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maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 27 MAY 2015 14 Food Going fresh with Gourmet Today TV Everything is better when it's fresh, and what better time for fresh herbs than spring. Try these recipes from Gourmet Today TV that make use of Malta's freshest herbs that are so abundant at this time of year. Pippa Mattei makes an old-fashioned aljotta made with plenty of fresh basil, mint, marjoram and parsley and Sean Gravina makes Mediterranean shellfish with salsa verde. Catch Gourmet Today TV on TVM every Friday at 18:40. Pippa Mattei Serves 6 Ingredients • 6 small freshly caught fish, or heads and tails of larger • Fish you may be cooking • 1 large onion, finely sliced • 5-10 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped • 500g tomatoes, halved • Some fresh herbs such as basil, mint, marjoram and parsley, washed and roughly chopped • 1 litre water • 2 tbsp tomato puree • 3 tbsp olive oil • Salt and pepper • ½ lemon • 4 tbsp plain rice • Lemon wedges, for serving Method Fry chopped onion in 3 tbsp olive 1. oil. When transparent, add garlic and fry 2. till golden. Add tomatoes, tomato puree, herbs 3. and fish. Toss for one minute, then add the 4. water and seasoning. Simmer for 45 minutes. When all the 5. ingredients are soft, sieve through a vegetable mill, pressing until only the skin and dry bones remain. Return the saucepan to the heat and bring to the boil. Add the rice, and stir in well, then 6. cook until the rice is tender. Remove the soup from the heat, add 7. a good squeeze of half a lemon just before serving. Serve with lemon wedges and lots of 8. fresh Maltese bread. Get more of Pippa Mattei's recipes in her books 25 Years In A Maltese Kitchen and Pippa's Festa. This recipe first appeared on Gourmet Today TV, aired on TVM on 22 May, 2015 Sean Gravina Ingredients • 4 king prawns • 500g mussels and clams • 1 clove garlic • ½ lemon, juice only • Lime wedges, for serving Salsa verde • Small bunch flat leaf parsley • 15-20 basil leaves • 2-3 anchovies • 1 tsp capers • 1 tsp mustard • Pinch sugar • Few drops lemon juice or vinegar • 1-2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil • Freshly ground pepper • 1 chilli • Watercress Method 1. Finely chop the garlic on a large chopping board. 2. Add the herbs, anchovies and capers and chop all together until the ingredients are well mixed and fairly fine in texture. 3. Transfer to a bowl and mix in a little mustard, sugar, lemon juice or vinegar, black pepper and enough olive oil to give a glossy, spoonable consistency. As you add these last ingredients, taste and tweak the mixture till you get something you really like. 4. Set aside. This sauce will keep, covered, in the fridge for a few days. 5. When ready to serve, prepare the shellfish. 6. Heat some olive oil in a pan and add the garlic clove whole. 7. Add the mussels and clams, season with salt and pepper. 8. Add the lemon juice and cover until the shells open. 9. To prepare the king prawns, slice in half in their shell and remove the vein. 10. Grill meat side down on a hot grill pan for a few mins until the flesh changes colour. 11. Serve the shellfish, topped with king prawns and drizzle over the salsa verde and place lime wedges at the side of the plate. This recipe first appeared on Gourmet Today TV, aired on TVM on 22 May, 2015. Pippa's old-fashioned 'Aljotta' – Maltese fish soup Mediterranean shellfish with salsa verde