse sea salt

Rinse and dry the tomatoes and cut them in half  (crosswise). Spread them on a metal grid (cut side up) and sprinkle each tomato generously with sea salt. Leave the tomatoes out in the sun for 4-6 days, covered with a mosquito net by day and with a plastic sheet by night (to protect them from humidity).

When the tomatoes are dried, rinse them and dry them in the sun for an hour. Store them in sterilized jars when they are completely dry with a handful of coarse sea salt. You can also preserve them covered in olive oil.

meet in your kitchen | Mary Licari cooks Qarabaghli biz-Zalza and Stuffed Marrows

When I walked into Mary Licari's house it felt like I had entered another world! You can't even call her home a house, it's an old watch tower extended into a spacious palazzo, with thick walls of limestone, built hundreds of years ago, with a beautiful big garden. The building itself was changed and expanded over the past centuries until it became the beautiful place which it is today. It's full of history and magic! A few years ago, Mary found old wall paintings from 1878 in some of the rooms. The scenes in the entrance hall show soldiers from India and England who were stationed in Malta at that time. In the dining room she found colourful paintings of the Hindu goddess Kali, associated with empowerment. Ironically, Mary has felt very close to India for many years, its culture, religion and philosophy. She spent several months there with her daughter studying Ayurveda, its practice, diet and yoga. When she bought this place with her husband, she felt a strong bond to it, she could feel its unique atmosphere.

Mary is a woman of many talents, she is curious, creative and determined. Be it her passion for cooking, her interest in vegetarian and vegan food, or her love for the arts, design, architecture, fashion and furniture, she follows them with a strong will to learn and to enjoy her life's journey. She found lots of inspiration in the strong women in her family, like her grandmother Nina who traveled the world at a young age as a cook for a British Admiral. Mary herself, who has followed a non-meat diet all her life, has become a well known cook and caterer in Malta specialising in vegetarian cooking. She has been responsible for the culinary care of several Hollywood film stars while they were filming in Malta.

Before we started cooking, Mary and I walked though her house and garden which is a green oasis filled with 60 trees! Two kinds of oranges, lemon and tangerine trees grow next to peaches, almonds, pomegranate, banana, sweetcorn, tomatoes and much more. She finds a lot of what she needs for her cooking right in front of her kitchen window!

When we went back to her kitchen, she told me what she would cook for me: Mary chose two of her personal favourites to share on eat in my kitchen, Qarabaghli biz-Zalza, a traditional Maltese dish made of sautéed zucchinis and a fruity tomato sauce which can be enjoyed cold or warm, and round marrows stuffed with vegetables. Both were absolutely delicious!

During our kitchen activities, Mary treated me to her fantastic homemade vegetable sushi and her crunchy cookies made of dried fruits, seeds and oats. I could have stayed with Mary for days! There was definitely enough food and so many fascinating stories of her life to listen to!

Marrows stuffed with Vegetables

For 4 people you need

• large round marrows (zucchinis) 4

• medium, long zucchini, chopped, 1

• large potato, cooked, peeled and chopped, 1

• small red bell pepper, chopped, 1

• small green bell pepper, chopped, 1

• small yellow bell pepper, chopped, 1

• carrots, julienned, 2

• aubergine, chopped and mixed with salt for a few hours, a handful

• medium sized onion, finely chopped, 1

• Parmesan, grated, 4-6 tablespoons

• salt and pepper

• grape seed oil

Set the oven to 200°C / 390°F.

Cut off the tops of the 4 marrows and keep as lids. Scoop out the inside of the marrows and set them aside with their lids.

In a pan, sauté the onions in a little grape seed oil till golden and put them in a big bowl, mix in the cooked potato.

Sauté the chopped zucchini seasoned with a little salt until golden brown and add to the onions in the bowl. Sauté the bell peppers and carrots separately for a few minutes and add both to the bowl with the onions. Rinse and dry the aubergine and sauté for a few minutes, add to the onions. Season the vegetable mixture with salt and pepper to taste.

Fill the 4 marrows with the stuffing, sprinkle with Parmesan and close with the lids. Put the the marrows into a baking dish, fill the bottom of the dish with water and put in the oven. Turn down the heat immediately to 180°C / 355°F and bake for 45 minutes or until the marrows start to soften. Serve warm or cold.

Qarabaghli biz-Zalza

For 4 people you need

• small, short zucchinis, cut into thin slices, 10

• grape seed oil

For the tomato sauce

• black peppercorns, crushed in a mortar, 1 teaspoon

• tomato passata 700g / 1.5 pounds

• small onion, sliced thinly, 1garlic, chopped, 1 clove

• capers 2 tablespoons plus more to taste

• black olives, chopped, 10

• salt

• grape seed oil

Heat a splash of grape seed oil in a pan and sauté the zucchini till golden brown and soft, set aside.

In a large pan, roast the peppercorns without oil until you smell a nice aroma and set them aside.

Heat a splash of grape seed oil in a pan and sauté the onion for a few minutes till soft and golden, add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the tomato passata, cover with a lid and simmer for 45 minutes, add a bit of water if the sauce gets too dry. Add the capers, olives and roasted peppercorns and season with salt to taste.

You can mix the zucchini with the sauce or serve it separately arranged on top of each other on a big plate. Enjoy either cold or warm together with fresh sourdough bread.

When and how did you start to become interested in vegan and macrobiotic diets and lifestyle?

