Greetings from a Maltese Food Blogger!

Welcome to the forum

As a vegetarian I really struggle to find varied, if any, vegetarian options on a menu!  Can you recommend a restaurant that is veggie friendly in Malta, if such a thing exists!!!

There isn't a specific Vegetarian only restaurant but you will find vegetarian choices in most of the restaurants in Malta.

3 Restaurant to try out are 1. Mamma Mia (Msida) 2. La Capanna (Marsaxlokk 3. Tarragon (St.Paul's Bay)

Thank you, Ive not been to any of those so will give them a try ...maybe theres a business opportunity for a veggie restaurant in Malta?!.....  although I know the Maltese love their meat/fish!

There are two websites you can use to search for restaurants in Malta, unfortunately the Vegetarian option seems to be missing from the search menu on both of them.

malta-restaurants.com
restaurantsmalta.com

I also have the "Definitive(ly) Good Guide to Restaurants in Malta and Gozo 2009" book. At the back of that there is a huge list where veggie dishes are offered.

Can you recommend a couple of good fish choices?  We love fish, in particular trout and salmon, but would love to try different types.  At the risk of sounding weird, nothing too fishy or salty, like swordfish.  What should I look for when I go see the guy at the fish stall tomorrow?

The fish in the supermarkets is all frozen and also very expensive so we would prefer fresh.

Thanks for your help.

Try fresh tuna lucyanya, if available. It is renowned for being a very non-fishy fish.

Lucyana...

If you are so keen to buy fish in Malta, try to go early Sunday morning in Marsaxlokk (fishing village). It is a feast for your eyes with fresh fish & seafood.

I recommend highly Sea Bass (Spnott), Common Pandora (Pagella)and Blackbelly Rosefish (Cippullazza) which is my favourite

Apart from those 3 one can add Meagre (Gurbell)and Red Mullet (Trilja Bla Faxxi)

Hope it helps!

Thanks tons, that is very helpful.

I've done the tuna thing to death, when we lived in Spain, fish was so readily available we were very greedy with it.  I will be now working my way through your suggestions and seeing what meals I can invent along the way. 

Thank goodness my family are brave, when they say what's for dinner and I say, I'm still making it up, they still turn up to the table... bless 'em.

We are planning an expedition to Marsaxlokk and hopefully we'll also check out the vegetable market. 

Does anybody here do any gardening?  Can you tell me why the long spiral type snail likes Coriander so much?  They have destroyed my plant like a plague, to the point of ignoring all the others.  Does anybody here want a bag of snails.... I'll throw in some free garlic...?

I also have a foody question.  I have noticed in most of the recipes I have obtained, from family cupboards.. that seasoning with spices, herbs etc is done very little.  Mostly salt, pepper, garlic.  Is this a common thing for traditional cooking?  I personally love Coriander and different spices and herbs and see people taking huge bunches of fresh herbs when buying their veg, but I don't see it included in any recipes.  Can you help foody guru???

I would call myself fussy and a bit of a foodie. I would suggest U Bistrot (www.ubistrot.com) in Balluta Bay. They do some really nice veggie food. Menu changes quite frequently too. Fish is also good there. A really good fish restaurant is Terrazza Restaurant & Wine Bar in Spinola Bay.I have eaten in both restaurants twice and really enjoyed the food (and wine!)

Lucyanya... Glad you are going to Marsaxlokk

Yes we do use spices thanks to the moors. Mostly used spices in Malta are Fennel Seeds (on roast Maltese Potatoes & Roasts), Mixed Spice for sauces (marries well with minced beef sauces like ragu) and curry, nutmeg and cumin are also widely used as for seasoning.

On the other hand here we use extensively fresh produce with Basil that tops the charts, parsley, rosemary, thyme & mint follows.

As for salt I suggest you to use low sodium and try to moderate it is not that healthy.  Here is an article I did about Low Sodium Salt http://pimpthatfood.com/are-you-cooking … m-salt-yet

I share some Free recipes in my Food Blog that can help you cook some Healthy Mediterranean Food with some innovation twist.

Hi Gordon,

Many thanks for your contributions.You have a great website.

I enjoy cooking a lot but don't have that much experience with fresh Maltese available fish.

How about organizing a cooking course to make the best out of our Maltese fish ? I'm sure there will be many more interested on the forum and I would love to be able to bake/cook/fry fresh Maltese fish recipes.

Regards
Ricky

Hi Ricky,

That is a great idea... I will find the time to plan and organize something in the next months as I am really tight on my schedule.

Also I might throw in some video tutorials on my Youtube channel: youtube.com/pimpthatfood along with the other videos I have posted.

