... but instead of counting infant toes like the nursery rhyme tells us, she went squeak, squeak, squeak all the way home with rather lots of lovely Maltese pork.

Pork has been the mainstay of dinner tables for centuries throughout Europe, probably because pigs are such obliging animals. They can look after themselves by rummaging for food in orchards and gardens, and will live on scraps from the kitchen, so even the humblest of country dwellers with just a small patch of garden or land kept a pig.

In autumn, the pigs would be slaughtered and the meat cured for hams and bacon to store for winter and, depending on the country you lived in, salami, chorizo and sausages as well.

The head would be used to make brawn, the fat rendered for lard and the blood and offal used in black or hogs’ pudding. Some of the meat would often be sold, and the money used to buy another pig.

In England, pig killing went on in country areas up to World War II, and even today it still continues in parts of Europe. I doubt that the EU would approve, but in the more remote country areas I shouldn’t think anyone bothers about EU rules – they’re more concerned with those hams and sides of bacon!

In England, some pig farmers are returning to the older, and some would say tastier, breeds like the Gloucester Old Spot, which in recent years have become almost endangered species.

Pork from free-range and organic pig farms is becoming more and more popular with English consumers, but in Malta, free-range is a luxury we don’t have, although we do have a plentiful supply of really good quality pork.

Here are some of my current favourite porky recipes.

Braised pork with spiced red cabbage

This is a good choice for an easy Sunday lunch – just put it in the oven first thing, then forget it.

Serves 6

1 small red cabbage
40g butter
1 large onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 apple, peeled, cored and sliced
1 tsp mixed spice
Large pinch ground allspice and ground cloves
1 heaped tbsp dark brown sugar
2 tbsp balsamic or red wine vinegar
Salt and coarsely ground black pepper
1 tbsp olive oil
6 thick slices pork shoulder or 6 thick-cut pork chops

Quarter and shred the cabbage, cutting out and discarding the hard white core. Melt the butter in a large pan, add the onion and fry until starting to soften. Add the garlic and fry for a minute more, then stir in the cabbage and apple. Mix well and cook, stirring and turning, until the cabbage just begins to soften. Add the mixed spice, allspice, sugar and vinegar and season well with salt and pepper. Cook for another two minutes, then turn the cabbage into a large baking dish.

Preheat the oven to 160˚C. Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the pork until browned on both sides. Transfer the pork to the baking dish, tucking the slices down into the cabbage. Pour a couple of tablespoons of boiling water into the pan, and stir, scraping up all the brown bits and juices, then pour the water into the dish. Cover the dish tightly with foil, then put it in the oven and just forget it for two-and-a-half hours, when the pork should be very tender.

Garnish with some sprigs of sage or chopped parsley and serve with roast potatoes.

Pork, leek and apple pie

Serves 4

25g butter
750g pork, cut into 1cm dice
2 medium leeks
1 apple, peeled cored and diced
8 sage leaves, chopped or ½ tsp dried sage
150ml Woodpecker cider
150ml chicken stock
Salt and pepper
2 heaped tbsp crème fraîche
500g pack puff pastry, defrosted
1 small egg, beaten

Melt half the butter in a pan and, working in batches, fry the meat until lightly browned, then transfer it to a bowl.

Trim the leeks and cut them into 5mm slices, using the white and pale green parts only. Melt the rest of the butter in the pan, add the leeks and apple and cook until the leeks start to wilt. Return the meat to the pan, add the sage, pour on the cider and chicken stock and bring to the boil. Season well with salt and pepper, lower the heat and simmer gently for about an hour or until the meat is tender when tested with a fork.

The leeks and apples will cook down to make a sauce, but if it looks too watery, thicken with a little cornflour. Stir in the crème fraîche and turn the meat into a pie dish.

Preheat the oven to 220˚C. Roll out the pastry to a size about four centimetres larger than the dish and cut off a strip about a centimetre wide, long enough to go round the dish. Damp the edge of the dish and stick the strip to it, then brush it with egg and lay the rest of the pastry on top. Trim off any excess and pinch and flute the edges together. Decorate with the pastry trimmings and brush the pie all over with egg. Stand the dish on a baking tray and bake for about 30 minutes until crisp and golden.

Five-spice pork with fried rice

Serves 4

1 large pork fillet, about 600g
1 tbsp Chinese five-spice powder
4 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp honey
2 tsp grated fresh ginger
Sunflower oil
150ml chicken stock
1 tbsp dark brown sugar
1 tbsp cornflour
1 tsp chopped parsley
1 large egg, beaten
½ red pepper, deseeded and diced
6 thin spring onions, sliced
350g cooked rice
100g cooked frozen peas
Salt and pepper

Trim the fat and sinew from the pork, then slice it into one-centimetre-thick medallions and put them into a shallow dish. Mix the five-spice powder, soy sauce, honey and ginger together in a bowl. Pour it over the pork, turning the pieces to make sure they are well-coated. Cover the bowl with cling film and leave to marinate for at least half an hour.

Heat just a teaspoon of sunflower oil in a large non-stick frying pan. Shake off and reserve the marinade, fry the pork for two minutes on each side until well-browned and transfer to a plate. Mix 100ml water into the marinade and add it to the pan, together with the stock and sugar and bring to the boil. Mix the cornflour with a little water, add it to the pan and cook, stirring until the sauce thickens. Return the pork to the pan, simmer for a minute or two, then transfer it all to a dish, cover and keep warm. Wash and dry the pan.

Heat another teaspoon of oil in the pan, stir the parsley into the egg, tip it into the pan and make a thin flat omelette. Take it out, roll it up and cut it into thin slices. Heat a tablespoon of oil, add the pepper and spring onions and fry for two minutes, then add the rice and peas and stir-fry until it’s piping hot. Season with salt and pepper and stir in the sliced omelette.

Serve the fried rice on hot plates and top with the pork and sauce.

Pork, bean and mushroom casserole

I used to buy Maltese zalzett about twice a year, but now I’m buying them practically every week. They give a nice zing to this casserole, which also freezes beautifully, so it’s worth making extra and tucking it away for a rainy day.

Serves 4

2 tbsp olive oil
750g lean pork cut in 2-cm cubes
2 onions, sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tbsp tomato paste
Beef stock
Salt and pepper
6 parsley stalks, 6 thyme sprigs and a bay leaf, tied together
3 medium Maltese sausages
Flour
300g mushrooms, preferably brown, sliced
2 x 400g cans butter beans
Chopped parsley

Preheat the oven to 170˚C. Heat the oil in a large frying pan and, working in batches, fry the pork cubes until lightly browned, then transfer them to a casserole.

Add the onions to the pan and fry until starting to soften, then stir in the garlic and fry for a minute more. Add the onions to the pork together with the tomato paste. Rinse the pan round with a little beef stock, scraping up all the brown bits, and add it to the casserole, then pour in enough stock to barely cover the meat. Season with salt and pepper, give it a good stir, tuck in the bundle of herbs, cover and cook in the oven foran hour.

Remove the skins from the sausages, shape them into walnut-sized meatballs and roll them in flour, then brown them in a little hot oil. Remove the casserole from the oven, gently stir in the sausage meatballs and mushrooms, cover again and return to the oven for 30 minutes. Rinse and drain the butter beans, add them to the pork and cook for another 15 minutes.

Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve with pasta or plain boiled potatoes.