Pasta master

THIS MALTESE BAKED PASTA PIE WAS SUCH A FAVOURITE IT BECAME A SUNDAY SPECIAL.

EVERY SUNDAY, Maggie Vella would head to her small kitchen to cook two special dishes. One was a simple chicken-based soup that became known as ‘Nanna soup’; the other a baked pasta pie, called timpana, a traditional recipe from her Maltese homeland. “Nanna’s timpana was a staple at family get-togethers as well as a regular dish at home,” says granddaughter Tamarah Pienaar. “My grandparents were very proud of their Maltese heritage, even though they actually lived in Australia for a lot longer.”

Maggie and her husband Paul also loved each other for over 60 years. The couple married in April 1946, just after World War II. “The story my aunty tells is that they met while walking along a promenade in Valletta,” Tamarah explains.

After the war, Paul worked with the Royal Navy as a civilian. The couple decided to migrate so Paul could spend less time at sea and more with his family, and to give their children better opportunities. They arrived in Australia in 1961 with their daughter, 14-year-old Michelle, and 10-year-old son, Charles (Tamarah’s father). A second daughter, Marise, was born on Aussie soil. The family settled in Kingsgrove, NSW, and Paul worked as a boilermaker at the Garden Island naval base while Maggie cared for her family.

Tamarah, who grew up 15 minutes from her grandparents, says Maggie was a talented seamstress. She made all her own clothes, her daughters’ wedding dresses, and special pieces for her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Maggie was a keen gardener too. “They only had a small backyard but it was full of flowers, citrus trees, grapes, figs, pumpkins, passionfruit and whatever else she wanted to grow.”

Maggie would regularly cook up a storm in the spotless kitchen that was so small the fridge was kept in another room. “Every winter she made imbuljuta tal-qastan

— a traditional spiced hot chocolate with chestnuts. It was another family favourite,” Tamarah recalls. She also made

pudina tal-hobz (bread pudding), stuffed eggplant and

figolli (cut-out Easter biscuits filled with marzipan). “She also made the most amazing Maltese ravioli — by hand — that would quickly get eaten by impromptu visitors.”

Tamarah says she inherited her nanna’s love of cooking and is grateful she obtained a number of her recipes, including timpana, before she passed away in 2010. “Nanna’s timpana is similar to lasagne but much easier. I make it for family occasions such as Christmas and for everyday meals as my son loves it, too.”

TIMPANA

Serves 8–10

1 large onion, peeled, finely chopped 500g beef mince

1 beef stock cube, crumbled

1 bacon stock cube, crumbled

½ cup hot water

1 medium eggplant, cut into 5mm cubes ½ teaspoon curry powder

½ cup tomato paste salt and pepper, to taste

500g pasta (such as penne or shells) 3 large eggs

2 tablespoons milk

250g ricotta cheese

2 tablespoons grated parmesan extra ¼ cup grated parmesan

3–4 sheets frozen puff pastry, thawed

Place a large non-stick frying pan over a medium-high heat. Cook onion and mince, stirring, until browned. Dissolve stock cubes with hot water in a small jug. Add stock to meat mixture with eggplant, curry powder and tomato paste. Reduce heat to medium and simmer, stirring, for 5 minutes or until thickened. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a large bowl and set aside to cool at room temperature.

Meanwhile, cook pasta in boiling salted water until tender. Drain and allow to cool.

Preheat oven to 200˚C. Grease a 4-litre-capacity shallow baking dish. Using a fork, combine 2 eggs, 1 tablespoon milk, ricotta and 2 tablespoons parmesan in a bowl. Add to meat mixture with pasta and mix well. Spoon into prepared dish and sprinkle with extra parmesan.

Beat remaining egg and milk in a small bowl. Join as many pastry sheets needed to cover pan by brushing edges with a little beaten egg mixture, then pressing firmly to seal. Carefully arrange joined pastry over baking pan, trimming any excess. Using fingertips, press pastry around edge of pan to seal.

Use leftover trimmed pastry to decorate top of timpana. Prick pastry top about 8 times with point of a sharp knife to let steam escape. Brush top of pastry with remaining egg mixture. Bake for 30–45 minutes or until pastry is golden brown. Serve hot.

SHARE YOUR FAMILY FAVOURITES Do you have a recipe that has been passed down through generations? Send it to us, the story behind it and a copy of a photograph of the relative who passed it on. Remember to include a telephone number. Email vcarey@ bauer-media.com.au or send a letter to Heirloom Recipe, Country Style,

PO Box 4088, Sydney NSW, 1028.