Legacy
Legacy
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As part of Cares’ Cake Week, we’re sharing baking memories from Love Your Neighbour friends from Kilburn to Kentish Town and beyond. Today we hear from Love Your Neighbour pair Chiara and Doris, about baking memories from their childhoods.
Love Your Neighbour introduces older and younger neighbours across Camden and Islington, who meet up one-to-one, to enjoy conversation and sharing stories with one another.
Doris and Chiara were introduced in January, and enjoy hanging out together every week, when Chiara pops round to visit. They both grew up in Malta; Doris quizzes Chiara on how Malta has changed, and about her most recent trip back.
“I love seeing Chiara and having her company. She is a darling, and worth her weight in gold.”
Chiara finds it fascinating hearing about what Malta was like in Doris’ day, including Doris’s experience of living there during World War Two.
“Doris and I have really hit it off and time honestly flies with her. We do chat a lot about growing up in Malta, but also just about general stuff like travel, foods we like, things we have done.”
Both Chiara and Doris agree that Maltese food is not only delicious, but maybe even helps you to stay youthful! Neither of them could guess the other’s age when they first met, and both underestimated.
“It’s the mediterranean diet!” Doris joked.
Their must-try Maltese baked good is the traditional savoury pastizzi. These are crispy parcels of filo pastry which typically encase either ricotta cheese or mashed peas.
As Chiara described them: “They're the cheapest snack you can buy in Malta (at maybe 30 cents each) but one of the tastiest, most indulgent things you can eat. Their only downfall? A single one packs around 400 calories! And you need to at least try one of each of course. I can just imagine Doris saying ‘Mmmmmmmmm!’.
Doris recommends the cheese-cake, while Chiara prefers the pea-cake.
If after reading this you feel tempted to try making pastizzi yourself, then see the recipe below, taken from taste.com.au.
We look forward to sharing more food memories with you tomorrow, and another delicious recipe!
Pastizzi
Ingredients:
175g dried green split peas
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small brown onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
3 teaspoons mild curry powder
4 sheets frozen puff pastry, partially thawed
1 egg, lightly beaten
Method:
Place peas in a saucepan. Cover with cold water. Bring to the boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium. Simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes or until peas are tender. Drain.
Heat oil in a large frying pan over high heat. Cook onion and garlic for 5 minutes or until softened. Add curry powder. Cook, stirring, for 30 seconds or until fragrant. Add peas and 1/4 cup cold water. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until liquid has evaporated. Set aside to cool completely.
Preheat oven to 220°C/200°C fan-forced. Line 2 baking trays with baking paper.
Using a 10cm round cutter, cut 5 rounds from each pastry sheet. Brush edge of rounds with egg. Spoon 1 level tablespoon mixture onto the centre of each round. Spread to form a 5cm log. Fold up 2 sides of pastry to enclose log. Pinch to seal. Twist ends to form points. Place on prepared trays. Brush with remaining egg.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until puffed and golden. Stand for 4 minutes before serving.