World cuisine, most of all Mediterranean food has always fascinated me especially dishes which are meatless. I was born vegetarian - since I was a baby I would spit out meat when it was given to me. It was not easy at the time growing up in a country where meat was very widely eaten. Each time I said I did not eat meat, people looked at me as though I was an alien.Even when travelling and living in Italy, all those years back people could not understand how I would not eat meat. I learnt all about cooking techniques in Italy where I lived for some time before getting married. People ate a lot of meat there too but they would also eat plenty of vegetables as Italians have always been great agricultural people. Thank God that today even in Malta we have skilled farmers who are producing vegetables and fruit using no pesticides and giving us organic produce. We are also blessed with a lovely climate. Therefore it was quite normal and easy for me to go into veganism. In recent years, when I travel, especially to Italy I take masterclasses exploring new ideas and sharing with other veggie people our love and passion – the subject of food.As for macrobiotics - from an early age my daughter, Alexia, was very interested in Japanese culture and started to study Japanology. It was she who came across macrobiotics. That was way back before I became intrigued with this diet and my interest in it started about 12 years ago. I was also learning about Ayurvedic cooking and later on started learning about raw food. Gradually I started formulating recipes from all these diets for my lifestyle and those of others. I also ventured in creating eggless and butter free, margarine free cakes, dairy free and sugarless cakes, cookies and sweets.

You've been responsible for the private catering for several Hollywood film stars while they were filming in Malta. How did you get into this very specific kind of catering and what are the differences to other catering requests you've had?

Being involved directly with Hollywood actors and film directors was very exciting and came by chance. Since I had plenty of knowledge and experience in various cuisines especially in healthy, clean and honest food, I was asked if I would cook privately for A-Listing actors. The golden rules for optimum results are: choosing the best and freshest ingredients, preparing everything from scratch and by hand, being versatile and creative (cooking at least 3 to 4 dishes daily), cooking with a passion and to perfection, presentation on table on time (not even 5 seconds late!).I have cooked food for over 120 people quite a few times, for dinner and cocktail parties, events for various associations with the primary intention of promoting healthy food and encouraging people to incorporate new eating habits in their lifestyle. Sometimes there are also particular requests for a menu, such as Indian vegetarian food, raw food, macrobiotic food, pasta based dishes, pizza gatherings and more.From time to time I give master cooking classes both locally and overseas and share my knowledge regarding good honest clean food.

You've traveled to India together with your daughter to study Ayurveda therapy with professors of the University of Jaipur. How did this experience affect your life and your relationship with your daughter?

Around 16 years ago, my daughter (who is also vegetarian) and I, attended an Indian wedding of friends residing in England. We were introduced to an uncle of the bride. He is an Ayurveda doctor, Reiki master, a Yogi and a university professor in the U.K. He is a true scholar of many philosophies and of life itself. This was one unique encounter which fascinated me so much that it inspired me to delve deeper into the philosophy of Ayurveda. I had been practising yoga for a number of years, and it was then when I discovered that yoga was in fact a branch of Ayurveda. This increased my interest further, and I started to research in detail and learn more about Ayurveda.My daughter and I, have always had a special bond and also share similar interests. Therefore, we both decided to travel to India where we spent several months studying both the theories and practical sides of Ayurveda with doctors and university professors about this ancient philosophy – science of life. We learnt how to prepare Ayurvedic food - which is the food for each person's 'dosha' (constitution).This new knowledge opened a new horizon and I became more and more interested in Indian culture - a culture that I had always loved. I also became interested in Reiki and I am a certified practitioner. When we returned to Malta we opened our studio offering innovative beauty, holistic therapies and authentic Ayurveda treatments and food, yoga and pilates classes.

Besides your interest in cooking, diet and health you renovate houses and refurbish antique and vintage furniture, covering the process of planning to execution by yourself. What do you like about these design projects that also involve your own physical effort?

I love 'bringing life' back to something that has been discarded! When I was young, at my mother's house I would scrape walls of layers of paint until I got down to seeing the beautiful limestone. One afternoon during school summer holidays and while everyone was asleep, I started scraping the hall in our house. My mum woke up from her siesta and upon seeing what I was up to, she wanted to kill me! I insisted that the hall would look much better in its natural state. Weeks following, together with my dad we carried out the job (even though he did not like doing this work - he disliked jobs like this and could never handle a paint brush!).My dad was a great tailor and craftsman and specialised in home and theatre furnishings. I always loved to recycle anything and at that time I would recycle unwanted clothes into cushions or other craft. I also started taking an interest in restoring old furniture and stencilling. As time went by I went into restoring antiques and learnt about different types of waxing and polishing. I also learnt the art of gild. My interest in furniture led me to study the Baroque period and its influence in Malta and in Europe. Since my teenage years I cherished a particular interest in interior design and studied this subject further.Tailoring and sewing were very natural to me since both my parents were 'masters of these trades'. I have always 'dreamed' of changing old into new and my passion is converting old houses and furnishing them with antiques, vintage and new. I have carried out house conversions in Gozo and in Malta and have also designed and made furnishings. Old houses fascinate me - each one has a story to tell! I love their texture and get carried away when I enter an old house, always wondering about its history, past owners, their lives and the 'soul' within the living limestone!

What are your favourites in the Maltese cuisine?

