Gozitan farmer's salad, fresh cheese, pomegranates and cucumber

A true taste of Gozo, this colourful salad combines warm, rustic bread with creamy Maltese cheese, crisp cucumber and jewel-like pomegranate seeds.

A true taste of Gozo, this salad combines warm, rustic ftira bread with creamy Maltese cheese, crisp cucumber, and jewel-like pomegranate seeds. Fresh, colourful, and full of island flavours, it’s a celebration of Malta’s local produce and simple, wholesome cuisine. Credit: Josh Martin

• serves

  4

• prep

  10 minutes

• cook

  15 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Stream free On Demand

Gozo & The Final Feast

episode • Shane Delia's Malta • 

Travel • 

25m

G

episode • Shane Delia's Malta • 

Travel • 

25m

G

Ingredients

• 300 g ftira bread (Maltese flatbread, see Note), cut in 2 cm chunks
• 3 sprigs thyme, leaves picked and chopped
• Olive oil, for seasoning
• Salt, for seasoning
• Freshly cracked black pepper, for seasoning 

Salad dressing

• 500 g grated ox heart tomatoes (these need to be really ripe)
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• 60 g Maltese tomato paste (or regular tomato paste) 
• 80 ml sherry vinegar
• 90 ml extra-virgin olive oil 
• Freshly cracked pepper, to taste
• Salt, to taste

Salad

• 200 g cucumber, peeled and diced in 2 cm chunks, seeds scraped out and discarded
• 100 g pomegranate seeds
• 100 g Fresh Maltese cheese (substitute with feta or goat's cheese if Maltese cheese is not available)
• 100 g peppered Maltese cheese (as above)
• 100 g red onion, diced 
• ¼ bunch fennel fronds 
• 80 g lettuce leaves 
• 25 g mint
• Fried capers 
• 30 g dried Maltese cheese (or parmesan if not available), to serve

Instructions

1. Season cut ftir heavily with thyme, olive oil, salt and pepper and and toast on a BBQ or grill until charred, or in the oven at 180˚C until crunchy and crispy. Set aside.
2. For the dressing, grate tomatoes with a box grater into a bowl, keeping all the juice and discarding the excess skin. Add garlic, tomato paste, sherry vinegar, cracked pepper, salt and olive oil and whisk to combine.
3. Add the cucumbers, pomegranate seeds, cheeses, red onion, fennel fronds, lettuce leaves and mint. Toss the ftira bread through the salad mix and gently toss everything together.
4. To serve, sprinkle over fried capers and grate the hard cheese over the top of the salad with a microplane until it covers the entirety of the salad.

Note

Ftira is a traditional Maltese bread, usually made in a ring shape. You can read more about it here.

Watch how to make this recipe on Episode 6 of Shane Delia’s Malta, streaming free on SBS On Demand.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.

Stream free On Demand

Gozo & The Final Feast

episode • Shane Delia's Malta • 

Travel • 

25m

G

episode • Shane Delia's Malta • 

Travel • 

25m

G