Easter is a busy time at the home of Marlene and Godfrey Farrugia. The Malta Independent on Sunday caught up with the independent MP earlier this week at her St Julian’s home, to talk about Easter lamb.
As soon as you set foot inside the house, you realise how much Dr Farrugia loves everything traditional – from the Maltese tal-Lira clock hanging on the wall to the old wooden furniture and decoration.
But we’re here to talk food. “During Holy Week we either have the same recipes or variations of them. On Good Friday, since we cannot eat meat, we usually eat snails, which we collect ourselves and cook served with aljoli, or ravioli, which we prepare from scratch. We wake up early, prepare the pasta dough, fill it with ġbejniet, parsley and some coarse salt. We usually serve it with a plain garlic tomato sauce. Sometimes we also cook soppa tal-armla, with fresh broad beans, topped off with some fresh ġbejniet. Then on Easter Sunday we usually cook lamb.”
A traditional recipe
Indeed, by this time the smell of lamb, onions and fennel seeds is wafting through the house. The dogs especially know that something special will eventually come out of the oven.
“When the weather permits we cook it in the outdoor wood-fired stove but this year it’s cooking in the oven. The recipe is quite basic: you start off with a layer of our home grown garlic and onions. This you cover with the lamb, cut into small pieces. Next goes a layer of onions and potatoes. Naturally, the potatoes are covered in fennel seeds, rosemary and a mix of other herbs, including thyme. Then you put everything in the oven and let it cook slowly. Everything is washed down with some good wine.”
The recipe is the same as the one used by Dr Farrugia’s mother and grandmother before her. “She (my grandmother) was a prime cook. We used to pick the herbs we needed for the lamb from her garden. We would also use salt obtained from seawater taken from Wied iz-Zurrieq, which has a very particular taste.”
Childhood memories
Dr Farrugia reminisced about her childhood years in Zurrieq. “I remember every Sunday, walking around the village, you couldn’t miss the smell of freshly brewed coffee, toasted bread and, later in the day, baked potatoes or macaroni (mqarrun il-forn.) Those who were a bit better off would cook meat. These are the things we grew up with.”
So what about dessert? “We always make sure to have two things – quaresimal for lent and figolli for Easter. We prepare everything from scratch. I love my sweets, even if I am a dentist.”
A family affair
Food preparation (and consumption) is, above all, a time for family bonding, says Dr Farrugia. “We love decorating figolli together. Like Christmas, Easter is a time when the family comes together and messes around in the kitchen. When the children were young there would be a rainbow of colours in the kitchen from all the icing sugar.”
The question I have to ask is how does she manage to do all this? Dr Farrugia is, after all, an MP, a dentist and a parent. “Cooking for the family comes first. I manage to get a lot of things done, partly because I wake up early, at around 5am every day. I spend the first two hours reading the news and keeping in touch with my constituents. When I’m at the clinic, I’ll find things to do, like catching up with the children, between one patient and the next.”
A time for bonding
Despite their busy schedule, the Farrugias prefer a proper home-cooked meal to eating out. “We try to cook every day, using our own ingredients. At weekends it is a special treat, almost a ritual. We do everything together, from preparing the food, to the actual cooking, to setting the table. Food brings us together. I believe that the best things in life are the most simple – finding time together around the table to eat and talk. That is where the family finds its balance and harmony.”
So who is invited to Easter lunch? “My children, my siblings and anyone who would otherwise be spending Easter alone.”
Easter, however, is not just about food. It is also about tradition and devotion. “We try to do the church visits during the week. I usually visit all the chapels in Qrendi or the ones in the vicinity.” Dr Farrugia grew up around village festas. “My father (and later on, even she) used to play in a band. So as a young girl I was familiar with all these celebrations in all their glory. In Vittoriosa, the Risen Christ would pass just below my balcony. I love tradition, so you can imagine how I get carried away in all this enthusiasm.”
Does Godfrey cook?
Finally, the million dollar question: is Godfrey a good cook? “Yes, he’s very good at cooking. And he takes the initiative. When I’m busy, rest assured that he will do the shopping, prepare the ingredients and we’ll find dinner on the table when we get home. He is very capable in the kitchen. He was in the Scouts and was used to cooking for 140 people. He also loves – and upholds – traditions. Unfortunately, this year he’s been away in Zambia, on Parliamentary work, so he missed out on the figolli preparations.”
Video and photos: Mike Camilleri