My favourite Maltese dishes are Qarabaghli biz-Zalza - marrows/courgettes with tomato sauce, olives and capers. It is a dish which has been in our family for many years. Homemade pea pies and ricotta pies which are also old recipes we have had in our family are other favourites. I also love minestra in winter and during the wintry months I prepare a different soup on a daily basis.

What is your feeling about the state of home food culture in Malta today? What has changed over the past 5, 10 or 20 years?

Eating habits in Malta have changed drastically. Unfortunately, over the years certain 'commodities' such as 'take out food' are spoiling Maltese traditional food. There are people who tend to 'cook' quickly, directly from the freezer and straight into the microwave. Others buy 'Take Away' products and just either eat it out of a bag or just reheat upon arriving home. This is very worrying especially in families with young children as those young children will know nothing better! We see children in Malta who are already obese by the age of 9.I remember when my daughter attended San Anton School, a newly founded co-ed school in Malta, it was normal practice for some schools to provide a tuck shop for students where an array of junk food, carbonated drinks and sweets are sold. This new school took a health conscious approach and introduced a new concept of promoting health food to children. It is also the first school who had a nutritionist to monitor that all was in order. I was asked to prepare healthy sandwiches incorporating brown bread and vegetables for the school. This new approach turned out to be a success. San Anton School was the pioneer in promoting good clean and healthy food.I was also responsible for the organization of the food stall section for the Spring School Fair, held yearly where home cooked and healthy food was prepared. This was also a new venture undertaken with a lot of thought, love, passion and with a strong team of ladies who made sure that this would be a success year after year.Luckily in recent years some sections of the population have become more conscious of what they eat. Organic products are now widely available and people are also encouraged to eat seasonal produce. Another positive factor is that in these last ten years or so people are consuming more fish and opt for lean protein.

What was the first dish you cooked or baked on your own, what is your first cooking memory?

The first dish I ever prepared was macaroni cheese when I was around 19. I remember I had bought my first recipe book and friends of my parents were coming over, so I had to give it a go! That very same day I remember preparing a Pavlova Gateau for a friend's birthday. From that day on, I would have requests for pavlovas!

What are your favourite places to buy and enjoy food in Malta?

I shop at different places in Malta. I must admit that since I follow a particular lifestyle I go all over the island buying products. No shops or supermarkets stock the same items therefore it's a 'go get it and drive until you find’ situation. However, as long as I can get the item and if I have the time I will drive to get it! I try to get organic as much as possible whether it is in a packet or coming directly from the fields. I am also lucky that we grow a lot of veggies and fruits in our garden so this produce comes in very handy. I also like to preserve in jars a lot of what we grow in the garden. At the moment I have just preserved the first two batches of this year’s sundried tomatoes!I happen to like Lebanese food a lot and since there are some very good Lebanese restaurants in Malta I just love going there. Vegetarian food is also available. I like Kebab Ji in Tower Road, Sliema and also Ali Baba in Gzira. The food is very authentic and exquisite! I love a coffee at Busy Bee in Msida and Santa Lucia in Attard. I also like to go to cafeterias in Mdina and Birgu.

Who was your biggest influence in the kitchen?

I come from a family of female cooks but the biggest influence in the kitchen has to be my great grandmother Nina Blake. I never knew her personally but I feel very close to her from all the wealth of stories I have heard from my mother and my aunt. I still have many of her original recipes, which were passed down to me. Nina was married to an Englishman, Edward Blake, at a very young and tender age. By the time she was 18 she became a widow and also had a baby girl (Maria, my grandmother). Along the years, she was the breadwinner for the family. Maria, my grandmother was brought up by her own grandmother and Nina found herself working as the head cook in the kitchen of the Admiral of the British Navy. She lived with the Admiral's family in Kalkara and would visit her mother and daughter in Birgu where they lived once a week.Then there came a time when she left Malta with the Admiral's family and travelled to England and France with them. Her travels with this family took her as far as Japan and India. She was away from Malta for some years and when she made enough money she came back and had a little shop where she made fabulous little pastries, cakes and sweets. She must have been an amazing woman at a time when women did not know anything better than raising children and staying at home. She gathered many cooking recipes from all her travels, especially recipes for English pastries, cakes and sweets. My mum and my aunt were also two amazing cooks who also influenced me with their cooking.

Where do you get your inspiration for your recipes from?

Being born and bred in a country like Malta gives me a lot of inspiration to create a recipe - bright blue skies, our blue sea, the buildings, textures, markets, people ..., also, when I travel, cultures and people inspire me to cook. Colours in the garden and the fragrance of herbs and fruit also do. Even the simplest and most humble ingredient will inspire me to create a new recipe.

What did you choose to share on eat in my kitchen and why?

For eat in my kitchen, I chose to cook Qarabaghli biz-Zalza (marrows/courgettes in tomato sauce) and baked marrows with a vegetarian stuffing (a recipe I created many years ago). I chose these two recipes, since besides eating them hot, they can also be enjoyed at room temperature, especially on the long hot summer evenings in Malta. I remember my mum preparing Qarabaghli biz-Zalza and in the evening we would go to the beach and eat this dish with Maltese bread. Really delicious.

If you could choose one person to cook a meal for you, who and what would it be?

I would ask my daughter, Alexia to prepare Penne all'Arrabbiata for me.

You're going to have ten friends over for a spontaneous dinner, what will be on the table?

