Street Food
Travel to the corners of the Mediterranean Sea with these tantalising street food recipes prepared by Corinthia Palace Hotel.
Food by: Claire Giordamina & Reuben Borg /Photography by: Sean Mallia
Calamarata
2 whole fresh calamari
400gr calamarata pasta (or mezze paccheri)
45ml extra virgin olive oil
3 garlic cloves finely chopped
3 shallots finely chopped
25gr tomato paste
50ml dry white wine
200gr cherry tomatoes cut in half
1 chilli seeded and diced
50gr nduja sausage
Basil leaves to decorate
Clean the calamari by removing the head, cut out the eyes and beak and the tentacles. Clean the inside by removing the cartilage and interns, peel the outer skin and then rinse again. Cut the tube into rings keeping them a similar size to the pasta.
Heat 25ml of the olive oil and sauté the onion and garlic without browning them. Add the tomato paste and cook out. When it starts to release oil, add the wine and reduce. Now add the nduja, chilli and cherry tomatoes and cook over a low heat. In the meantime, have a pot of boiling salted water ready to cook the pasta. Drain the pasta just before it becomes ‘al dente’ and reserve some of the cooking liquid. Heat a pan and add the remaining olive oil. Lightly fry the calamari without browning. Add them to the sauce with the cooked pasta and water. Adjust seasoning and serve immediately decorate with some fresh basil leaves
Israeli couscous with mussels & clams
Serves 4
1 large head of garlic, wrapped in foil and baked until soft (30 minutes)
80ml olive oil
300gr Israeli couscous
1 large onion finely diced
2 tsp fennel seeds toasted and crushed
250gr cherry tomatoes
25gr tomato paste
1 lemon (peel only)
200gr canned tomatoes blended
90ml white wine
Salt & pepper
300gr mussels
300gr clams
Bunch of parsley chopped
Remove the foil from the garlic and, when cool enough to handle, squeeze out the cloves and discard the skin. Finely chop the caramelised garlic.
In the meantime, place the couscous in a pot with water and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 15 – 20 minutes until just cooked to the bite, then drain.
In a large pan heat the olive oil (reserve 15ml) and add half the garlic, onions, fennel seeds, lemon peel and a pinch of salt; fry gently with colour until soft. Add the tomato paste, cherry tomatoes and tomato sauce and cook for 15-20 minutes on a low flame until the cherry tomatoes are soft and yielding. Add the drained couscous to the sauce with some cold water and simmer gently for 10 minutes.
Heat a pan and add a tablespoon of olive oil, the remaining garlic and the mussels and clams. Deglaze with wine and cover on a high flame. As soon as the shells open to add the chopped parsley, drain and add some of the liquid to the couscous. Serve the couscous in a bowl topped with the mussels and clams.
Moroccan Lamb Tagine
Serves 4
100ml olive oil
4 lamb shanks
10gr smoked paprika
3gr ground turmeric
2gr ground cumin
1gr cayenne pepper
5gr cinnamon stick
1 piece star anise
2gr ground cloves
2gr green cardamom pods
4gr ground ginger
3 gr ground coriander
1 bay leaf
Pinch saffron threads
5 garlic cloves crushed
2 onions finely chopped
2 carrots cut into cubes
Large piece of fresh ginger grated
450ml chicken stock
25gr tomato paste
30ml honey
Handful almonds fried until golden brown
Heat half the oil and cook the lamb until a deep golden brown, then transfer to an oven dish. In a clean pan heat, the oil and lightly cook the onion, garlic and carrots. Add the ginger and all the spices, cook for a further two minutes then add the tomato paste, cook down and add the chicken stock. Bring to the boil and check to season. Stir in the honey and pour the sauce over the lamb shanks. Cover with greaseproof paper and a lid and cook in an oven set at 175C for 1 ½ to 2 hours (until meat is tender). Remove the shanks and return the sauce to the stove to reduce to the desired consistency. Spoon over the lamb shanks and decorate with the toasted almonds.
Sprinkle with chopped coriander
Serve with plenty of warm flat bread.
Maloreddus with Octopus and Prawns
400gr maloreddus pasta
250gr cherry tomatoes
Sprig of fresh thyme
65ml olive oil
2 shallots finely diced
6 garlic cloves grated
5gr caraway seeds toasted and crushed
5gr cumin seeds toasted and crushed
5gr coriander seeds toasted and crushed
20gr tomato paste
30gr sun dried tomatoes finely chopped
100ml red wine
10gr sugar
350gr passata di pomodoro (sieved)
Salt and pepper
15gr rose harissa
8 large king prawns
1 octopus (cooked in a red wine court bouillon) sliced
1 tsp grated lemon zest
Bunch of chopped herbs (mint, dill, basil & parsley)
Drizzle the cherry tomatoes with some olive oil and fresh thyme and roast in a hot oven for 10 minutes. Heat a large pan and drizzle in about a tablespoon of oil. Add the chopped shallots and cook until golden brown, then add the chopped garlic, caraway, cumin, coriander, sun-dried tomatoes, passata di Pomodoro and tomato paste; cook for a few minutes until fragrant. Now add the octopus and wine, cook for about five minutes, then stir in the sugar, black pepper and add a pinch of salt. Bring to a simmer and reduce the heat to cook for about 15 minutes.
Cook the pasta in boiling salted water until just before the al dente stage, as you want to finish cooking in the sauce to absorb all the flavours.
Add the pasta to the simmering sauce as well as the roasted cherry tomatoes and the king prawns and cook for a few minutes. Stir in the rose harissa and chopped herbs. Scatter the grated lemon zest on top and serve immediately
