Cultural life in Malta evolved based upon the numerous influences that were brought to the little Mediterranean island over the years. It is no surprise that our cuisine reflects this with influences from Europe and the Middle East.

The Maltese recipe shown here is for stuffed peppers. I’m not quite sure where it originated from but I know that there are variants across the Mediterranean basin. I have seen this being cooked in many different ways on the island and there is no single recipe for it. When ingredients were scarce due to war or a general lack of supplies, people improvised in many ways and the resultant quirky ways of cooking soon were handed down the generations.

Here is my take on the recipe; the measures here serve 4 people:

Ingredients

• 8 large green peppers. Corny jokes aside, choose peppers that have a reasonably flat bottom as you will need to stand them up in a pan. Personally, I tend to choose different coloured peppers (yellow, red and orange) to add some visual variety to the serving dish.
• 150 g white bread. Some people include the crust in this recipe but I prefer to  discard the crusts and just use the soft, white interior.
• 4 tablespoons of milk
• 1 tablespoon parsley
• 2 tablespoons tomato chutney
• 400 g minced pork. Personally, I mix equal amounts of minced beef and pork for a tastier dish.
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Put a small amount of oil into a frying pan and heat. Once the oil starts heating, place the meat into the pan and lightly fry it. Stir until the meat browns.
2. Take the meat off the heat and let it cool.
3. Fill a pot with water. You will need enough water to immerse the peppers. Add a pinch of salt to the water and bring it to the boil. If you don’t have a pot large enough for this, you can always cook the peppers in groups of 2 or 3.
4. Carefully slice the tops off the peppers and put them aside as you’ll need them later.
5. Scoop the core of the peppers out and remove all the fiddly seeds. These can be discarded.
6. Wash the peppers thoroughly, then drop them into the boiling water and cook for 3 minutes. This is meant to soften them, so don’t overdo the timing.
7. While the peppers cool, crumble the bread and place into a bowl. Add the milk and mix to soften.
8. Chop the parsley and add to the bread. Mix.
9. Add the chutney, the meat and some salt and pepper (to taste) to the bread. Mix.
10. Heat an oven to 160 degrees. While the oven is heating, stuff the peppers with this mixture. Carefully use the tops of the peppers to cover them up again.
11. When the oven is hot, place the peppers into a baking dish. Add water to the dish – about 1 cm deep. This water will start to evaporate in the oven and so will keep the peppers humid for a while.
12. Cook the peppers in the oven for 35 minutes, or until the peppers are soft. Depending on your oven, the water may evaporate sooner so monitor them carefully after the 20 minute mark.

I tend to serve them with rice as an accompaniment but you can easily use a leafy salad too.

As we say in Malta: L-ikla t-tajba!

Do you have a favourite regional recipe? Leave a comment listing your favourite one!