A Helpful Guide To Anyone Hosting A Maltese Christmas Dinner For The First Time This Year
So you’ve offered yourself up the Christmas sacrifice this year. You’ll be single-handedly organising Christmas lunch or dinner. Breathe in, breathe out. You can do this.
We won’t be giving you full blown recipes or anything, but we’re definitely here to help you make your nanna proud.
So why not organise a Christmas dinner with a Maltese twist? Here’s all you need to know.
1. Keep those mouths busy
You’re probably having a full-blown panic attack at this stage, so let’s start you off with the simpler stuff.
We’ll help you short-cut your way through this dinner, don’t worry.
We’ll start you off with some effortless nibbles which literally take like zero minutes to prepare. Don’t waste your time on appetisers, especially if this is your first ever Christmas dinner.
Add some cheese
You need to get that cheeseboard game on fleek, human. So first off you’ve got to know the basic anatomy of a cheeseboard.
There’s a hard, soft, semi-soft and semi-hard cheese. There’s millions of flavours to choose from and pairing all that stuff is a giant headache, so we’ll give you our standard go-to pairings.
Get some ġbejniet moxxa for the hard option, a burrata for the soft, goat gouda for the semi-soft and gruyér as a semi-hard. They’re among the least expensive fancy cheeses around, so don’t worry about breaking the bank.
And some nibbles to go with it
Some toasted Ħobż tal-Malti goes great with cheese, but also opt for breadsticks and crackers for anyone who’s into that.
From żebbuġ mimli to bakkaljaw, the options are endless, and the cheese counter at your local Supermarket is your best friend.
Add some oven-roasted nuts, cherry tomatoes and pomegranates to your cheesy nibbles, it’s always great to have something sweet added to the table.
If there’s kids around make sure to have some crisps and Maltese pakketti; y’all know how picky they are with food.
2. Don’t you dare go lazy on the drinks
Apart from the staple water, beer and soft-drinks, you also need some nice wine to go around and keep the conversation flowing.
We don’t want you to spend too much on booze, so we’ll give you some budget-friendly and delicious wine options under €10.
You’re welcome.
Here’s some wine you should totally consider
You should probably go for a lovely Bordeaux blend, and the 1551 Gozo Merlot-Cabernet Franc is a pretty smooth choice.
The Caravaggio from Marsovin is also pretty nice. This dry fruity beauty will definitely go down well with anyone.
If you’re more into the white stuff, pick out a La Torre’s Girgentina. It’s a little bit summery and fruity but that’s what makes it really stand out.
And some other drink options you should have around
Everyone loves some rosé, do your hosts a solid and provide them with Delicata’s Ġellewża Frizzante.
And please, please, get a Casella Moscato wine for dessert. We adore that stuff.
Also, why not try out this amazing traditional Maltese coffee recipe? You can also purchase it ready made from specialised shops like Jubilee, but there’s nothing like home-made coffee is there?
3. Dinner is a super big deal
We think that instead of opting for the usual stuffed meats for Christmas, you should try your hand at some proper Maltese dishes as a main course.
In this Lovin guide you will find recipes for Kawlata, Ħobż biż-Żejt and Imqarrun il-Forn. There’s also Pastini tal-Coconut, so you can try those out for dessert maybe?
We also have another more elaborate guide with bebbux, fenek and pasti roża.
You could try making multiple main courses. We’re a 100% sure that you’ll pull off the best Christmas dinner of the century, you’re an amazing person. We love you.
Don’t forget the vegans
If you’re having vegan or vegetarian guests, you should check out these alternative Maltese recipes.
From qarabagħli mimli to veggie roasts and creamy butternut squash, we promise that your vegan guests won’t leave your house with their tummies grumbling.
We also gave you like, two options for dessert in these articles, but it wouldn’t really hurt if you got some ice cream as an extra. Everyone loves ice cream, so it won’t be a waste.
4. Some extra stuff you shouldn’t forget
Whenever someone organises a dinner party of some sorts, there’s always that one item that’s completely forgotten until the last minute.
Ice.
Seriously. Everyone seems to forget the ice, we don’t know why but it just happens. It’s also a great idea to have some playing cards and board games available.
Entertain your guests
Leave out some games to entertain your guests pre and post dinner. It’s also a good idea to ask your guests to bring about their own games, that way there will be more to go around.
Rally all of your cushions and blankets in the area. It’s always nice to settle down and watch a soppy Christmas movie as you chill out with more booze.