I will look around in my kitchen and garden for ingredients. I would make Hobz biz-Zejt and bruschetta, I always have vegetarian sushi (which I prepare on a daily basis) at the ready, definitely a rucola salad (freshly picked from the garden) with fresh plump tomatoes, julienne carrots, sunflower, hemp and pumpkin seeds, home prepared sprouts, all served with grilled goat cheese, home made sundried tomatoes and garden grown olives. A delicious pasta served with fresh tomatoes and freshly handpicked basil. Sparkling or still water, fresh fruit, fresh fruit juice and homemade vegan Ice cream will also be on the table. All accompanied by a lovely glass of wine - red or white.

What was your childhood's culinary favourite and what is it now?

My childhood's culinary favourite was minestra, minestrone. School friends and others used to laugh at me as, at that time, it was a 'poor man's meal'. But since I only ate vegetables, it was my favourite meal, still love it to bits.

Do you prefer to cook on your own or together with others?

I love to cook with others whether it is with one person, two, three or four. It is always nice to share ideas and share food.

Which meals do you prefer, improvised or planned?

I have absolutely no problem improvising meals, I do it all the time.

Which meal would you never cook again?

Can't think of any meal that I won't cook again - nothing comes to mind.

Thank you Mary!

Mediterranean Sausage Sandwich with Rucola and Coriander Oil

For this rich sandwich you need strong and tasty, coarse sausages, stuffed with flavours. Maltese sausage is ideal as it is the most aromatic and also the chunkiest sausage I've ever eaten. The meat is enhanced with lots of garlic, coriander seeds, spicy black peppercorns and parsley, while sea salt adds a strong saltiness. These sausages are perfect for a thick wintery vegetable soup, but in summer I like to have them in sandwiches. You could also use an Italian salsiccia which is also rich in flavours.

I like to fry the sausages first, then I deglaze them in the pan with a splash of wine, sweet wine even. I close the pan with a lid and let the meat cook in the juices until it's still a bit pinky on the inside. When you fry them only, they tend to dry out as they need quite a few minutes to be cooked through, and I like them juicy! Some people here in Malta like to eat them raw, a habit I'm a bit suspicious of due to the hot climate, but the taste apparently is amazing, according to my friends!

For this week's sandwich, I cut a crusty sourdough bun in half and brushed both sides with the cooking juices before I covered the bottom side with rucola (arugula or rocket salad) leaves and thick slices of juicy sausage. I sprinkled the meat with a bit of olive oil infused with coriander seeds and squeezed the bun together for it to soak all the nice and aromatic cooking liquids. This sandwich is quite hearty but the rucola and the coriander add a light summery feeling to it!

Mediterranean Sausage Sandwich with Rucola and Coriander Oil

For 2 sandwiches you need

• crusty sourdough buns, cut in half, 2

• thick, coarse sausages, preferably with herbs and spices like salsiccia, 2

• rucola leaves, a handful

• olive oil 3 tablespoons plus more for frying

• coriander seeds, lightly crushed in a mortar, 1/2 teaspoon

• white wine for deglazing

Warm 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a saucepan with the coriander seeds for a few minutes to infuse the oil.

Heat a splash of olive oil in a pan and fry the sausages until golden brown on all sides. Deglaze with a splash of wine, close with a lid and cook for a few minutes until the meat is just a little pink on the inside. Cut the sausages into thick slices.

Brush both sides of the bun with the cooking liquid, cover with rucola leaves and spread the sausage slices on top. Sprinkle with the coriander oil and close the bun, pushing it together a bit.

Jenny's Kapunata made with Leli's Bell Peppers and Aubergines

Kapunata, Maltese caponata, is another one of Malta's delicious and famous vegetable dishes, a salad made of cooked green bell peppers, aubergine, tomatoes, coarsely chopped onions, capers, olives and garlic. It's eaten warm or cold, with bread, on the beach or for lunch. There are many variations on this refreshing composition, some like to mix in swordfish or tuna and in Sicily, you find recipes which add raisins and pine nuts, or potatoes and carrots.

I asked my Maltese Mama Jenny to cook her kapunata for us as this is her signature dish. Hers is chunky, thick and juicy. You can taste the strong flavours of ripe green bell peppers, grilled aubergine and sweet tomatoes. I love a big spoonful of it, piled on a crusty slice of Maltese bread, it's heavenly! Jenny calls it "the taste of summer"! She prepares it in big batches and keeps it in the fridge for spontaneous lunches, or for one of her delicious beach Ftiras mixed with tuna. Her mother, Granny Edith used to cook it for her and she still does, Jenny actually prefers it when her mother cooks it as "mama's cooking is always better"! Edith just leaves out the aubergine.

I loved to see Jenny cooking her kapunata, she stood at the gas cooker with her Tweety apron on and a big smile on her face, stirring the vegetables once in a while. This picture in my mind made the kapunata taste even better!

Before we could start cooking I went to my vegetable man Leli to buy the fresh ingredients. Twice a week, he parks his van filled with the freshest fruits and vegetables in front of a beautiful pink oleander tree in the middle of Msida. Leli grows his vegetables in his fields in Buskett and Rabat, in the centre of Malta, and for 28 years he's been offering his harvest at this exact corner in Msida. He fills his green boxes with Qarabaghli (zucchini), aubergine, tomatoes, cucumber, various peppers, Maltese figs and peaches, the most aromatic herbs, and so much more. He's my favourite farmer in the world! As soon as he saw us coming around the corner, his face lit up! We don't meet so often, but over the years we developed a special bond with him, and it all happened over vegetables and fruits!

