Stuffed Marrows (Qarabali Mimmli)

With Summer officially starting last Saturday, we're in for weeks of sun and hopefully clean clear seas! Most school children also finish their scholastic years this weeks so with temperatures up and little time on our hands to prepare meals, this is the time of year that I like to prepare meals such as qarabali mimmli or timpana.

Even though they might sound heavy for these hot days, these dishes are ideal as they can be prepared in advance and also they can be easily packed away for the beach.

Marrows are quite cheap and abundant at the moment, so here is the recipe for stuffed marrows, Qarabali mimmli; here is what you need :

3 marrows - long
1 small tin corned beef
200g Minced beef
1 Egg
Grated cheese
2 rashers of back bacon
1 clove of garlic – finely chopped
Salt, pepper, parsley for seasoning

Start off by washing the marrows and chopping off the tips from the top and bottom. Now cut them open into 2 pieces, cut them lengthwise and scoop out some of the flesh. Place them in a greased baking tray and set aside.

Now in a clean bowl, place the corned beef and mash it properly with a fork, add the minced beef and mix well. Now add all the other ingredients and mix properly. Place the filling into the marrows and bake in a preheated oven at 160C for about 35 mins or until your beef is cooked through.

This dish is best served with an accompaniment of Maltese baked potatoes ( the recipe for this dish I shall be giving you over the next weeks) and some Maltese bread.

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