Għadam

Għadam

 The Maltese calendar year is packed with feasts both secular and religious and generally specific traditional foods are linked with them.  One of these is All Souls’ Day, the Christian day of the dead which is celebrated on the 2^nd of November.

 Confectioners’ shops are filled with sweets shaped like bones.  They are made using the same recipe as for the Figolli, but the dough is shaped so as to resemble a bone.  It is then covered with white icing and this makes it more similar to a bone.  These sweets can be found throughout the whole month of November.

 Ingredients

For the pastry

 480g plain flour

100g sugar

300g margarine

grated rind of 1 lemon

3 egg yolks (use the whites for the filling)

For the filling

 300g pure ground almonds

300g sugar

grated rind of 1 lemon

egg whites

vanilla essence

Method

1.When making shortcrust pastry it is important that you remember these tips:

 2.All ingredients and utensils should be as cool as possible.  This keeps the margarine hard.  If it becomes at all warm it will start to make the fingers oily and then it becomes difficult to wrap it into the flour.  When that happens the mixture becomes very heavy instead of lightly and airy.

 3.If you will be using egg yolks to bind the pastry there will be no need for you to add water. If you use too much liquid the pastry becomes tough.

 4.Sieve the flour into a large bowl, holding the sieve as high as possible, so that the flour gets a really good airing.

 5.Add the margarine, cut into smallish lumps, then begin to rub it into the flour using your fingertips only and being as light as possible.  As you gently rub the fat into the flour, lift it up high and let it fall back into the bowl, which again means that all the time air is being incorporated, but do this just long enough to make the mixture crumbly with a few odd lumps here and there.

 6.In a separate bowl mix together the sugar, egg yolk, vanilla essence and lemon rind.  Mix well.

 7.Add this mixture to the flour mixture.  Work into a dough.  The pastry should leave the bowl fairly clean.  Do not overwork the pastry because the end result will be a tough pastry.  The pastry must be of a rollable consistency.

 8.Place the pastry in a polythene bag and leave it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to rest.  You can prepare it overnight and leave it in the fridge.

 10..Whilst the pastry is resting roast the almonds.  Put them in a heavy bottomed, ungreased frying pan.  Stir often over medium heat until golden brown.

 11.Whilst the pastry is resting prepare the filling.

 12.In a large mixing bowl put the ground almonds, sugar, eggs, grated rind of 1 lemon, essence and egg whites. Mix well together till you have a fairly dry paste.

 13.Preheat the oven 190⁰C, Gas Mark 5.

14.Put the pastry on a lightly floured table top and roll it out.  Cut into oblongs.

 15.Put some almond paste in the centre of each oblong.  Wrap the pastry around the filling and mould them into the traditional bone shape.  Tuck it neatly around, trimming off extra bits.

 16.Put these ‘bones’ on a baking tray that has been lined with baking paper.

 17.Bake for about 30 minutes or until they are golden brown.

 18.Remove from tray and leave to cool.

 19.When completely cold cover with white royal icing.