To cook kapunata, it's important to use only ripe vegetables to achieve a fruity and rich taste!

Jenny's Kapunata

For 4 people you need

• aubergine, cut into cubes, 1

• green bell peppers, roughly cut, 2 large or 3 medium

• large tomatoes, chopped, 4

• large onion, quartered and sliced thickly, 1

• garlic, crushed, 3 cloves

• black olives, chopped, 10

• capers, a handful

• tomato paste 2 tablespoons

• salt and pepper

• olive oil

• optional (to add some spiciness): fresh green chili pepper, finely chopped, 1

In a baking dish, mix the aubergine with a splash of olive oil and put under the grill for a few minutes until golden.

In a large pot, heat a splash of olive oil and sauté the onion and garlic on medium heat for a few minutes until translucent. Add the bell peppers, cook for 2 minutes and add the tomatoes and grilled aubergine. Simmer for about 15 minutes until the vegetables are soft, stirring once in a while and adding a little water if the mixture is too dry. Add the tomato paste, capers and olives, season with salt and pepper to taste and cook for further 5 minutes. Serve hot or cold with sourdough bread.

Swordfish on the Grill

One of the (many) things I love about cooking in Malta is that I can always find the freshest fish at any time! Also, I have a barbecue in the yard ready to start whenever I feel like and lots of aromatic herbs in the garden. When we cook fish on the island, be it a whole fish, a steak fish like tuna or swordfish or some prawns, they don't really need much seasoning. Fish, here, tastes and smells like the sea, a bit salty and fresh, and when you close your eyes you can see the glorious blue of the endless Mediterranean sea sparkling right in front of you!

So, most of the time, we cook our seafood on the grill. We sit outside in the garden, I slice up some bread, sprinkle it with olive oil and fill our glasses with some fresh Maltese white wine while I'm waiting for my seafood to cook! What a sweet life!

This time we chose a steak of swordfish, a firm slice, thick enough, so that it won't dry out on the grill. I covered the fish with a handful of fresh mint leaves from Jenny's garden (my favourite herb this summer!) and put it on the heat for just a few minutes. When you can lift the fish off the bone, it's done. This kind of cooking is so simple yet so good, my summer kitchen heaven!

We ate the fish just with bread and a green salad with olives on the side.

Swordfish on the Grill

For 2 people you need

• swordfish steak, around 1 1/2cm / 1/2" thick, 1 big or 2 small steaks, around 300g / 10.5 ounces

• fresh mint leaves, a small handful

Cover the fish on both sides with mint leaves and cook on a hot barbecue for a few minutes on both sides until you can lift the fish off the bones, turn it gently with a spatula.

If you prefer to cook the fish in a pan, heat a little olive oil and sauté the fish for 1-2 minutes on both sides until golden. Cover the steak with the mint leaves and cook in the oven at 200°C (390°F) for about 8 minutes.

Serve with a salad, olives and some bread sprinkled with olive oil on the side.

Prawn Polpetti by the Fisherman's Wife

When the fish monger offered us a big bag of Maltese prawns for a great price we couldn't refuse it. As the morning comes to an end, the fishermen just want to empty their tables to go home and sleep! Before we left the market, one of the fishermen's wives told us about one of her favourite recipes to prepare with prawns, golden fried polpetties. We took a few quick notes and off we went to the frying pan in the kitchen!

This recipe is very simple and brings out the best in the prawns, you just chop and mix them with some flour, garlic and salt and fry them in butter until they turn into golden patties. You could add some parsley, but we wanted to keep them pure and simple. Don't be put off by the fact that the patties aren't little beauties, their taste makes up for it!

Golden Fried Prawn Polpetties

For two people you need

• prawns, shelled and chopped, 300g / 10.5 ounces

• plain flour 4 heaping tablespoons

• garlic, crushed, 1 big clove

• salt 1/4 teaspoon plus more to taste

• butter

• lemon

Mix the ingredients and form little patties. Heat the butter in a pan. Fry the polpetties for 2-3 minutes on each side or until golden brown.

Serve them warm, sprinkled with a little lemon juice.

meet in your kitchen | Joanna Bonnici cooks Maltese Bragioli

When my gorgeous friend Chris told me about his friend Joanna Bonnici and her fabulous skills in the kitchen I knew that I had to meet her! He praised her food so much that I sent her an email the same day he mentioned her!

Many generations of women in Joanna's family have been great cooks and food lovers. Her grandmother and aunts, her sister who lives in Sicily, but her mother especially, all influenced and taught her to become the fantastic cook she is today. Her cooking is honest, very intuitive with lots of respect for good ingredients. She likes to go back to the traditional cooking of the past and to adjust it to her personal style. Joanna loves to enjoy life, she loves to cook, to eat and to share her creations with her family and friends. She reminds me a lot of my mother, the two women celebrate cooking in a similar way and appreciate the time they spend in their kitchens. For them, the feast doesn't start at the table but in their culinary working space.

At one point Joanna decided to compile all the wonderful family recipes in a book to pay tribute to the creations of these women and also to save their recipes for future generations. She has a little box stuffed with cards, recipes for soups, cakes, puddings, pastry, meat, fish and pasta dishes, which she plans to turn into a book. It's a culinary treasure box and I'm very happy that I got the chance to try a few of these creations.

