The Fig Project - Fig, Balsamic and Peppercorn Jam

A few of the figs taking part in this project

I thought I'd be posting more frequently now that school is out. But as usual, life is full of surprises... and not always good ones at that! As some of you might know by now, M. was in a motorbike accident a few weeks ago. He's doing fine... a broken nose, a broken knee and torn ligament. Nothing that won't be fixed eventually. It's not THAT bad. I'm grateful that he's home and wheeling himself about.

Figs - Trimmed and ready for action

After abandoning my kitchen for a while, this week I was back at it, getting another surprise (this time a good one) by being gifted a nice big bag of organic figs. We ate a few but I knew that unless I did something with them, they might go to waste. All in all, I have till now ate, cooked with or somehow used around 15kg of figs. I will attempt to document all the ways I have used/will use the said figs, starting with the first fig jam I made - Fig, Balsamic and Peppercorn.

My favourite mixture of pink and black peppercorns

Actually, as my cousin L. correctly pointed out, jam might not be the correct name for what I made first. By definition, jams should be smooth, not chunky. Preserves, on the other hand are chunks of fruit, suspended in a syrup base. Not sure whether that qualifies either. It's possibly more of a chutney, having a combination of chopped fruit, vinegar, spices and sugar all simmered into a chunky mix, balanced in sweetness, tartness and spice.

Figs- added sugar, balsamic vinegar, crushed peppercorns and lemon

I love this jam. Although I am a huge fig fan, fig jams were not my favourite, due to them being too sweet. But this jam is so balanced, you might want to eat all of it straight out of the jar. And I can already see it being used in tarts, pancakes, salads or over some home made galletti (water biscuits)... but more on that later. :) For now, I'll share the recipe...

The first batch of yuminess

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And finally...Macarons!!

My First Successful Macarons - With chocolate Ganache filling

It's been almost a year since I last posted. I do feel the shame! But at least, this time I am posting as a free woman.

I'm no longer a student. School term is finished and my days at ITS are over. My time is now divided between making cakes and desserts for customers, and testing recipes (as well as cooking for M. and cleaning... but who wants to think about that?). If that's not happiness, I don't know what is! :)

One recipe I've been wanting to test is that for Macarons. Ever since I tasted them for the first time at Ladurée in Paris, back in 2009, I have often craved for them and have been toying with the idea of making these beauties myself.

Pretty little Pink ones

It was our last day in Paris and were were supposed to visit the Louvre. We got there at 5:00pm and the museum  was closing down for the evening, so we could not get it. But did I care about not seeing the La Vallette sword or the Mona Lisa? I forgot about them as soon as I caught a glimpse of the prettiest display of confections ever. Ladurée!

Deciding which ones to choose... now that was a difficult task. But I left the shop with 10 different Macarons in hand. Such beautiful colours! I savoured them slowly, marvelling at the sheer delicacy of the taste and texture, whilst sulking a little because I had to share. That's when the love affair started. 

Macarons: Thin crispy outer shell, chewy inside, creamy ganache

Maybe you wondering why it took me so long to try making them myself. Maybe the ingredients were difficult to find? Maybe they're too time consuming? No & No! The only reason why I have been stalling for 3 whole years is that I have been reading about them... in books, on food blogs, everywhere! The list of troubleshooting tips is huge! Something could would obviously go wrong, wouldn't it? And I'm a coward that way...

The thing is, I just had to try. I pencilled them into my to do list, for next week. Right between "fix the magimix" and "pester M. to update my website". And less then 2 hours after they were in my list, a customer called. She wanted a cake, with macarons stuck on the side, and could I do it for tomorrow please?

Mini-Macarons on a Chocolate Gateaux

I was about to say no, but I knew that I could do them. So why postpone? Why not get it over and done with? I had just got a gentle nudge in the direction I wanted to go, and what perfect timing! 

So I went shopping, armed myself with enough ingredients for 6 batches of macarons and by the time everyone was in bed, I was prepared for a long night of trial and error in the kitchen.

Don't they look gorgeous?

