Better late than never?
Sorry for the late post. Definitely need to keep an eye on my time management!
A vegan Christmas in Malta, I mean who would have thought it? It is extremely seldom for anyone in Malta to have been raised into a vegan family; hence my concern of being starved for the 3 days that I was there.
We arrived in Malta in the early hours of Christmas morning and we headed straight to our villa to sleep. After getting a couple of hours of rest we got dressed up and headed straight to the beach; I know right, Christmas day on the beach!
After soaking up some morning sun, we began our journey to our family friend’s house in Mosta. In true Maltese tradition the food did not let us down. With its rustic character, and flavours influenced by North Africa the feast was a perfect representation of a central Mediterranean cuisine. The meal consisted of five courses which were all accompanied by a glass of local wine and Kinnie (Malta’s own non-alcoholic drink made from bitter oranges and 18 aromatic herbs).
Course two: Golden minestra (thick vegetable soup) served with Maltese bread and oil.
Course three: Maltese ravioli
Course four:Roast Maltese potatoes, Jollof rice, steamed vegetables, sweet potato falafel.
Course five: Fresh fruit
I was so overwhelmed with the effort that was put into my meal as I was surrounded by meat eaters; but they made the effort to prepare fresh food that was vegan friendly; whilst still keeping the traditional flavours. Throughout my short break I also came across Sottozero the Gelato Factory in Bugibba. Sottozero is an ice cream parlour that offers vegan, dairy free, gluten free, nut free and lactose free ice cream. A year vegan this was by far the best ‘ice cream’ I have ever tasted. I tried the chocolate rice option and it didn’t disappoint.
Overall my vegan Christmas in Malta exceeded my expectations and I would definitely recommend this trip to anybody vegan, or even those looking to explore new flavours.