At the moment I am working on some new categories for my blog and I am asking people what other Food Categories (Mediterranean Cuisine) they would like to indulge in.

Regards
Gordon

Count me in!

me too!  I cant cook at all, only just mastered a boiled egg a couple of months ago!lol:/

Lucyanya.....

Fresh herbs, here's a start.

2 large tablespoons chopped fresh coriander - not too fine
A large squeeze of lime juice
1 finely chopped red chilli (the mild long thin type about the size of your little finger - remove the seeds and cut it up by using a fork to hold it as you don't want to get the chille juice onto your skin as it burns)
1 Tablespoon olive oil
A touch of salt to balance the lime acidity.

Coriander, lime and chilli are best buddies - you can use them in whatever proportion your tastebuds demand. You can if you want to, add a pinch of castor sugar to further diminish the acidity of the lime, keep tasting it until it's right for you but the touch of salt has to be there as well to balance.

Spoon onto freshly grilled fish or chicken or a vegetarian dish. A great book to read/get hold of regarding fundamentals of taste, flavour, chillie, sour, salt, umami, bitter, sweet etc is a book by Sybil Kapoor called 'taste - a new way to cook' published by Mitchell Beazley. Enjoy those fresh herbs

Pat

Thanks chaps,

I've moved my fresh herb garden into large pots on the roof as I can't win the battle with the snails...grrrrrr.

At the moment I have a recently relocated herbie patch with Coriander, Rosemary, Mint, Thyme, (hoping to find a lemon thyme plant soon), Dill and Parsley.  I'm waiting to see if my chilli seeds produce anything to add to my collection.  I do hope so as we like 'a bit of chilli' - grin.  Plenty of lemons too!!! 
If my veggie garden also produces well I'll be in heaven.

I may try growing some ginger this year, any tips anybody?  If I just stick some leftover ginger in dirt, is it likely to grow?

I also have an overloaded grapefruit tree, not a big fan of them unless grilled and may try making a jam with them, any other recipe ideas for grapefruit...?

I managed to get some trout from the fish man this morning so I'm going to make a lovely lemony and Padano cheese sauce for it today.  I'm having trout withdrawal.  Won't be having it much though, not at 10 euros for two,  I'll miss the spanish prices, 1.25 each..sob..

Any good mackerel recipes out there?

rooikat, that sounds very like a salad dressing I make, but I use fresh squeezed oranges instead of lime...and obviously more oil... lush.


cheers

Parsley - try gremolata,

1 lemon, zest only, grated
       
½ garlic clove, thinly chopped
       
2 tbsp chopped parsley (large leaf Italian style)

Great on slow cooking ossi buchi or grilled steak - yum

We bought 'handsfull' of basil, corriander and Italian parsley from our veggie van in Bugibba. Expensive but fresh.
Why has no one mentioned the delicious, spicy Maltese sausages? We loved them - reminded us of boerewors in South Africa!!

Hi Gordon,

Well, I finally made it to Marsaxlokk,  have to be honest,  didn't know where to start  hehe.  In the end I bought some Lipp, mainly because it is not a very strong fish and I have to be careful with my lot.  I will be having it tonight, baked and stuffed with herbs and lemon.  Can't wait.  And I also bought some delicious langostina.  hhmmm,  fried them up (minimal olive oil, butter, salt, pepper, and then made a little dipping sauce with tomato and chilli -  oh boy - heaven.

I still think the fish is expensive here, which still surprises me.  Perhaps I have just been spoilt.

Brain picking here now:  In the last two months I have had 4 family birthdays, which means 4 birthday cakes (and parties with lots of food).  Sadly, as well as enjoying making them I also enjoy eating them so now I need to try and lose the cake on my hips.

Can you recommend any tasty but low calorie fish recipes please?

Biddy,  how come you paid for your herbs.  I expect it in PAVI but my veggie lady always gives it for free with my shopping.  Maybe she thinks I am a bit strange tho,  when they sell cabbage they always cut the big green outside leaves off and she saves them for me as they are my favourite bit.  As close to spring greens as i can get and delish fine chopped and pan cooked with chopped smoked bacon- yum

Suzanna,  let me know next time you are over and I'll make a veggie lasagne and you can come over for lunch.

xxx

Gordon,

Did you manage to sort out any cooking classes?  Would love to hear.

Jules
x

Not yet dear... as I am too busy and cannot focus on the classes at the moment.

I will post when the time will come. To be informed better you can join my PimpThatFood Members to keep updated on what's going on. Go on http://pimpthatfood.com and on the right hand side fill in you name and email address.

Have a great day!

Tc

Regards
Gordon

Gordon,  do you have a restaurant here?

jules
x

Cerna is lovely  (grouper)