It actually took 2 tries to get them right. The first time I had too many holes on top and no feet. A little research revealed that it was a problem which was easily fixed just by tapping the bottom of the baking tray and bursting those pesky little bubbles with a toothpick. I also needed to wait a little longer between piping them and baking them, for a shell to form. I had no patience the first time round, even though I knew I should have. 

The second batch was just what I was looking for! They were perfectly round, with thin smooth shiny shells and they had FEET! And they were chewy too! Oh the excitment! I was so pleased, I just had to wake up M. to show him, even though it was 2:00am :) (He was slightly less pleased, but hey! I had to share...) 
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Tiny figolla bites... with recipe

Anyone taking a look at my hands might think I've been dipping my fingers in paint of something of the sort... but all I've been doing is baking and decorating "Figolli"

Nice rows of "figures" ready to be popped into the oven

"Figolli" are a traditional Maltese pastry eaten at Easter time... apparently the name come from a corruption of the word figure (or figuri in old Italian) and usually in the shape of a lamb or something of the sort. Figolli are usually also large... about 7 to 10 inches in lenght (or width, depending on the shape :p )

So what's different about my figolli? Well they're small... tiny actually. Not more than 1 inch across. One bite and they're gone!

I made them by preparing two pieces of dough, on top of the other, separated by the almond filling in the middle, then used cookie cutters to cut out around 250 small figolli.

It did take some time... and patience... but the upside was that I had loads and loads of off cuts, which I baked seperately and we enjoyed even before the "pretty ones" were iced. YUMM!

I packed the figolli in packs of 3, a little ribbon and a home made tag and star.. and off they go, my little ones, on their own into the outside world.

The recipe I used for these figolli was given to me by one of my teachers, Mrs. Nathalie Barbara. I have to say I was not disappointed with the results. I particularly liked the dough, which resulted in a softer figolla than usual.

I made the dough by hand, and it was easy. I love rubbing the flour and the butter together... the smell reminds me of happiness. Maybe it's because it reminds me of my mother, making figolli, when I was a kid... and how happy and excited we were to eat these goodies.

Recipe is below. Let me know if you make it and what results you get.

In the mean time, Happy Easter to all!

 

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Strawberry festival & a recipe for a chocolate cake with strawberries!

Last week was a hard week... and on friday I was at school till 1:30am, whilst I woke up at 5:30am on Saturday morning, to bake goodies for the evening's "Cuisine, Cultural & Artisan Festival", which was a thoroughly enjoyable experience.

Brownies & Kwarezimal at my stall

Despite the interesting exhibition and the varied amount of stalls displaying their wares, attendance to the event was very sparse, which was also positive, because it gave me time to speak to some very interesting people. Sales weren't too bad either. It seems that wherever I am, the brownies will be grabbed up immediately. So were the kwarezimal. Most of the pudina was sold to my family and friends who came over en masse and spent the evening chatting around my stall. Some locals bought some of the pudina too, and said they liked it. (They might have been trying to be polite though... :p) On Saturday night I fell asleep much before my head hit the pillow!

My version of the traditional Pudina (bread pudding)

So it was with great effort that I woke up early on Sunday morning, in order to beat the traffic and the crowds attending the "Festa Frawli" (Strawberry Festival). I made it a point to go, because I had heard good things about it, on previous years.

Festa Frawli: Waffles with strawberries and ice cream

But oh! What a disappointment! The stalls were few, the traffic was terrible, even at 10:00am and there was only a single point from where you could buy fresh strawberries! 

Festa Frawli: Mqaret with strawberry sorbet

Festa Frawli: Strawberry lolipops

It wasn't all bad... the strawberries I managed to buy from there were sweet and tasty, the goodies prepared with the strawberries looked nice, and the onee I tasted were also good. There were really beautiful displays of strawberries and flowers and some interesting, cultural entertainment. 

