SPAGHETTI ALLA BOTTARGA DI MUGGINE

This is a great recipe as told to us by Uncommon Malta + Gozo editor, Emma Mattei. Tried and tested, so quick and easy to make, you can literally rustle it up in just a few minutes, it will so remind you of long summer nights, dining out at the water’s edge.

For 4 people, you will need

6 tablespoons of olive oil

4 medium-sized, dry, local garlic, thinly sliced

1 small fresh chilli, finely chopped

Zest and juice of half a large lemon

50g Bottarga di Muggine – we carry a great fresh bottarga from Sardegna

Fresh breadcrumbs – just whizz some ‘dry-ish’ bread in a blender

500g Spaghetti Lunghi di Gragnano – we love the spaghetti lunghi, and the Gragnano ones from Pastificio dei Campi are the works

Get a large pot of salted water started on the fire. While that’s going, gently heat the olive oil in a large pan. Add garlic, chilli, lemon zest. Turn up the heat a notch. Add thinly sliced bottarga. Lower heat after a couple of minutes, just enough time for the bottarga to melt. Turn up the heat again and add the bread crumbs. Sizzle. Add lemon juice. Pasta must be three-quarter’s of the way through its cooking time by now. Using spaghetti tongs, pick spaghetti straight from the pot into the pan and finish its cooking in the bottarga mix, adding olive oil and hot water from the pot as necessary. Toss and mix well. Serve. Divine summer on a plate!

RISOTTO AL TARTUFO

It is the season for the Spring Bianchetto truffle [Tuber Borchii Vitt]. A less pungent one than its winter counterpart, the Bianchetto is equally tasty and provides a more affordable alternative for all truffle lovers. Needless to say, where 5g per person are enough when using the white winter truffle, in this case one should use at least 10g per person. This risotto is simple but delicious if you use good quality ingredients, which are really key to the success of this dish. The secret to a good risotto is the even and gentle boil at which it is cooked as well as the constant stirring, so that what you end up with is an unctuous, creamy consistency and not a sticky one. Always make a fresh stock, using a fresh cut of meat [beef in this case] and keep it warm while you’re cooking the risotto so that it doesn’t alter its temperature when you’re adding stock. All products used in this recipe are available at The White Sheep, of course .

Gently sweat down a finely chopped onion in butter or olive oil. Add Gli Aironi carnaroli or arborio rice [approx 1 cup p/person]. Heat through. Add a glass of white wine and let it evaporate. Stir constantly throughout the cooking process of the risotto. Add warm beef stock, a ladle at a time, letting each dose boil away before you add the next. When the risotto is nearly cooked, add grated Parmigiano Reggiano di Montagna [around 30g p/person]. You should end up with a creamy, fluid consistency. Plate and top with a drizzle of very good extra-virgin, cold-pressed olive oil [Seggiano's or Tenuta di Forci's are both fine examples of delicious olive oils] and shavings of fresh truffle [around 10g p/person]. Serve immediately.