Winterposts:M'Lourdes

WINTER FOOD & RECIPES

For the present season; winter, the Maltese cuisine offers an immense range of food and recipes. Some of these traditional dishes are the:

Þ “Kawlata” a type of soup with vegetables and meat
Þ “Minestra” a thick vegetable soup
Þ “Aljotta” a traditional fish soup
Þ “Kosksu bil-ful” – kosksu with broad beans
Þ “Fenek moqli” – fried rabbit

I would like to give you the easy and simple recipes of 2 of the recipes mentioned above. I am sure you’re going to like them if you try them so here we go:





Minestra

Ingredients:
84g cauliflower84g carrots84g pumpkin56g white onions28g celery stick21g tomato paste56g rice1250ml water

Method:
1. Slice and wash all the vegetables.
2. Fry the onions, till tender.
3. Add all vegetables except the rice.
4. Add the water, bring to the boil, and simmer till vegetables are cooked.
5. Add the washed rice. Soup must be very thick.


Kosksu Bil-Ful

Ingredients:
10 oz. Kosksu1 onion5 oz. peeled broad beans3 oz. peeled tomatoes2 oz. tomato pastegarlicmixed herbs2 pt. water

Method:
1. Chop the onion and garlic.
2. Fry in a little olive oil till golden brown.
3. Add the chopped tomatoes and tomato paste.
4. Add some mixed herbs, and the water.
5. Bring to the boil, add the kosksu, and simmer till cooked.
6. Add the broad beans 10 mins before removing from the cooker

WINTER FESTIVALS

In Malta, during this season, certain festivals take place. One of these festivals is the carnival. In this festival, held in the middle of February, many Maltese citizens gather in our capital city, Valletta. During these few days many funny decorated trucks. Some of these trucks have also sarcastic messages painted on them. The Maltese people that assist the festive celebrations held in Valletta, wear special costumes of clowns, animals, punks etc. It’s a very hectic festival and will surely entertain all the tourists that be part of it!

Another festival held in winter is the Malta Song for Europe. Each year, several Maltese artists participate in this festival that in the end gives them the chance to represent our country in the Eurovision Song Contest (a song contest between many European countries). Last year, our representative was Chiara which performed brilliantly with her angelic voice the song “Angel”. It was so performed well that in fact we placed second in this prestigious festival. There were more than twenty countries participating and of course we are very proud of Chiara!

WINTER ACTIVITIES

Because of the cold and chilly temperatures that often occur in Malta during this season, many teenagers like me often find themselves going to cinemas in the weekends. However on a Sunday afternoon, many people choose to go and spend some time in the countryside. A very nice place where people can appreciate nature is Buskett. This place is located near Rabat in the middle of Malta. Even hikes are very popular in this site.