COOKING WITH FIRE

by Mattia Busuttil

Mattia Busuttil is usually known for his work in the igaming sector as Head of Rest of World at PressEnter Group, but when he’s not in the office, you can find him tucked away in a townhouse in Sliema, utilising every ounce of outside space for his cooking and growing his own produce.

Mattia is a self-taught home chef, with his passion and love lying in cooking with fire. Mattia cooks with fire not only for the immersive flavours smoke bestows upon the carefully chosen ingredients, but to also bring his family and friends together with the oldest cooking technique in the world. Fire.

“Asado means the social gathering of friends and family around food; it literally brings you back to the simple reality of enjoying good food and good company.“

Although it may seem complicated, when you’re in good company, the hours spent tending to smoke and flame to create the perfect balance of flavours just simply pass by… Alongside his professional life, Mattia enjoys the sourcing of local produce, turning his homegrown vegetables and herbs into all sorts of concoctions, pickles, roasts, infusions and more.

You can’t help but feel welcomed by Mattia when he's cooking on the Asado; there’s free flowing wine, the smell of food slowly smoking and cooking over an open flame, and always a garden full of hungry friends and family.

Mattia is a busy professional with hands in many pies, working in the iGaming industry, music events and marketing consultancy. But most of all, he is a selftaught, Asado loving, local producepromoting home cook. We hope you enjoy what he cooked up for us a few weeks ago…

The Fire

This is the most crucial part of the process… All you need is some wood and charcoal. Personally, I also use hard woods such as Oak, Cherry and Maple to mix in different flavours.

METHOD

Start your fire. Make a stack of dry wood sitting on top of a heap of lump charcoal.

When the flames and smoke of your initial fire have relented, you'll have a pile of smouldering charcoal to the left of your grill, from which you rake across glowing embers to sit under the right.

Keep the hottest coals aside to avoid fat dripping and flares of smoke, which spoil the flavour of the meat. Flank, T-Bone and Skirt are three other flavoursome cuts, which respond beautifully to asado cooking.

It’s impossible to overcook beef in Argentina, as the locals like it medium to well done. If the meat is good, they say, this is the best way to cook it: low and slow.

Starters:

Sausage Platter: Selection of your favourite Sausages

Serves 8

INGREDIENTS

- Maltese Sausage - Italian Sausage - Classic Pork Sausage

METHOD

Hang the sausages on the Asado using a hook, if the sausages are not tied together, tie them neatly using some string. It's important to wet the string before cooking to protect it from the heat.

Cook the sausages for the duration of the cook.

Charred Grilled Halloumi

Serves 8

INGREDIENTS

- 2 packets of halloumi - olive oil - rock salt - chilli powder METHOD

Drain the Halloumi and dry using a paper towel.

Slice the Halloumi in to strips around 2cm thick

Drizzle with olive oil, season with some salt and lightly sprinkle some chilli powder.

Place on the grill and turn gently to char all sides of the halloumi. Make sure to do this towards the end of the cook.

Mains:

T- Bone: Salt Only

Serves 8

INGREDIENTS

- High quality Beef T-Bone - Flaked Rock Salt

METHOD

Dry the meat using a paper towel.

Salt heavily, make sure to add extra salt across the high fat areas to help draw out any moisture.

Hang close to the bone for support and let the fire and smoke do its work

Pork Belly: Dry Rub

Serves 8

INGREDIENTS

- Local Pork Belly - Kansas Dry Rub

METHOD

Dry the pork using a paper towel.

Score the top side of the belly fat.

Next, heavily coat the pork belly using the Kansas Dry Rub.

Hang the pork belly at either side of the strip to provide an even cook.

Pork Ribs: Dry Rub

Serves 8

INGREDIENTS

- Baby Back Ribs - Kansas Dry Rub METHOD

Dry the ribs using a paper towel, then remove the membrane from the back side of the ribs.

Use a blunt knife and run it down one of the bones to get under the membrane. Next, lift the knife to start peeling the membrane off. Once you get a good enough grip, you can just peel the membrane off using your hand.

Finally, heavily coat the pork belly using the Kansas Dry Rub. Hook and hang in the middle of the rack with the meat's heavy end closest to the fire.

Kansas Dry Rub

Serves 8

INGREDIENTS

- 1/2 cup brown sugar - 1/2 cup paprika - 1 tablespoon black pepper - 1 tablespoon salt - 1 tablespoon chilli powder - 1 tablespoon garlic powder - 1 tablespoon onion powder - 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper METHOD

Prepare all ingredients by using a measuring cup and measuring spoon.

Mix all the ingredients together in a jar. I personally recommend using an empty herb tub as they are less messy and easier to sprinkle the meats with.

