This week’s What’s Cooking World is proud to present a blogger who is charismatic, nice, always able to put a smile on your face and a great cook. She’s come all the way from the U.K. to delight us with this delicious dish. Please put your hands together for Pixie of You Say Tomahto, I Say Tomayto.

I’m really honoured that Ben asked me to write a guest post for his “What’s Cooking World” Series. I truly enjoy reading all the entries and it’s fascinating to learn about dishes from other parts of the world. My first thoughts were, what shall I cook and share with everyone?

Growing up in NYC, I have a love for food from all cultures. Now living in the U.K.. I’ve also grown to enjoy popular dishes from here. However, I wanted to offer Ben’s readers a dish they may have yet tried, a cuisine that may be new for most. Since, my parents are from the island of Gozo, Malta and I’ve been recording my mother’s recipes from overseas; I felt a Maltese dish would be most appealing and new.

This is a family recipe which my mum learned from her mother. Changes have been made to it along the way. While my Nanna lived in Gozo, she had to feed a family of 9. With little money, she would often make a Cauliflower Stew; I believe it was once known as a Widow’s Soup since it was so inexpensive to make. Originally, it was made with just vegetables and perhaps some Gbejniet (sheep or goat’s cheese). When my grandparents immigrated to NYC my grandmother could finally afford to add some corn beef to the stew. My mum followed in my grandmother’s footsteps in cooking the stew and somehow along the way the gbejniet was ‘lost’ . Though, I recall my mother making fresh cheese at home to place into the stew. Perhaps, she no longer wants to spend time making it anymore and honestly, I can’t blame her. Though, I will certainly ask her or intend to learn once we’re back in Sunny Gozo.

Cauliflower Stew

Ingredients
(serves 4-6)

1 large onion
2 carrots, chopped
1 small cauliflower
4 potatoes, quartered
3-4 eggs (or an egg pp)
olives
3 tbsp tomato paste
sun dried tomato
2 cups of water
marjoram (dried herbs are fine)
mint
handful of peas
1 can of corn beef , sliced into 4 pieces (optional)
a celery stick
handful of string beans
handful of chopped parsley

Brown the onions with the sun dried tomato. Add the tomato paste, dried marjoram and mint, with about half a cup of water. Stir and let simmer for 10 min.

Add the potatoes and carrots, cover with two cups of water, and season with salt and pepper.

Let the potatoes and carrots cook for about 20 min on medium heat. Add the cauliflower florets, olives, string beans and peas. Simmer for about 20 min or until everything is cooked through.

Add 2-3 eggs (or one pp) and the sliced corn beef about 8-10 min before the end of cooking time. Throw in some chopped parsley towards the end.

If you’re a vegetarian simply leave the meat out! If you fancy sausages, you can fry the sausages in the beginning along with the chopped onion. However, I do recommend the corn beef over the sausages! Serve with some of your favourite bread.

Some information on Maltese Cuisine and the islands of Gozo and Malta. You can read about other Maltese recipes on my food blog. They include pizza, pies, minestra, squid and for those a bit more adventurous, rabbit.