Joanna told me that she would cook a traditional Maltese meat dish with me called Bragioli (Bragoli in Maltese), beef olives stuffed with egg, bacon, cheese, parsley and breadcrumbs, but Joanna makes her roulades with pork. They were divine, the meat was juicy and tender, the sauce was thick and rich in flavours. She prepared two versions, one made the traditional way with peas and the other one is her creation, with green bell peppers. This dish is often served as two courses, first the sauce with pasta or potatoes and then the meat as a main course.

We met Joanna in the morning, my boyfriend happily joined in when I told him about her cooking, and she treated us to the most amazing food for hours. She served our coffee together with Maltese bread pudding, a recipe by her mother, which I will share with you on Sunday and which was the best bread pudding we ever ate (my Maltese Mama Jenny agreed on that after she tried a piece)! We had fresh bread from a bakery in Gharghur sprinkled with olive oil, a luscious salad of rucola and sweet figs stuffed with soft blue cheese (like dolcelatte) before we savored the delicious Bragioli. Joanna finished the menu off with little short crust tarts lined with a thin layer of sponge cake and filled with ricotta and candied fruit. She garnished the tartlets with bittersweet chocolate and hazelnuts, a perfect Mediterranean dessert similar to kannoli. When she offered us her homemade ice cream made of condensed milk (a Maltese speciality) with a big smile on her face, we couldn't refuse. This woman just loves to share her kitchen creations!

I fell in love with Joanna's food, so much that I decided to ask her if she would like to share some of her recipes once in a while on eat in my kitchen. We will start this Sunday with her Maltese bread pudding and there will be a few more. There's so much I can learn from her about Maltese cooking and I look forward to the delicious recipes to come!

Maltese Bragioli

For 4 people you need

• pork slices (silverside) 1kg / 2 1/4 pounds

• organic eggs, hard boiled, 3

• parsley, chopped, the leaves of a bunch

• onions 2

• carrots, cut into sticks, 3

• green peppers, sliced thickly, 2

• garlic, 2 cloves

• streaky bacon, chopped, 200g / 7 ounces

• organic egg 1

• fresh breadcrumbs, a big handful

• Kefalotiri cheese, grated, 100g / 3.5 ounces

• thyme, a sprig

• bay leaf 1

• stock cube

• ground coriander

• a pinch of mixed spice

• a pinch of Ras el Hanout spice mixture

• tomato paste 3 tablespoons

• Worcestershire Sauce

• white wine 1 glass

• salt and pepper

• plain flour to dust the roulades

• vegetable oil

Chop 1 onion and 1 garlic clove finely and sauté them in some oil for a few minutes. In a mixing bowl crumble the hardboiled eggs, then add the chopped parsley, the sautéed onion and garlic, the chopped bacon, fresh breadcrumbs, the cheese and bind the mixture with a raw egg.

Put 2 tablespoons of this mixture on each slice of meat and roll them up tightly. Finally give them a light dusting of flour.

In a large saucepan fry the bragioli searing them well. Season them well (with salt and pepper) and add a dash of Worcestershire sauce and a glass of white wine. Let the wine reduce and remove from heat. Now in a casserole pot sauté 1 sliced onion, 1 chopped garlic clove, the carrot sticks and pepper slices.

Next add the bragioli, the tomato concentrate, the stock cube, the spices and herbs and some water. Let the bragioli simmer for at least two hours until the meat is tender. Add water if need be but be careful not to render the sauce too watery. Serve with mashed potatoes or fries.

Who are the people in your family who influenced your cooking the most and why?

I had the fortune to live minutes away from my maternal grandmother’s house and we spent the larger part of the day there because my mother had to take care of the elderly members of the family while her sister – my Aunty Fifi, who was unmarried, worked as a home economics teacher. My grandmother, great-aunt and mother were all very traditional but excellent cooks, while my Aunty Fifi introduced me to more sophiscated cooking. All four of them in their own way influenced me but the confidence I have is the merit of my mother. When I was nine years old, I baked her a Mocha cake for mother’s day and it was an absolute flop. She made me slice it up and bake it again like crostini and told me that my next one will be better. We ate the crostini and I was happy enough to go on to my next cake. I also have to mention my sister Mariella and my sister-in-law Miriam who are both amazing cooks and we exchange recipes and ideas constantly. My brother Ray, engineer by profession, now part-time organic farmer taught me all there is to know about food regarding the ingredients and how important it is to source out the best.

You've decided to compile the favourite recipes of the women in your family in a cook book, what have you found through this work besides the collected recipes?

When my aunt and my mother passed away it seemed to me that a chapter in my life was sadly closed. The two persons who taught me the little I know were here no more so I felt the need to pay them tribute and pass on what they gave me to the next generation of wives and mothers-to-be in my family. This compilation is also a reminder that simple wholesome food should still feature on our dinner table. Lentil soup and Toqlija (pasta soup) are simplicity itself and have been firm favourites with my family for generations so they also have a place in this collection. Most of the recipes are imprinted with the personality of their owner – for example Aunty Fifi’s gateau was the subject of many a discussion. This sublime dessert is flamboyant, rich and sweet and it portraits my aunt’s personality making it her signature dish. The timing when it was served, however, was not optimal because we usually had it after a heavy Maltese Christmas lunch and to do it justice it should be eaten after a very light meal. On the other hand, the Maltese pudding reflects my mother’s simplicity and goodness. Going through the recipes and remembering the wonderful memories attached to them has reinforced my belief that there are few occasions that beat the ones when family and friends gather around a table to share good food.

