April in Gozo

Malta

This is the time of year I don’t know whether to get my shorts and sandals out or keep my long johns on?

Asparagus we are absolutely blessed in Gozo, we are lucky enough to have a small Asparagus farmer who cultivates two crops a year. Based in Xaghra, Gozo this wonderful family produce not one but two crops a year and deliver them to kitchens and housholds around the island.

Eggplants, Aubergine or Brunjil one of the most abused vegetables in a restaurants’ repertoire I think! — I know I’m not going to make any friends like that .. But when ever I’ve been offered these things, they have been breadcrumbed and deep-fried in acrid oil, the sponge like texture of the aubergine does the cook no favours, but for me the turning point was when I was introduced to ‘burnt’ aubergine, cooked over an open flame, it was like another creature.. Smokey, delicious, garlicky and with nine hundred Maltese Galletti and maybe some whipped Gbejniet — heavenly indeed!

Loquats , Japanese Medlars or Naspli Take your pick this beautiful fruit grows locally on evergreen trees, oval in shape and quite unusual if your not used to them. The skin is thin and delicate it can be peeled off easily if the fruit is ripe, the flavour falls somewhere between peach, delicate mango and gentle citrus fruit.

Apparently it was introduced to the Maltese islands around 1492, that’s some pedigree for a non indigenous plant! Originally it came from China, its known for having a high pectin content and so it makes great jam, however I think the Lebanese have the right idea when they serve poached Naspli with baked Lebneh so you get the wonderful aromatic fruit with the delicious cheesecake texture of the baked Lebneh.

Lemons wherever you are in the world, whatever cuisine you cook, the ubiquitous Lemon is never very far away, whether its preserved Lemon from the North African coast, Lemon tart from the refined kitchens of France or Lemon Granita from our lovely neighbours in Sicily ? It’s an essential kitchen tool, apart from the Lemon tart I have to say my favourite use of a Lemon is as an acidulator in marinating fish. It’s not really within the remit of Gozo Kitchen to be talking about Panamanian Ceviche, as it would be a bit of a stretch to claim it as a Mediterranean influence, but blimey, you should try it, the Sicilians make a ceviche with orange and its very good indeed, but personally i prefer the ‘St Clements’ approach, a bit of each … with thinly sliced white fish, some chilly fresh dill and very thinly sliced shallot…

They are their best between the months of February and May,

Saddled Seabream or Kaħlija : My uncle Charlie use to take me fishing, roughly near where the Gozo ferry is located, I was a young lad and never really had the patience for it, I think it was the smell of his bait bucket, it was just … well ‘wrong’, it was as if fermented cheese had been mixed with fish guts and left to mature from one year to the next… That was my first introduction to Kaħlija, he would whip them out of the sea as if they were ‘lemmings’ and quite often he would light up his frying pan then and there and cook dinner… then he had my interest!

He would light a few sticks in a ‘divet’ put an old wire rack over the fire and grill the fish after cleaning them, he would only bring a lemon and some Maltese bread maybe some olive oil if he was feeling flush and that was dinner. great man my uncle charlie.

“The Saddled Seabream is caught in Malta using relatively sustainable methods and therefore fish for tomorrow recommends it for consumption.”

https://www.fishfortomorrow.com/quickfish/saddled-seabream

Meat it’s that time of year again in Sicily, Wild Boars hunts are taking place on our nearest neighbouring island. Which inevitable means that some carcasses will [hopefully] end up with us.

Generally Pigs in Sicily and obviously Wild Boar are raised in an environment where they can roam freely, more often than not they are fed leftovers and waste from cheesemakers, or remnants of a farmers lot, maybe even sometimes nuts and berries, This gives the pork from Sicily a rather more dark looking meat with an intense, deep and rich flavour, bordering on sweet, some of the very best pork I’ve been lucky enough to get hold of has come from cheesemakers, who fed them oats, vegetables and apples from the floor of their orchard, mixed with whey, and honestly you have to taste it to believe it…