Remember that humungous bag of unwaxed, organic lemons that I was given a while back? Well, to say I've been up to my elbows in lemons would be a complete understatement. But I'm happy to announce that I'm almost at the end of the lemons, which in itself was a huge feat as that bag weighed close to eight kilos.

Hence, these past few weeks we've been feasting on lemon tart and breakfasting on fluffy, golden pancakes with lemon sugar. I've also made some of the most amazing lemon ice-cream ever and I pinky-promise to post the recipe soon. I've also made mountains of lemony cacik, baba ganoush and soft white cheese and walnut dip.

Although the highlight of my recent lemon stint has been making my very own limoncello. Not only was it dead easy to make, but it tasted just as good as the real stuff from Amalfi. So now that I'm confident with the process and quantities I'm going to get cracking on a dozen or so more bottles as I intend to hand them out as gifts at Christmas time.

 

Malta's central Mediterranean sea location has given it great strategic importance thus allowing a sequence of powers including the Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Sicilians, Knights of St John, French and British to rule the islands throughout history. Despite it's turbulent past, Malta finally gained independence from the United Kingdom on the 21st of September 1964 and this day is celebrated as Independence Day or Jum l-Indipendenza.

On Tuesday evening I had the great privilege of attending Indipendenza as Shane Delia and the fabulous team at Maha celebrated Maltese Independence day here in Melbourne in unique culinary style. The room was full of dignitaries and famous Maltese sporting and cultural personalities. But I guess the thing that excited me the most was meeting fellow second generation Maltese, who are doing amazing things both locally and abroad to raise the collective cultural awareness of Malta.

This new generation of Maltese in Australia are passionate, creative, imaginative and bright. They are also warm, exuberant and distinctly Maltese. One person who is all of these things is Shane Delia and his food is both modern and refreshing, yet is firmly grounded in the traditions of his ancestors.

I have wanted to make b'stilla or pastilla, the national Moroccan dish for some time now but I've been put off by a couple of things, namely the pigeons and the copious amounts of eggs. In hindsight, I should have gone straight to Claudia Roden as her 'poor mans' version in Arabesque is spectacular, as it contains neither pigeons nor eggs.

B'stilla is thought to have been brought back by the Moors from Andalusia and it is a favourite at Moroccan weddings and is often served at festive occasions. In Morocco b'stilla is made with paper-thin warka pastry similar to Turkish yuftka and Greek filo pastry. If you're unable to source warka or yuftka pastry you can substitute with filo, as that will do just fine.

Once you try this particular b'stilla you will see why it is more to my liking than the more elaborate version that is heaving with eggs. Hence, my extremely fussy son Dante not only inhaled this scrumptious pie but he then went back for seconds. Now you and I both know that he wouldn't have come within a one-mile radius of this chicken and onion pie had there been the slightest hint of egg or pigeon in it!

Lemons have always played an integral role in my cooking and I find that they are a constant companion in my kitchen. I'm continually using lemons in salads, dips and dressings or preserving them to use in Moroccan dishes such as tagines. I also tend to use lemons in sweet tarts, crostata and sorbet.


The other day I was given a rather large bag of unwaxed, organic lemons from one of the mums from school. I might add that there were close to eight kilos of lemons in that bag. I kid you not, just take a look at the photo below.


Now this is where you come into the picture. I was hoping to get some of your lemony suggestions and ideas. So, what do you think I should do with this bag of lemons? Do you have a particular recipe to share with us, that involves lemons? If so please leave your suggestions and recipes in the comments section below.

I was thinking about making Alison's famed local Limoncello or maybe some of Bron's lemon and blackcurrant syrup shot popsicles - but I am open to your suggestions. 
 
Come now, don't be shy. I need your help as these lemons are begging to be transformed into something bracingly brilliant!


A Mediterranean Feast of the
Mythic Islands of Malta & Sicily

June 7th-17th, 2011
Ten day fully escorted gastronomic tour

 
Download 'A Mediterranean Feast' 2011 Tour Brochure ( 111kb pdf)

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