Festa Frawli: Strawberry and flower displays

Unfortunately, the small bottle of "imbid tal-frawli", a strawberry liquor of sorts, I bought for €4.50 from one of the stalls, wasn't too good. 2 sips of it (the second sip was to confirm that it was complete and utter rubbish) gave me a bad case of heartburn and the rest of the bottle went down the drain. All in all I'm not sure the whole trip was worth it at all!

Festa Frawli: Entertainers in traditional maltese dresses

Festa Frawli: Entertainers holding traditional instruments

Apparently there were other things going on in the area, other than the stalls, but I did not see any signs anywhere so we must have missed all of them!

Talking about strawberries, here's the recipe for last week's pictured chocolate cake with fresh strawberries. It was a huge hit and altough I baked it at 7:00pm, not a crumb remained for the next day! So I guess it's worth a try. Recipe adapted from Larousse Gastronomique.

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Cakes I baked this weekend

Just a quick post today, to share with you 2 cakes I made this weekend. The first one was for a twins Christening party and the second one was for welcoming back C. who was away on work for the last 2 months or so.

Both cakes have a chocolate base (click here for recipe) with a chocolate frosting centre. The chocolate frosting was especially lip licking good! The twins cake had a layer of rasberry jam whilst I put fresh strawberries in the plain chocolate cake.

 Spent the whole day baking and decorating... and absolutely loved every minute of it :-D

This week is an especially busy week. Apart from working at the ITS restaurant, in the bar area, during a theme night next Friday evening, I will also be participating in a Cuisine, Culture & Artisan festival on Saturday evening... so I will be baking all day. Bring it on!!

 



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A Rabbit Burger Recipe

Rabbit burger topped with pancetta

For the benefit of my foreign friends, let me start by saying: Yes, we do eat rabbit in Malta. No! It is not a cheap substitute for chicken! No! It's not like eating "Bambi" at all! (Bambi tastes more gamey :p ).

Raw peeled beetroot

Now that I've taken that load of my chest,  let me state that I did not always love to eat rabbit myself. Maybe because when I was young, the rabbits themselves were too old and therefore the meat was tough. Maybe it was the cooking method. I did love my father's rabbit stew though.

Sliced mushrooms & courgettes... later dipped in tempura batter and deep fried

And the garlic fried liver! I have quite clear memories of Sunday mornings, when I was woken up at 6:00 by the smell of garlic and liver wafting through the house. Running to the kitchen I would find three plates, one for each of us kids, laid out with the rabbit liver equally divided between them and a slice of freshly baked maltese bread on each.

Shaped rabbit burger

My dad would then proceed to fry the rabbit in garlic and then stew it. Being an impatient man, he probably never let the stew simmer for long enough (therefore the tough meat). Still the resultant stew was delicious and I keep striving to make my stews taste the same, knowing it will never happen since my dad always threw in random amount of all herbs and spices he had at hand!

Rabbit burgers on the grill

These days, I buy rabbits which are still young, from a trusted supplier and altough rabbit stews start to smell good a short while after they are left to simmer, I usually manage to restrain myself until the rabbit starts falling off the bone.

Beetroot Aioli

The recipe here is not for my dad's rabbit stew. I am not ready to share it yet, because it's still not perfect. One day... maybe soon. Instead I am sharing one of my favourite recipes for a moist and tender Rabbit mince burger. Serve with sweet potato wedges and tempura mushrooms & courgettes. Recipe after the jump

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A wonderful sunny Sunday!

It's late, on a school night and I'm dead tired... but I was really excited to share the day's activities :)

The location

Today, I went to Gozo with M, C.S, and two friends, together with around 200 other people from my husband's workplace, to visit Ta' Mena's Agriturism in Gozo. Agriturism is something I was always interested in and Ta' Mena is a first in Malta... so I was really looking forward to this day, with some trepidation, lest it was a let down.

I was also dreading the fact that I had to wake up at 6 in the morning, on the day when the clocks moved forward! WAAAAAAAAA!! I am NOT a morning person. I love my bed and my sleep, but I have to say it was worth disturbing my sleep pattern for a day like today.

