Malta

 Welcome to Malta!  Malta is a country in the Mediterranean that consists of three islands, one of which is uninhabited.  It is among the worlds smallest and most densely populated countries!  More than 100 films have been shot or partially shot in Malta, mostly because of its beautiful coastline (and it is beautiful!).  According to Google, the population of Malta is 521,000 people and the capital is Valletta.  Their national dish is...

Stuffat Tal-Fenek!

Rabbit stew.  Yum Yum.  I worried about cooking this meal because I wasn't sure where I would find rabbit.  However, I randomly found some in a grocery store in the "exotic meat" section!  Hallelujah!  Stuffat Tal-Fenek was on the menu!  To go with this, we made Maltese Timpana, which is a pasta pie.  Apparently it is traditional in Malta to eat pasta after your main meal!  It sounds weird...so naturally we had to try it.  Here's what I did:

SUFFAT TAL-FENEK

1/4 C avocado oil

1 rabbit, cleaned and cut into pieces

1 onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1/2 C red wine

1 bay leaf

5 C beef broth

1/4 tsp nutmeg

2 tbsp tomato paste

1/4 tsp white sugar

Salt and pepper, to taste

4 large potatoes, quartered

2 carrots, chopped

1/2 C peas

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.
2. Cook the rabbit, onion and garlic in the hot oil until the garlic and onion are fragrant and the rabbit is brown. 
3. Stir in the wine, bay leaf, nutmeg, tomato paste, and sugar.
4. Season with salt and pepper. 
5. Add the potatoes, carrots, and peas. 
6. Add the beef broth: enough to cover everything.
7. Bring stew to a boil and reduce heat to low and allow to simmer until the potatoes are completely cooked through, about 1 hour.
8. Enjoy!

(Source: Suffat Tal-Fenek)

MALTESE TIMPANA

2 C marinara sauce

2 sheets of ready-made gluten free puff pastry

2 C cooked rigatoni

1/2 C shredded cheese

1. Cook pasta as per packet instructions, drain and cool with cold water.
2. Heat the marinara sauce in a large pan over a medium heat until warmed through and mix this marinara sauce with the cooked pasta.
3. Preheat oven to 355 degrees.
4. Line a round baking dish with puff pastry.
5. Pour the pasta mixture into the puff pastry case and top with the cheese.
6. Create a lid from the remaining pastry. Either make slits in the lid with a knife or create a lattice effect to let air through.
7. Cover with foil and bake in the oven for an hour or until golden browned and cooked through.
8. Remove the foil, and cook for another 15 minutes until it is browned on top.
9. Enjoy!

(Source: Maltese Timpana)

The verdict?  I did not care for the stew.  To me, it had a funny aftertaste, and I didn't care for the flavor combinations.  It was ALMOST good, but I couldn't finish it. Handsome Husband said he didn't think it was anything special - just a basic stew; but after reheating the leftovers, he said it was quite tasty! (His ratings will be of the leftovers.)  The rabbit was interesting, and similar to dark chicken meat but a little drier and tougher.  The Maltese Timpana was good, but there are things I would do differently if I made it again - I would leave out the bottom layer of pastry, because the butter from the puff pastry pooled at the bottom of the dish, which made the pastry very buttery.  With the pastry, the noodles, and the cheese, it was very rich!  But the taste was good! The best part of it was definitely the section just under the top, where the layer of cheese was.

    

ME

Taste of Suffat Tal-Fenek (1 is terrible, 10 is amazing): 4

Spicy (hot) (1 is not at all spicy, 10 is uneatable): 0

Flavor (1 is no flavor, 10 is packed with flavor): 6

 

HANDSOME HUSBAND

Taste of Suffat Tal-Fenek (1 is terrible, 10 is amazing): 6

Spicy (hot) (1 is not at all spicy, 10 is uneatable): 0

Flavor (1 is no flavor, 10 is packed with flavor): 5

ME

Taste of Maltese Timpana (1 is terrible, 10 is amazing): 6

Spicy (hot) (1 is not at all spicy, 10 is uneatable): 0

Flavor (1 is no flavor, 10 is packed with flavor): 6

 

HANDSOME HUSBAND

Taste of Maltese Timpana (1 is terrible, 10 is amazing): 6

Spicy (hot) (1 is not at all spicy, 10 is uneatable): 0

Flavor (1 is no flavor, 10 is packed with flavor): 4

Thanks for joining us in Malta!  Next, we journey to Saudi Arabia!