Cook it: Maltese teas
A rich diet of unexpectedly fantastic food and drink
My recent painting and photography holiday was kindly supported by the Maltese Tourist Board and they certainly gave us a brilliant view of what the island has to offer. I will be honest and say that my expectations of Maltese cuisine were not high, based solely on some rather drab soup made for me many years ago by a kind Maltese friend.
I was wrong, right now Maltese cuisine is pretty impressive.
Our first meal was in the pretty village of Mellieha where we dined at Commando. I started with duck leg croquettes and I was blown away
from the first mouthful. They were delicious and the sauce they came with was delicious too. The meat was so succulent and not at all greasy, the crumb coating crisp – and they were big. It was a feature that we encountered again and again. Maltese food is generous!
I moved on to a veal chop, perfectly cooked with a wonderful herb crust and sweet potato mash. More than impressive and again huge. My dessert was okay, a nice panacotta with berries, but served in a glass so there was no evidence of the required wibble. Full marks other than that though.
The next day we lunched at Guzé Bistro, at the heart of the capital Valletta. This chic cellar venue gave us platters of local produce to start, great squid, amazing cheeses and succulent mussels. That in itself was lunch but we had main courses too. I love rabbit and
our host Faye insisted that at some point I had some, so now was my chance. It was delicious, boned and rolled around a stuffing of figs and local sausage then wrapped in ham. It was not the traditional Maltese dish which I think Faye was sorry about, but it was damned good – and huge, I mean really huge. I was too full for pud but they insisted that I tried the cannoli which were okay, not brilliant but this was Malta and not Sicily! That night none of us needed supper.
The following day we headed inland to paint and after a morning on a breezy hillside we drove to Rogantinos. From the outside it looked run down if not abandoned but once through the sweet smelling garden past beds of wild freesia we found a beautiful dark interior and a sunny terrace overlooking fields of produce. Rogantino’s again brought out the sharing dishes of mussels and squid and cheese and bread spread with tomato jam, probably not the real name but the best I can do to describe this intense red confection. I loved it and brought jars home with me. The speciality was suckling pig, now how often do I get to eat that? I ordered it and loved it, soft, sweet, moist – it was perfectly cooked and came in a portion that a British restaurant would have charged ten times for claiming it was enough for four. I managed the lot and even ordered a dessert of cassata, again not great and again not Sicily. It was nice enough, maybe if called something else I would have liked it more – but that’s me. I was also sad that I did not have the octopus which our kind guide allowed me to try, wow, so tender and tasty, the octopus, not the guide, but too difficult a choice to make.
After a long afternoon of sight seeing we all went to bed without dinner, Maltese meals are very filling and I suggest that two a day will easily suffice should you visit – which again I urge you to do.
The next day we had breakfast and an art class followed by lunch in a waterside restaurant. Having learned that Maltese food is big, I chose to have just a starter but our waiter misunderstood and had the dish converted to a main course sized plate of calamari. They were good but there was too much and I simply could not finish them.
Then it was off to Gozo, a spot of celeb spotting on the ferry and a much need break to drink Kinnie, the local soft drink that is addictively delicious – if you like bitter sweet things. Served cold though it is remarkably refreshing and I miss it now I am back.
Gozo is beautiful and I found the tomato jam and weird herbed goat cheese at the Ta’Mena Estate where we also met the goats and tasted some delicious liqueurs.
Dinner was in the pretty fishing village of Xlendi at Zafiro Restaurant. Here I had a fine steak, deliciously tasty and perfectly cooked but I looked on at some amazing griddled squid with true envy.
Maltese food bears the mark of all of the islands invaders and the influence of modern Eurpoean food culture – but bigger – and I loved it!
www.commandorestaurant.com
www.guze.com.mt
www.rogantinos.com
www.hotelsanandrea.com/zafiro-restaurant
