Moroccan Shrimp Salad

Ingredients

Rocket Salad (or any mixed greens)

Diced tomatoes

Diced avocados (1/2 per person)

1 oz feta cheese (per person)

3-4 oz shrimps per person

Salad Dressing

Sesame Oil
Olive Oil
Lime Juice
Tarragon Vinegar
Maggi Seasoning
Smoked Korean Red Pepper Flakes
Green Scallions
1 cube of Avocado (to act as the emulsifier.)
1 oz crushed peanuts, walnuts or pecans

Shrimp Marinade (marinate 2 hours before)

Pinch of cinnamon
Crushed Garlic
Ground Coriander
Cumin
Paprika
Dried Parsley
Onion Powder
Cheyenne Pepper
Dash Sesame Oil
Dash Maggi Seasoning
Honey

Method

In a skillet, cook the shrimp for about 5 minutes. Do not over cook otherwise they will turn into a gummy mess. Set aside and let them cool. 

Place the rocket, tomatoes and avocado in a bowl and pour over the dressing, make sure all leaves are well coated. Add the cooked shrimp on top and sprinkle with feta cheese. 

*Recipe by Des

Portobello Pizza and Burgers

This will definitely take care of that junk craving that haunts us from time to time!

Portobello Pizza

2 Portobello Mushrooms
2 slices Prosciutto (or any ham)
2 oz grated Part Skimmed Mozzarella
Oregano

Turkey Burger

1 or 2 Jennie-O Turkey Burgers
Mixed Greens (or iceberg lettuce)
Tomato, sliced
2 slices of Part Skimmed Mozzarella

Method - Portobello Pizza

Remove the stems from the mushrooms and chop finely. Chop the ham and mix with the chopped stems, mozzarella and oregano. Stuff the mushrooms upside down, drizzle with a little bit of olive oil and broil on High for about 10 minutes.

Method - Turkey Burgers

Cook the turkey burgers as per package instructions.

If using iceberg lettuce, you can sandwich the burger between thick slices of iceberg to replace the bread. Add any veggies that you like, such as tomatoes, pickles, onions ecc and top with a slice of part skimmed mozzarella.

Stuffed Pork Roast with Veggie Kebabs

Ingredients

1.5lb Pork Loin

1 cup spinach

6 slices low fat ham

3oz Gouda or any low fat cheese

Veggies for kebabs 

Method 

Fillet the pork loin with a very sharp knife. Cover it in cling film and pound it out with a kitchen hammer until almost double in size. Layer the ham, spinach and cheese and roll up, using toothpicks if needed. Seal in a hot skillet and then pop in the oven or crockpot.

Cut your favorite veggies in equal sized cubes and place on skewers. Drizzle with some sesame oil and broil until cooked. 

Quiche breakfast "cupcakes"

Ingredients

7 large eggs (or the equivalent in egg whites)
1/3 cup part skimmed ricotta
2 table spoons ground flex meal (optional)
5 large mushrooms
1 bunch spring onions
1 large bell pepper or 6 small ones
5 oz turkey breakfast sausage links
2 oz grated low fat cheese
Cayenne Pepper
Garlic Powder

Method

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Finely chop the spring onions (using only about 3-4" from the root; the whitish part), mushrooms and bell peppers as shown below.

Saute in a skillet with a teaspoon of olive oil and a pinch of sea salt. Adding salt at this stage is important because it drains out all the liquid from the veggies. Once done, set aside.

Chop up the turkey sausage breakfast links and brown in a skillet. Turkey meat is healthier and has less fat and sodium. In the US, Jennie-O has some great options all turkey-based. 

In a big bowl, combine the 7 eggs, ricotta, flax meal (optional; this adds fiber to the quiches), cayenne pepper, garlic powder and grated cheese.

Once the veggies and the sausage has cooled down a little bit, combine with the "wet" ingredients.

Using a standard 12 cupcake baking tray, spray it with cooking spray or else use baking paper cups (easier and no mess). Spoon the mixture evenly making sure that the mixture does not overflow.

Pop in the oven for about 15-20 minutes until golden brown.

Zalza tal-Bzar (Bell Pepper sauce)

Ingredients

4-5 Bell Peppers, sliced.
1 large onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic
1 large can crushed tomatoes
1 large can water (use same can that the tomatoes came in)
1/2 cup olives
1 table spoon capers
Basil (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste

Method

Stir fry the onions and garlic until well cooked. Remove from skillet and put on the side. In the same skillet, stir fry the bell peppers for about 10-12 minutes.

When they are cooked through, add the onions and the crushed tomatoes and water and let simmer for about 30 minutes. After that, add the basil, olives and capers and let simmer for another hour or so on very low heat.

Serve as a side with grilled fish such as salmon. Traditionally eaten with thick slices of Maltese bread .. but hey, this is a low carb section so we steer away from that! :-)

Stuffed Marrows

Ingredients

2 large green marrows/zucchini
6 oz beef
1 onion
1 clove garlic
1egg
Cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees f.

Slice the marrows vertically from the middle to end up with four equal parts. Scrape the inside out with a spoon and save it in a bowl.

In a skillet, brown the onion, garlic and meat. After 10mins of cooking add the insides of the marrows and keep cooking until they practically dissolve in the mixture. Take off the heat, let it cool for 10 minutes and add a beaten egg to the mixture.

