A Maltese Christmas

Between the second half of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century, the Maltese Christmas table evolved into something very unusual indeed: a mix of English and Sicilian festive fare that has been woven into a Maltese Christmas. With a Nordic Christmas tree and a Sicilian presepio, that just completes the picture. Here, Matty Cremona gives some of her recipes to put you in the mood.

A traditional Maltese Christmas lunch is often a marathon meal of heroic proportions. It starts off with drinks and little appetisers: nuts, olives, smoked salmon, Parma ham, tiny crostini topped with a little liver pâté. Or there might be something sweet, like stuffed dates, marrons glacé and chocolate truffles. The meal begins with a small bowl of stock, made from the neck, wing-tips and giblets of the main course – the turkey – and carrot, onion and celery. A dash of sherry might be added to give it a stronger flavour. Then there is the timpana, best served in small portions but eaten in huge quantities nonetheless. Turkey follows, though before World War II it was usually a goose for the well-to-do and a chicken for the less so. Gammon is sometimes served along with the turkey, giving an alternative to those who are not too fond of the big bird. The traditional Maltese Christmas sweet is the qagħqa tal-għasel, but this has become everyday fare available in supermarkets. The British legacy of mince pies and plum pudding remain with us strictly at Christmas. A different kind of peculiarly Maltese Christmas dessert is the soufflé, which is nothing like a real soufflé. In more Anglicised Maltese homes it is called trifle. The influence is in fact British trifle, and it is similar to the Italian zuppa Inglese, the name denoting the origin.

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