Serves 4

Ingredients
1kg rockfish (ċippullazz)
1 clove of garlic
1 egg yolk
pinch of thyme
15g of pine nuts
salt and pepper
1 chilli
10 cherry tomatoes
fresh basil
500ml vegetable stock
1 packet of Verrigni black ink spaghettini (500g)

Method

In a preheated 100°C oven, steam the rockfish for 40 minutes and separate the fish from the bones.

In a bowl, mix the fish, the egg yolk, half a clove of garlic, thyme, pine nuts, chilli and salt and pepper. If the mixture is too fluid, add some breadcrumbs to tighten it.

Take a teaspoonful of the above mixture and roll into a ball. Set aside and repeat until the whole mixture is finished.

Add 10 raw spaghettini in the middle of each ball.

In a deep pan, cook the cherry tomatoes with half a clove of garlic and add the vegetable stock.

When boiled, slowly add the fish balls with the spaghettini and cook for 10 minutes on high heat.

Serve the fish balls withthe spaghettini and add a spoon of sauce on top of each ball.

Chef’s suggestion: serve three fish balls per person and pair with fresh Maltese bread.

Saul Halevi is an Executive chef, Hotel Phoenicia, Floriana.