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maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 11 MARCH 2015 14 Food Traditional flavours with local gbejniet Nothing gives more of a local twist to any dish than a gbejna. Get some great recipe ideas using gbejniet from last week's episode of Gourmet Today. Sean Gravina gives a quiche Lorraine a local twist and Michael Diacono makes delicate ravioli stuffed with a mixture of fresh gbejniet and dried gbejniet together with borage flowers. He also smokes some gbejniet at home using pine cones for a unique flavour. Don't miss Gourmet Today TV, every Friday on TVM at 18:40. Sean Gravina Ingredients Pastry • 250g plain flour • 150 g butter, cut into small pieces and slightly softened • 1 tsp fine salt • Pinch of caster sugar • 1 egg • 1 tbsp cold Benna milk Filling • 140g salted fatty guanciale • 1 egg • 3 egg yolks • 150ml whipping cream • 150ml double cream • Pinch nutmeg • Salt and pepper • 140g Benna gbejna (1.5 cheeselets) Method 1. To make the pastry, heap the flour on a work surface and make a well. 2. Put in the butter, salt, sugar and egg. 3. Using your fingertips, mix and cream these ingredients together. Little by little, draw in the flour, working the dough delicately until it has a grainy texture. 4. Add the milk and incorporate gently with your fingertips until the dough begins to hold together. 5. Using the palm of your hand, work the dough by pushing it away from you 4 or 5 times until it is smooth. 6. Roll it into a ball, wrap in the cling film and refrigerate until ready to use. 7. Pre-heat the oven to 190°C. 8. Roll out the pastry to a 2mm thickness, using a plate as a guide cut out a circle big enough to fit the tin. Line the tin with the pastry and chill for approx. 20 mins. 9. Prick the pastry case bases. Bake the cases blind, with some beans on parchment paper. 10. Lower the oven setting to 170°C. Remove the beans and paper and return the pastry cases to the oven for 5 mins. Leave in the tins and set aside while you prepare the filling. 11. Cook the guanciale in boiling water for about 20 mins, then drain and cut into lardon and leave to cool. 12. Put the whole egg and yolks in a bowl, mix in the cream with a whisk and season with the nutmeg and salt and pepper. 13. Place the lardons and grated cheese in the pastry case, then fill to the brim with egg mixture. 14. Bake in the oven for 15 mins. 15. Rest on wire wrack and serve with a green salad. This recipe first appeared on Gourmet Today TV, aired on TVM on 6 March, 2015. Michael Diacono Ingredients Pasta • 300g flour • 3 eggs • 1 tsp salt • 1 tbsp olive oil Filling • 6 fresh gbejniet • Handful borage leaves • Handful borage flowers • Salt and pepper Sauce • 1 tbsp butter • Olive oil • 1 clove garlic • Salt and pepper • A few strands saffron Method 1. To make the pasta place the flour directly onto the surface and make a well in the centre. 2. Add the eggs, olive oil and salt and beat the mixture slowly encorporating the flour from the sides. 3. Knead the dough until smooth. 4. Wrap in cling film and place in the fridge for 30 mins. 5. To make the filling place the borage leaves in a pan with some butter and olive oil and allow to wilt and allow to cool. 6. Mix in the fresh gbejniet and grate the dried gbejniet into the mixture. 7. Add a handful of borage flowers and season with salt and pepper. 8. Add the chopped parsley and set aside until ready to use. 9. Roll out the dough, using a pasta machine if you have one. 10. Place teaspoons of filling approx. 1 inch apart. 11. Moisten the sides with water and fold the pasta over the filling and press down to seal. 12. Cut into individual ravioli and place on a floured tray until ready to cook. (You can freeze the ravioli at this stage.) 13. To make the sauce, melt the butter in a pan and add the garlic, saffron, salt and pepper. 14. When ready to serve place the ravioli in boiling water and cook for a couple of minutes until the ravioli come to the top of the boiling water. 15. Place in the pan with the sauce and toss. 16. Serve with a handful of borage flowers. This recipe first appeared on Gourmet Today TV, aired on TVM on 6 March, 2015. Michael Diacono Ingredients • 6 dried gbejniet • Handful baby spinach • 1 beef tomato • 1 pear • Handful pistachios, roasted • Handful basil • Olive oil • Salt and pepper Method 1. Place the pine cones in foil and set them on fire. 2. Place the cheese to one side of the dish. 3. Place the burning pine cones onto the other side of the dish. 4. Cover with two pieces of foil and seal. The fire will go out but the pine cones will keep smoking, imparting flavour to the cheese. 5. Allow to smoke for approx. 10 mins 6. To make the salad place the spinach at the bottom of the dish. 7. Chop the tomato and the pear and place in the dish. 8. Cut the smoked cheese into strips and place on top. 9. Add the basil and pistachios. 10. Season with salt and pepper and add a lug of olive oil. 11. Serve with Maltese bread. This recipe first appeared on Gourmet Today TV, aired on TVM on 6 March, 2015. Quiche Rita Ravioli stuffed with gbejniet in saffron butter and borage flowers Smoked gbejna and pear salad