Orange picking, squeezing and drinking

After crossing over to Malta's sister island, Gozo, and arriving at Ta' Mena, we were greeted with gozitan coffee, pastizzi & qaghaq ta l'ghasel. We were soon on our way to pick oranges from the trees which were then squeezed for us to drink the incredibly sweet juice. It was great watching a little boy throw out his crisps in favour of oranges and tangerines! Maybe showing our kids where their food comes from might help them make healthier choices?!
 

Strawberry picking



We were then led on for a 15 minute walk through the country side, to a lovely orange grove surrounded by cane, were we ate more oranges and some tangerines... and then went on to an area where we were instructed to pick strawberries. I don't know whether it's because of the effort I put in to find ripe strawberries while feeling incredibly hot... but I believe that those strawberries where sweetest ones I have ever tasted. During the walk, Joseph, our tour guide for the day, was very forthcoming with information about the locality and about farming methods.
 

Focaccia making

Back at the estate we were offered a much needed cold drink together with bruscetta made with their own olives and sundried tomatoes, together with a romesmary focaccia baked in a woodburning oven, prepared in front of my very eyes. What fun! The method of preparation was also explained for whoever was interested :)
 

The winery

After a particularly large and delicious meal, we were invited to take a tour of the estate, but we declined... opting instead to lounge in the garden and enjoying a very nice breeze. Later we were given a tour of the winery. Incredibly interesting especially the part where we were allowed to enter the store where french oak barrels are maturing some very lovely wines. What a wonderful smell!

My companions in adventure :)

One thing to complain about - 200 people was just too many to really get involved... so we're planning to return with a group of no more then 30 people. I am sure it would have been that much more informative! Still... a day to remember and we left the estate laden with their home made "kunserva" (tomato concentrate paste), olive oil and liqueur.

Joseph was continuosly, enthusiastically, explaining everything we wanted to know!

What got me thinking was that Joseph was telling us how he used to work in a bank for a number of years, but then quit to help set up this project... He did say it's hard work and that he must be crazy, but at the same time it is quite obvious how excited he is when talking about nature and how happy he looks. I can't help wondering whether this will be the trend in the years to come. More people leaving their 9 to 5 jobs to do what they really want to be doing. More people thinking more about sustainable living and being happy. I really do hope so!

Anyway... good night! I'm off to sleep with a smile on my face!

PS. I am in no way related to the Ta' Mena estates and this is in no way a paid advert...I am a person who usually complains a lot about the products or services being offered, so I'm always very happy to find something I can't really complain about. ◦

Zeppoli (or "Sfineg ta San Guzepp")

My first thought, as I woke up this morning was: "I'll make Zeppoli today".

It's my friend J.'s fault. He's been going on and on all week about how he's looking forward to eat Zeppoli. Because today is St. Joseph's feast here in Malta, and it is tradition that on this day, people eat sweetened deep fried pastry balls, filled with Ricotta.

Zeppoli

J. asked me, forced me, threatened me until I accepted to go out and buy them for him... He even called and sent messages in order to remind me. Which I did... I bought a couple for him. But then made some home made ones for the rest of us.

The recipe calls for candied peel and since I did not have any, but did have an orange and some sugar, I started the day by boiling the orange skin in water to make candied orange peel. I added some bay leaves and a handful of spices (cloves, cinnamon, juniper berries) just to make the house smell better.

Homemade candied orange peel

I made the filling by mixing ricotta cheese with finely chopped dark chocolate, the orange peel & almonds. To the choux pastry I added grated rind of an orange and a lemon.

In the afternoon I went to see my bro & his friends' mare Lady IV. She's just 9 months old, a real cutie and very sprightly. 

Me & Lady IV

Back from the visit, I finished off the Zeppoli by deep frying the batter and then drenching the pastry with a honey/homemade marmalade mixture and sprinkled them with chopped almonds. Eaten immediately, the outside shell has a nice crunch with a soft, creamy interior. Eaten later, the shell had softened but the chocolate bits and nuts make for a nice bite. YUMMY!
Happy St. Joseph's day! Recipe after the jump... 



Sfineg ta' San Guzepp

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