I’m sitting at the kitchen table, legs swinging back and forth, watching my nana chop potatoes. The lights have been turned down low, and the back door is open, letting the cool air wash over us. Tanzy, their dog, leaps up at me, her floppy ears grazing my knees.
“Would you like another cup of tea?”
I nod eagerly. Nana has always been the tea lady; all my cousins and I would drink cup after cup on the weekends as we played games.
She is making Maltese corned beef stew—a recipe that usually goes in a pie, but she has always made it without. My granddad is Maltese, but he has taught my nana lots of recipes. They are clothed in a hardback notebook; bean green and ocean blue. Recipes stick out of the pages like playing cards.
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Ever since I was little, I have been surrounded by Maltese food. Spending every Saturday at my grandparents ensured that I was fed well.
Known as Tal-Bulibif, this recipe calls for the use of corned beef. The reason for this is because regular meat was hard to come by during the Second World War, so corned beef became a favoured substitute. Normally, you would bake this into a pie, but I have always known it without.
Having a Maltese heritage is something I am proud of. Upon hearing my middle name, most people are curious as to where it comes from. Some have never even heard of Malta before. Going on holiday to see my family there, enjoying fresh Pastizzi—another Maltese staple—from the bakery, and pretending to be a mermaid were all things I loved doing. Maltese culture is as rich as any other.
Ingredients:
(serves four)
1 onion, chopped and diced.
4 potatoes, cut into cubes.
2 tins of sliced carrots.
1 tin of marrowfat peas.
1 chicken stock cube.
2 Oxo cubes.
1 tablespoon of tomato paste.
1 cup of straight macaroni.
1 tin of corned beef.
1 tablespoon of mild curry powder.
1 tsp of Worcestershire sauce.
1sp of white sugar.
Method:
Transport chopped onions into a cooking pot.
Add 5 inches of water (add more if it gets too dry).
Boil onions until soft.
Add your cup of macaroni.
Now add the potatoes to the pot, but make sure they don’t turn to mush. You want them to be slightly al dente.
Add your Worcestershire sauce.
Add your tomato paste.
Add your white sugar (this kills the acid).
Transfer the tin of peas, carrots, and corned beef to the pot and stir until combined. Make sure everything is cooked through, and if your mixture is runny, add a tablespoon of cornstarch to thicken.
In times of tragedy, depression, and joy, food has brought us together. During a particularly troublesome time, my grandparents came to visit with tubs of this very dish. I like to add a bit of salt after plating up, but I do have an addiction to sodium-rich food, so that may not be necessary for everyone.
If you’re anything like my granddad, you’ll want to add a heap of black pepper to it. You’ll definitely want seconds when it comes to Tal-Bulibif. Colour wise, it is the perfect dish for Autumn and Winter; with the browns and oranges. I can’t imagine anything better than coming in from the cold to a large bowl of this meaty, savoury, comforting meal. Malta may be a small island, but they sure know how to eat.
Love that artwork too