Place the zucchini in a dish and stuff with the filling. Add about a cup of water at the bottom of the dish (chicken stock can be used to enhance flavor) Grate some cheese on top and pop in the oven for a good 30 minutes.

Serve with a side of grilled vegetables.

*Traditionally, round green zucchini are used for this recipe however they are not easy to find in the US. 

Kabocca bil-kapuljat (Cabbage with ground beef)

Ingredients

1 onion sliced
1/2 lb ground beef or 6oz bacon
1 whole cabbage
3 cups stock (chicken or beef)

Method

Sautee the onion and the beef in a deep skillet. When the onion becomes translucent and the beef has browned, throw in the chopped cabbage, add the stock and seasoning and let simmer (covered) on low heat for about 20mins, stirring occasionally.
Serve with freshly grated parmesan.

Traditionally bacon is used, but many prefer it with lean ground beef as the protein content is higher and the sodium content is lower.

Yields 4-6 sides or 2-3 entrees. 

Breakfast pizza

Choose big plump tomatoes, slice thickly at about an inch each. Top with some part skimmed mozzarella and bacon bits. Sprinle some parsley or oregano, salt and pepper and broil until cheese melts.
Serve with eggs.

Parmesan Eggs

Tired of the same plain boring eggs? Spinkle some parmesan and parsley on top of the eggs and serve with low sodium turkey bacon.

Chicken Salad with a twist

Tired of the usual mixed green setup for a salad? Try this one!

Ingredients
1 cup cooked chicken breast, cubed
1-2 red or orange bell peppers roughly chopped
4 radishes, roughly chopped
Handful of fresh basil, chopped
Any dressing that you want

Toss everything together and dress with your favourite dressing!

Pesce al cartoccio (Baked Fish in wine)

Ingredients

4 fillets of any fish that you like
2 onions sliced
5 cloves garlic
1 cup cherry tomatoes
10 olives
2 Table Spoons of Capers
1.5 cups white wine
Handful of fresh chopped basil
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Layer a deep baking pan with foil and spread the sliced onions at the bottom. Pour the 1.5 cups of white wine on top of the onions and place the fish on top of the onions and top with garlic, tomatoes, olives, capers and basil. Drizzle with some olive oil, salt and pepper.

Bake for about 30 minutes, opening the foil on top to allow the fish to brown a little bit.

This recipe is very easy to make as you can use frozen fish fillets too without defrosting them first. Just pop everything in the oven and enjoy the fusion of Mediterranean aromas that come out from this dish.

Serve with sauteed veggies on the side or a Caprese salad, using Part-Skim mozzarella between slices of plump red tomatoes and fresh basil leaves.

Ham and Gbejna Salad

Ingredients

Baby Spinach Leaves
Mixed Greens
Yellow Bell Pepper
1/2 Cucumber
4 Radishes
1 or 2 Gbejna
Handful of chopped ham
Balsamic Vinaigrette

Toss everything together and dress with the vinaigrette. The crispness of the radishes and the freshness of the cucumber go well with the acidic flavor of the gbejna. You can substitute gbejna for goat's cheese or feta, but the taste won't be the same.

Hobz biz-zejt Salad (without the bread)

Ingredients

Baby Spinach (or any mixed greens)
6 Cherry Tomatoes
1 orange/yellow/red bell pepper (or Giardiniera)
1 can of Tuna in brine
1 Gbejna
6 olives
1 tbl Capers
Handful of fresh chopped basil (optional)
1/2 diced onion

Toss everything together and dress with Balsamic Vinegar and 1tsp olive oil.

This salad is super easy to make and satisfies that "hobz biz-zejt" craving. Of course, there is nothing that can replace the combination of the above ingredients stuffed in a ftira, but trust me, its the next best thing!

Ftira (Maltese Flat Bread)

Follow the recipe for Maltese bread 

Divide the dough into 3-4 pieces, depending on how big you want your ftiras to be. Without kneading, gently open up dough into a flat circle and let rest for about 10 minutes.

After 10 minutes continue to expand the dough gently without kneading. Let rest for another 10-15 minutes, always covered in cling film otherwise the top will dry out.

With these resting periods, you will notice that after each rest, you can stretch out the dough a little further. Cut a hole in the middle, dust with some flour, place on a floured peel and pop on pizza stone in a 450 oven for about 15-20 mins.

End Result :-)

*This bread has no preservatives in it therefore it will go stale in a matter of hours. When I bake ftiras, I usually consume one right after it cools down and freeze the rest wrapped tightly in a freezer ziplock bag. To warm up, preheat over to 450 degrees, brush the top with some water and pop in the over for 5-10 minutes and the bread will be as good as new! 

Pulpetti tal-corned beef (Corned Beef Patties)

Ingredients

2 large boiled potatoes
1 large can corned beef
2 eggs
4oz Kefalotiri Grated Cheese (or grated parmesan)
4 cloves garlic, minced
handful of chopped parsley
1 tbl Curry Powder
Flour (as needed to thicken mixture)
Salt and Pepper.


Method,

Mash the potatoes up with a fork but do not cream. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.

Shape into pulpetti (patties) and fry in vegetable oil, 3-4 at a time. You might need to change the oil if cooking a large batch.They are not easy to flip as they will break easily so extra caution is advised! 

Serve with HP Sauce and crusty Maltese bread!