For as long as the Australian-born cookbook author, Simon Bajada can remember, there was always something ‘different’ about the Mediterranean dishes he ate growing up.
As the son of an Australian mother and Egyptian-born father with mixed Middle Eastern and Mediterranean heritage, Bajada recalls family meals featuring pasta pies, pasta bakes, hearty soups and stuffed vegetables.
“There was always something different about the food that everyone in the family cooked for big feasts,” says Bajada, who now lives in Sweden. “My aunties would put certain spices in pasta bakes and my uncle always insisted that mint should be in everything. We would get into arguments as to why we thought there were certain twists in the food. It’s actually quite funny.”
It wasn’t until Bajada visited Malta - a set of Mediterranean islands between Italy and the North African coast - five years ago that he was able to finally define the ‘difference’ in his family’s culinary repertoire.
“I grew up in Perth knowing I had Maltese heritage that went way back – my surname is Maltese. My grandmother also used to make traditional Maltese dishes like timpana (pasta pie), rabbit and date-filled pastries (imqaret). But, at the time, we just generalised them as being ‘southern European’ dishes.
“It was only later when I visited Malta as an adult that my Maltese bloodline became very apparent. It was evident in the food. I realised that the ‘twists’ in the dishes I ate as a kid were actually what made the food Maltese.”
Imqaret (translated to mean 'diamond') is a date-filled pastry that's found in many homes and bakeries across the Maltese islands. Source: Photo by Simon Bajada/Hardie Grant Books
Bajada’s unique taste preferences even started to make sense. “My cousin and I used to always lick tomato paste from the jar when we were hungry. Now that’s not a common thing for kids to do. But when I went to Malta, I discovered that tomato paste was a strong part of the cuisine.”
It was only later when I visited Malta as an adult that my Maltese bloodline became very apparent. It was evident in the food.
A personal journey through food
The travel writer’s journey of cultural discovery is one that’s familiar to many Australians with Maltese heritage. With a lack of Maltese restaurants down under, there’s not a great awareness of Maltese cuisine throughout general Australia. When Maltese migrants marry people of other cultures, there’s also a risk of culture loss. For many people of Maltese heritage in Australia, the cuisine requires greater definition.
This is why Bajada decided to write the new cookbook – . It aims to celebrate Maltese cooking and provide home cooks with a greater understanding of Malta’s culinary culture.
“This book presents recipes that detail how people are eating in Malta now. It’s also a good way to give people with Maltese heritage around the world a sense of nostalgia.”
A celebration of Maltese cuisine
The Hardie Grant cookbook features 65 recipes that have been based on research and interviews with people living in Malta about the kind of food that they cook at home today.
Traditional recipes that are still being eaten in households across Malta are in the book including ftira, a ring-shaped sourdough bread that can be filled with tomato, tuna and olives; aljotta soup, a flavour-packed brew of fish and garlic; and pastizzi, a deliciously addictive pastry.
“The Maltese have a sense of emotional attachment to these recipes. These dishes remind them of lunches with family or someone's birthday. That’s why traditional recipes have a real foothold in the cuisine.”
Then there are the practical dishes that have probably stood the test of time because they have worked so well for families across time.
“When you think of Maltese pies – lampuki (fish) pie or spinach and tuna pie – they require a little bit of effort. But once you’ve made them, the dishes last. If you’ve got leftovers, they often taste better the next day and can be eaten cold.”
Many of the recipes in the book include tips on how locals make the dish taste authentic. For example, Bajada explains that it’s common for home cooks to add Malta’s iconic soft drink, Kinnie, to rabbit stew. He also mentions that a sauce of beef olives (bragoli) can be used to create an entrée of spaghetti and offers adaptations for his stuffed marrow recipe if you can't find marrows in your local supermarket. The book even includes a cheat recipe for pastizzi, which is notoriously difficult to make.
In addition to old favourites, the cookbook also includes a few modern interpretations. There’s halva that’s made with pecans (which grow in Malta) instead of almonds and a recipe for bay leaf panna cotta and mulberries combining three Maltese ingredients (bay leaf, dried mulberries and carob syrup).
Marrow is one of Malta's most popular vegetables. But if you can't find it in your local store in Australia, you can always adapt the recipe to suit zucchini. Source: Photo by Simon Bajada/Hardie Grant Books
Within the book, Bajada mentions that the recipe collection is by no means ‘the be-all and end all’ of Maltese cuisine. There are certainly many more recipes that belong to the ancient archipelago’s food history and future.
However, he writes, by sharing his favourite dishes – those he feels are uniquely Maltese and hold a place in the hearts of those living on the islands – he hopes to have inspired the Maltese diaspora living abroad to bring more Maltese cuisine into their kitchen.
“I feel proud to have created this cookbook,” he concludes. “I just want it to provide people of Maltese heritage with a little spark, so they can also feel really proud of Maltese food.”
