A Maltese stew to jump into

I’m making rabbit stew. This may not sound very summery, but in Malta rabbit stew is eaten all year round, and especially in summer. At the L-Imnarja festival, held at the end of June to commemorate Saint Peter and Saint Paul, candles and bonfires are lit, Maltese folk music is played and the national dish of fenkata (rabbit stew) is savored.

A stew party in June is not for everyone. “When you visit Malta and you’re in that heat, it doesn’t make sense,” admits food writer Simon Bajada. However, he is the one who invited me to try the rabbit stew, of which he raves about its texture and flavor. Bajada grew up in Adelaide, spent time in Melbourne and now lives with his Swedish wife and their two children in Stockholm. He has written cookbooks on Baltic and Nordic cuisines, fueled by his interests as an outsider. But the last book of him, Malta – Mediterranean Recipes from the Islands (Hardie Grant), draws on his own heritage as a half Maltese on his father’s side.

A pout in June is not for everyone

Having grown up abroad, she found that working on the book was an eye-opener for her. “I went to school with a lot of Maltese children, but I never realized they were Maltese until I started taking trips to Malta for this book and I saw their names everywhere,” she says. “One of the ingredients that stood out as being uniquely Maltese was the tomato paste. I pictured myself and my cousins ​​licking tomato paste out of a jar when we were kids.”

But what exactly is Maltese cuisine? Although it draws on influences from Sicily, North Africa and Great Britain (of which it was a colony until 1964) that gave rise to ingredients such as cheddar cheese and corned beef, Maltese cuisine is classically Mediterranean. The pantry includes products such as tomatoes, broad beans, capers, olives, ricotta, pasta, and fish, especially mahi-mahi.

“It’s old world cooking,” says Bajada. No fancy cooking skills. Soups and stews that would have sat by the fire in pots. “And dishes made in such quantities that you can count on leftovers.” Hence the predominance of dishes like timpana, a minced pasta pie that may be the best way to eat macaroni with meat sauce ever invented.

The rabbit was introduced to the islands by the Phoenicians and hunted by the Knights of St. John. Now farmed, it’s so popular in Malta that you can access a spice mix called rabbit seasoning and flavored potato chips too. The recipe for the Bajada stew begins by marinating the rabbit the day before in red wine, bay leaf, garlic cloves and herbs from the province to “ensure the most tender and tasty result”. The next day, the rabbit pieces are browned and cooked in a liqueur made up of grated fresh tomatoes, carrots, onions, the marinade and a splash of Kinnie, the iconic Maltese soft drink (failing that, San Pellegrino’s chinotto works well). as a decent substitute). Since I can’t locate it either, I settle on Dr Pepper, which Bajada thinks may be too sweet. But the needs must.

Does Bajada have any other advice? “One topic of discussion is whether to add peas,” she says. “Peas in tomato sauce tell me ‘date’. But it is tradition. Some recipes suggest adding peas at the beginning of the stew. But after two hours of cooking, who knows what you’ll be left with? I suggest adding them in the last 10 minutes. Also, the cooked stew is like curry and takes on a deeper flavor when left in the fridge overnight.”

I get to work. One night of marinating, half an hour of browning and two hours of slow cooking later, the stew is done. The verdict? Delicious. The rabbit, like the dark chicken meat, is falling off the bone and sticky with the flavors of the marinade. Bajada suggests pairing the dish with vegetables, salad and crusty bread. But I prefer to treat the stew as a ragù and serve it over spaghetti with Parmesan. It is an adaptation of the traditional Maltese starter, in which a little tomato sauce is drizzled and the kidney is sliced ​​over the pasta. The combination of meat, pasta, and cheese works wonders, even if you have to fish out the bones. Now all I need is one scorching hot day to eat it.

Maltese Rabbit Stew (Stuffat Tal-Fenek)

1. Cut the rabbit into small portions and cut the liver in half. Marinate all the rabbit pieces overnight in the red wine, the garlic cloves, half the bay leaves, the herbs and a little salt and pepper.

2. The next day, mark the tomatoes at the base (if they are used fresh) and grate with a box grater. Remove the rabbit pieces except the liver and kidneys from the marinade (reserving the liquid) and pat dry with a paper towel. Remove and discard the herbs.

3. In a heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat, fry the rabbit pieces in the oil in batches until golden brown. Return the entire rabbit to the pot with the remaining tomato, onion, carrot, tomato paste, and bay leaves.

4. Add the marinade, liver, kidneys, and chinotto. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for about two hours.

5. Add the potatoes in the last 30 minutes. Stir occasionally, adding water if the stew dries out. Add the peas and cook for a few minutes, then turn off the heat and let the stew rest for 15 minutes. You may want to serve the main course of sliced ​​kidneys and sauce over the spaghetti. Serve with crusty bread and a salad.

@ajesh34