Classic Maltese Brodu[Broth]

The country that we are visiting this month in the MENA[Middle Eastern and North African] Cooking club is Malta!

I am so new to this country and its cuisine so I thought it is better to have a little knowledge about the background.


The island-state of Malta is located in the Mediterranean Sea, south of Sicily (Italy), it consists of three islands: Malta, Gozo and Comino, of which Malta is the largest island. In its history the Maltese archipelago was strategically important for the domination of the Mediterranean. Malta became an EU member in May of 2004.[Source]

 The Maltan history dates back to 3800 BC. The island's oldest legacy is the megalithic temples that date from as far back as 3800 BC. The island has been occupied by many other nations, including the Greeks, Romans and Normans.

Here are some interesting trivia about this country...


 While reading about the cuisine, here is what I found out...
Some of the popular dishes are
 There are so many more but I will stop with these dishes...
                       
So now let us come back to MENA's cooking club...

The host for this month is Yasmeen from Wandering Spice and these are the dishes that were proposed for this month's challenge...

Soup: Brodu (classic vegetable soup)
Savory: Pastizzi (beautiful savory puff pastry with ricotta or curried peas !)
Sweet: Lemon, Ricotta and Almond flourless cake (combines ricotta and almonds, two classic Maltese ingredients)

Out of these recipes I made the broth / soup. I also wanted to make the pastizzi as it sounded simple and delicious but somehow  could not make for this challenge. I have it bookmarked so will be making is some day :)

So here is the hearty soup from Malta....

I used:
Adapted from Yasmeen's Recipe

Carrot- 1,peeled and chopped
Pasta- a handful
Potato-1, cubed
Onion-1 finely chopped
Garlic-2 pearls,chopped
Bay leaf- 1
Celery- 2 stalks,chopped
Tomato paste- 2 teaspoons
Salt to taste
Oil-1 teaspoon
Vegetable stock-400ml

To garnish
Coriander leaves
Grated cheese

Heat oil in a pressure cooker and add the onion, garlic,celery and bay leaf.Saute till the onion turns soft. Add tomato paste and cook for a minute. Add the chopped vegetables and mix well.Pour in the vegetable stock and bring to boil. Add salt and the pasta.



Mix well and pressure cook for 1 hiss/ whistle / 6-7 minutes / till the pasta and vegetables are done. Once the pressure releases, open the pressure cooker and check for done-ness. Add more stock if needed and bring to a boil and remove from heat.


Serve, with a crusty bread / as such ,garnished with coriander leaves and grated cheese.


Note:

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