Laham Fuq il-Fwar - Maltese Steamed Beef

This dish brings back many fond memories...Our family had a 'maid', well, she was part of the family (my sons god mother in fact) called Tereza. She had gone to work with my grandma when she was just 14 years old, and when my grandma died came to work with me

For many years, girls from the rural part of Malta would go to work for urban families - and in many cases, like in ours, become part of the family. Tereza would insist on doing the cooking while I was at university and I actually learnt many traditional Maltese dishes from her.

To make this dish, she would put the meat in a Pyrex plate over a big pot of simmering broth that would then be served as the first course - frugal cooking to save electricity - she would say - when in actually fact it killed 2 birds with one stone (or two dishes with one pot!)

my old kitchen...

Ingredients
8 very thin slices of beef
3 garlic cloves, crushed and chopped
2 tablespoons of chopped parsley
2 tomatoes
1 celery head (just the leaves)
4 strips of bacon, chopped
1 tbs olive oil
Salt and pepper

METHOD:
Place the meat, garlic, bacon,tomatoes, celery and chopped parsley in a large plate.
Drizzle the oil on top and season with salt and pepper.
Cover with foil or another plate and steam over hot water or a saucepan of simmering soup for about an hour.
When the meat is tender, serve with mash or boiled potatoes.