For how many years have you been cooking for your family and how did your culinary style develop over the years?

I have been cooking since I was 9 years old. My sister and I loved to prepare afternoon teas for my parents and we set the table like we were entertaining royalty (which they were, in our opinion). I will never forget that. Unfortunately my father died when he was 53, so when I got married I lived in my mother’s house together with my husband and my sister. So that was 3 women in the kitchen but we got along very well because our style was very similar. Eventually my sister got married and moved to Sicily but my mother lived with me till she died last February. She made amazing soups and pastries and I could never beat her at that. I became more adventurous by time and tried out many recipes which my aunt passed on to me. Before I got married, I bought the Robert Carrier’s cookery books and they opened up a new vista. I used to wait for each new release to add to my collection, and my sister and I spent many lovely afternoons trying out new dishes. I still go back to his books and am continually amazed at how progressive he was. Nowadays the internet makes everything more accessible but in the eighties, this was really something special. I guess my style is not a sophisticated one. It is a mish mash of all the good things my family and friends cooked over the years, together with a good dose of inspiration from Robert Carrier.

What are your favourites in the Maltese cuisine?

There are few dishes which are typically Maltese because our cuisine had been influenced by our neighbours, invaders and colonizers throughout the years. However these are my favourites.Timpana – A rich pasta dish of layers of maccheroni with a meat sauce, bechamel sauce and hard-boiled eggs, encrusted in flaky short-crust pastry. This is our traditional pasta dish for Christmas and even though I would like to be more original my family does not let me remove it from the menu so it is there to stay. I love the combination of gooey pasta with the crispiness of the pastry and the taste conjures up the image of all my family seated at the dinner table devouring this delicious pasta and begging for more ... The first time I tasted it cooked this way, was at my Aunty Maria‘s and she passed on the recipe.Tuna, Anchovy and Spinach Pie or Lampuki Pie – Two of my favourite pies. My mum used to cook these for me. I can still picture her chubby, capable hands kneading the dough. She made the most divine pastry. The tuna and spinach pie is delicious and my great aunty Terry used to top the filling with sauteed potatoes or chips. I still make it that way and it’s delicious.Stuffed Calamari – I love them because they taste of summer. When the calamari are good (sometimes they are disappointingly tasteless), this can be a lovely summer dinner main course. My aunty Fifi taught me how to cook these, and the stuffing with walnuts and the tentacles from the calamari is simply delicious.

What is your feeling about the state of home food culture in Malta today? What changed over the past 5, 10 or 20 years?

Unfortunately I tend to see too many young families in restaurants and fast food joints. I cannot understand why people find it so difficult to dish up a meal for their family. I think the Maltese are too influenced by the media and advertising and they are forgetting their roots and their culture. I have battled this all my life even with teachers who took my children (on a school day trip) to eat a burger instead of offering them a simple but delicious Maltese hobza biz-zejt. I think that home food has changed in Malta. Some dishes which were staples (such as widow’s soup) are forgotten by the younger generation and convenience foods are becoming more and more popular. Nevertheless, people are becoming more aware of what they eat and hopefully the Maltese will gravitate again towards the simple and wholesome dishes and resist the temptation to eat junk.

What was the first dish you cooked or baked on your own, what is your first cooking memory?

Mocha cake for Mother’s Day when I was nine. It was a disaster.

What are your favourite places to buy and enjoy food in Malta?

• Restaurants: Fumia and Sciacca for fish

• Bar: Bridge Bar on a Friday night for jazz and wine

• Cafe: Cordina’s in Valletta for its old world charm, people watching and capuccino

• Shopping for food: Veggies just round the corner from my house from Salvu who grows his own, from Lucy because she is a nice lady, from Sunny because I have known him for years and from Alex and Paul who own the mini-market 5 minutes away from my house. Also sometimes from my brother Ray.

Where else do you get your inspiration for your recipes apart from your family?

From my friends Maria and Gordon who are both superb cooks; from cookery books which I still prefer to the internet although that is where I go when I need ideas in a hurry.

What did you choose to share on eat in my kitchen and why?

I chose Bragioli because it is a very popular Maltese recipe, however I will be doing it my way.

If you could choose one person to cook a meal for you, who and what would it be?

It would be Gordon Axiaq (not a trained chef but the best cook I know) and I would ask him to cook his fabulous pasta with Maltese prawns and crema di noci.

You're going to have ten friends over for a spontaneous dinner, what will be on the table?

Pear, walnut and parmesan salad with rucola and some bruschette. For main pasta with my home-made Maltese sausage and dolce latte and for dessert my vanilla and lemon ice-cream. All stuff I would normally have in my fridge or freezer.

What was your childhood's culinary favourite and what is it now?

Rice and lentil soup, bread, pasta and pizza. Still bread, pasta and pizza.

Do you prefer to cook on your own or together with others?

Both.

Which meals do you prefer, improvised or planned?

Both as long as they are good.

Which meal would you never cook again and why?

Liver. I hate the texture and do not cook it or eat it.

Thank you Joanna!

