Yells, Bells and Smells

Photo © Rob Jones

Prepare for a few wistful posts about travel. Missing it so much. Digging through my photos reminding myself of past freedom, past food, and past trips with AMM.

One highly memorable trip to Malta, although I forget when it was. It might be all of ten years ago now if not more. A little off season break as I recall to soak up some less pale sunshine than the UK, garlic, fish and some very, very rustic local wine which these days would certainly double for hand sanitiser.

Lord Byron descrbed it as an island of ‘yells, bells and smells,’ and it certainly hasn’t changed much in 200 years. He was there, Valetta, for 20 days in 1809 - a largely unplanned extended stay after having to quarantine due to an outbreak of yellow fever at his last stopover.

We stayed in a curious hotel in St. Julians, so a little way out from Valetta. It is best described as a ‘budget hotel,’ but actually it was quite nice. Lovely breakfast. Really handy for the buses - more on that in another post. We were almost the only guests, apart from a youth football team on the island for a tournament.

A marina (Portomaso), which was closed, and a few curious little local restaurants nearby. Spinola Bay was much more interesting, yet more international foodwise. It had a ‘piratical’ flavour.

I know I’ve been before, early 90’s maybe, because I recall falling in love with a particular local dish - a kind of Lasagne. And I bought a pair of white pants, which fitted me very well. I think I must be proportioned like a Malteser.

Anyway, I digress…

Imqarrun il-forn

Ingredients:

500g Minced pork
1 Onion
3 Cloves garlic
250g Pancetta
1 Can of tomatoes
Tomato Paste

500g Straight Macaroni.
2 Large Eggs (beaten.)
250g hard Cheese of choice.
2 Tablespoons of Parmesan.

Method:
Fry off the onion in a pan with some oil and butter.
Add the garlic and cook briefly.
Add the mince and pancetta, seasoning and cook until browned.
Add the tomatoes and paste to taste.
Meanwhile, cook the pasta in some salted water and a dab of olive oil, but slightly undercook it. It finishes cooking when it’s baked later.

In a bowl, mix the sauce and the pasta together

In yet another bowl, mix the eggs and parmesan, then add it to the mince/pasta mix.

Into a buttered baking dish. Sprinkle the cheese liberally and bake for about 40 minutes till it’s crispy on top and bubbling underneath.

Let it cool slight before eating. It’s even better the next day as it sets into a kind of cake-effect.

RJ