Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/740013
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 19 OCTOBER 2016 14 Food Local prickly pears on Gourmet Today TV The prickly pear is falling off the cactuses at the side of the road at the moment. While we eat this fruit towards the end of the summer as October signals the start of a new season we tend to forget this local fruit. Michael Diacono made some recipes for Gourmet Today TV using prickly pear jam, made by local honey expert Ray Sciberras. He makes both sweet and savoury dishes with this delicious local jam. A pork fillet in a sweet and sticky prickly pear jam sauce and an English apple crumble given a Mediterranean twist. Don't miss Gourmet Today TV, aired every Saturday at 16:05. Pork fillet with prickly pear jam Apple and prickly pear crumble COMING UP THIS WEEK This week Michael Diacono gets busy in the kitchen with yet another Mediterranean fruit in season at this time of the year – the pomegranate. He makes his own pomegranate molasses and makes a selection of Middle Eastern-inspired dishes. He makes a muhammara – a brightly coloured dip using sweet red pepper and pomegranate and a chicken thigh recipe served with a sweet and nutty sauce. Don't miss Gourmet Today TV, this Saturday at 16:05. Ingedients • 1 pork fillet • 1 fennel bulb • 1 clove garlic • 4-5 prickly pears • 1 glass white wine • Few sage leaves • 2 tbsp prickly pear jam Method 1. Cut the pork fillet into medallions and season. 2. Chop the fennel bulb into bite size chunks and sauté in olive oil with the garlic. 3. Add the medallions to the pan. 4. Place the peeled prickly pears into a food processor and pass through a sieve to remove the seeds and pulp. 5. Add the white wine and the sage and allow to simmer until the alcohol evaporates. 6. Add the jam and the prickly pear juice and season with salt and pepper. 7. Allow to simmer for 5-8 mins until the pork is cooked through. 8. Serve with boiled potatoes. This recipe first appeared on Gourmet Today TV, aired on TVM on 15 October, 2016. Ingedients • Knob of butter • 3 apples, peeled and chopped • ½ cup sugar • Handful dried cranberries • 1 pod vanilla • 1 stick cinnamon • Handful walnuts • 2 tsp prickly pear jam Crumble • 1 cup flour • 200g butter • ½ cup sugar Method 1. Melt the butter in a pan and add the apples. 2. Add the sugar and allow the apples to caramelise. 3. Add the dried cranberries. 4. Slice the vanilla pod lengthways and scrape the seeds out with the back of a knife. 5. Add the seeds to the pan as well as the pod. 6. Add the cinnamon. 7. Add the bajtar liqueur and flambé. 8. Place in an oven proof dish. 9. Top with walnuts and place spoonfuls of the jam on top 10. To make the crumble add the butter to the flour, add the sugar and process in a food processor to crumb. 11. Place over the apples 12. Bake in the oven for 20mins in 180°C oven. 13. Serve with a scoop of ice cream or fresh cream. This recipe first appeared on Gourmet Today TV, aired on TVM on 15 October, 2016.