Fava Beans, Bigilla and the Silent City of Mdina

Here's another speciality of the Maltese Islands, the famous and delicious Bigilla! This frugal country-style dish is made of cooked dried fava beans, garlic, olive oil, dried chili pepper and herbs. I like to mix in fresh oregano, other recipes feature mint, basil or marjoram. Bigilla is a thick dip, often served with fresh bread as an appetizer in restaurants. In the past and occasionally even today, street venders sell this dish in the streets of Valletta and other old villages but it's also very easy to make at home, preferably in big batches!

I first ate Bigilla years ago in a pretty little restaurant in one of the narrow streets of Mdina, Malta's magical old capital. The medieval town's architecture was originally influenced by the Arabic period, from 870 to 1091. After many buildings were destroyed in an earthquake in 1693, they were rebuilt with Baroque elements in their majestic facades. Its history goes back even further, to 4000 BC. Mdina is located on a hilltop in the middle of Malta and it always had strategic importance for the island. Today, less than 300 people live in the old houses and palazzi and no cars are allowed, just the inhabitants have permission to drive through the tiny roads. It's one of the most peaceful and quiet towns I know which explains its nickname, the Silent City. The foundation of the new capital Valletta was laid in 1566, it's much bigger than Mdina and located right above the Grand Harbour, one of the most important harbours of Europe at that time.

When we go to Mdina, we always stop at a little bar, Crystal Palace, which is at the entrance of a town right opposite Mdina, in Rabat. It's famous for its Qassatat and Pastizzi, I mentioned the two delicacies a couple days ago when I wrote about our grilled amberjack from Marsaxlokk. If you ever visit Mdina, you should enter this simple looking bar and enjoy a couple of their buttery snacks!

Bigilla with fresh Oregano

You have to soak the dried fava beans in cold water overnight.

For 6 people you need

• dried fava beans 400g / 14 ounces

• olive oil 100ml / 3.5 ounces

• water 150-250ml / 5-8 1/2 ounces, more depending on the bean's texture

• small dried hot chili peppers, chopped, 2

• garlic, crushed, 5 big cloves

• fresh oregano leaves, chopped, 1 1/2 tablespoons plus more to taste

• salt

Cook the soaked beans in lots of water (no salt!) until soft, for around 45-60 minutes.

Mix the beans, olive oil, water, chili peppers, garlic and oregano and purée to a smooth paste in a blender. Season with salt and oregano to taste, add more water if the texture isn't smooth enough.

Enjoy with bread or crackers.

meet in your kitchen | Pan roasted Bread with Sam Cremona's Olive Oil and fresh Oregano

A drive through the countryside, over barren hill tops and streets lined with blossoming pink oleander leads us to a tiny village in the north of Malta, Wardija. We stopped in front of a big, green iron gate in the shade of majestic pine trees, their woody smell caught my senses as soon as I left the car! It was around noon, the sun was at its peak and the air was shimmering. The scene was peaceful and silent when Sam Cremona opened the gate and welcomed us with a big smile on his face. He is a man in his sixties, his skin darkened by the Mediterranean sun, and I had been looking forward to this meeting for months!

Sam produces his own olive oil of extraordinary quality and managed to revive an ancient kind of Maltese olive, the Bidni olive. This species has been cultivated on the island for at least 2000 years but it was on the brink of extinction, just 25 trees were left when Sam started his research. He was looking for olive trees to plant on the 1 hectare of land that surrounds his beautiful country house and the story and quality of this olive caught his attention. It's rich in antioxidants, the concentration is so high that the eggs of the olive fruit fly, one of the biggest pests for olive trees, never hatch in the fruits. The antioxidants also cause the oil's tasty bitterness and its positive effect on the immune system.

When Sam decided to work with the Bidni olive in 2002 he started a program called PRIMO, Project for the Revival of the Indigenous Maltese Olive. He uses cuttings from the few old trees left on the island and grafts them onto other trees. 40 producers joined him, hundreds of trees have been successfully planted and a wonderful olive oil has come back to life. Sam had to set up his own small olive press as there was none on the island at that time. This allows him to pick the fruits and press them on the same day, another reason for the oil's high quality. 

Sam invited me to his kitchen to taste two of his olive oils, one made of the Bidni olive and another that's a little less bitter in taste. Both were wonderful, fragrant and rich. I could smell citrus fruits, pine trees, tomatoes and thyme, all embodied in these delicious Wardija Olive Oils! I was so impressed that I bought some of his oil straight away, if you would like to do the same or  if you would like some more information about Sam's oil and project, you can contact him at matty@vol.net.mt.

After tasting the oil we enjoyed some with a few slices of Maltese bread, one of the best ways to savor a good olive oil, but I already knew what I would use it for as soon as I got back home. I discovered a very simple, delicious little snack when I was in Sicily. Pan roasted bread, dipped in olive oil and cooked with fresh oregano leaves. When the bread is golden brown and crunchy on the outside, you take it out of the pan and sprinkle a little more oregano, black pepper and coarse sea salt on top. As always, when a recipe is so simple, choose the best quality bread, olive oil and sea salt you can get and pick fresh oregano leaves if possible. It's divine!

Pan Roasted Bread with Olive Oil and fresh Oregano

For 4 people, you need a small loaf of sourdough bread, thickly sliced, olive oil and coarse sea salt to taste, crushed black peppercorns and a handful of fresh oregano. Brush the slices of bread with olive oil on both sides and sprinkle with the herb, leave a few leaves to put on the bread when it's done. Heat a heavy pan and cook the bread for a few minutes until golden brown on each side, sprinkle it with some salt, pepper and fresh oregano.