Either use immediately or transfer to an airtight container. The rub can be stored for up to six months in a cool, dark place.

Whole Seabass Smoked on a bed of lemons

Serves 8

INGREDIENTS

- Local Seabass - olive oil - 4 large lemons - lemon salt

METHOD

Clean, descale and wash the fish.

Dry the fish using a paper towel.

Next, oil the fish both inside and out, and lightly season using lemon salt.

Chop some large fresh lemons to be used as the bed for the fish while cooking. Prepare the bed of lemons on the BBQ. Try to stack a number of lemons across one another to protect the fish during cooking.

Place the seabass on top of the lemons and cook to the side of the asado on the grill.

Sides:

Low & Slow Butternut Squash Mash

Serves 8

INGREDIENTS

- 1 large butternut squash - salt - pepper - olive oil

METHOD

Place one large Butternut squash on the Asado and cool low & slow for the duration of the cook. It's important to rotate the squash every 15 to 20mins.

Once cooked, slice down the middle and season with lemon rock salt, then lightly drizzle some olive oil.

Charred Bell Peppers

Serves 8

INGREDIENTS

- 6 bell peppers (Pick a colour of your choice, the more colourful the better), - lemon rock salt (normal is fine) - olive oil

METHOD

Place 6 large bell peppers on the Asado and cool low & slow for the duration of the cook. Important to rotate the squash every 5 to 10mins. Cook the peppers to the desired softness.

Once cooked, slice down the middle, remove the stem and seeds. Then drizzle some olive oil and season with lemon rock salt.

BBQ Potatoes

Serves 8

INGREDIENTS

- 1kg of new potatoes - rock salt (normal is fine) - olive oil - dried thyme - rosemary leaves

METHOD

Wash and clean the potatoes.

Chop the potatoes in half and place in the skillet. Drizzle 3 tablespoons of olive oil over the potatoes, season with rock salt and dried thyme and rosemary. Toss and mix well.

Place the skillets on the BBQ 90 mins before the end of the cook.

It's important to keep tossing the potatoes every 30 mins to ensure all the potatoes are cooked properly.

Vegan Summer Salad

Serves 8

INGREDIENTS

- 65 g / ½ cup walnuts - 12 asparagus spears - salt, pepper, chilli flakes (if desired) - 50 g / 2.65 oz mixed salad (I used lots of rocket, some red leaf and spinach) - 36 cm / 14'' celery ribs, sliced thinly - 1 cup (1 x 400 g / 14 oz can drained) cooked chickpeas - 10 slow-roast tomatoes, chopped small - 30 ml / 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus more for grilling - 30-45 ml / 2-3 tbsp quality balsamic vinegar, depending how tangy you like it - 1 small garlic clove, finely grated - sea salt and black pepper, to taste METHOD

Heat up a griddle on a low-medium heat (you can also do them on a BBQ). Snap wooden ends off (and discard) the asparagus spears, and place them on a large, flat plate. Drizzle with 1 tsp of olive oil. Roll the spears in the oil to coat.

Once the griddle pan is ready, place oiled asparagus spears on it (make sure they do not overlap). Allow them to char for about 3-4 minutes on one side, then gently roll to the other side. They should be cooked but still retain a bit of a pleasant crunch.

Place all the dressing ingredients in a jar you have a lid for. Adjust the amount of balsamic vinegar to your taste and also be mindful of the fact that some brands have a more intense flavour than others. Put the lid on and shake the jar really well for the dressing to emulsify well. Adjust seasoning to taste.

Place all of the salad ingredients (apart from walnuts) in a large salad bowl. Mix really well. Dress the salad just before serving (no one likes wilted salad leaves!) and sprinkle generously with toasted walnuts for an extra crunch.

Dessert:

Smoked Pineapple with Vanilla Ice-cream, Biscuit Crumbs topped with fresh mint.

Serves 8

INGREDIENTS

- 1 large pineapple - vanilla ice-cream - digestive biscuits - fresh mint

METHOD

Place one large Pineapple on the Asado and cool low & slow for the duration of the cook. It's important to rotate the pineapple every 20 mins. Don’t be alarmed if the outside burns: what's important is inside!

Once the pineapple is cooked, use a knife to peel the pineapple and cut into slices, then dice each slice into small cubes and set aside ready to be served.

Crush some digestive biscuits on a plastic bag or kitchen towel.

When serving, place 2 tablespoons of crushed biscuits at the bottom of the bowl, and place 3 tablespoons of diced smoked pineapple on the biscuits. Next, top the pineapple with 2 scoops of vanilla ice-cream and top with two fresh mint leaves.