Widow’s Soup (Soppa T’al Armla)

1. Sweat the onions and garlic for a few mins until soft, then add the root veggies and cook for a few minutes.

2. Add the rest of the veggies, tinned tomatoes and the stock and cover to simmer for about 30-45 minutes.

Taste and then season accordingly. This is a chunky vegetable soup and doesn’t need a long boiling time… so perfect for quick dinners or lunches.

3. Add the cheese at the end, but don’t stir. Leave to cook gently for 5 mins and then serve the soup with one cheese in each bowl.

4. Garnish with lots of parsley, black pepper and olive oil. In many places in Malta and Gozo, beaten egg is drizzled in at the end, but to me that makes the soup a little too stringy… Delicious with crusty bread and butter.

N.B. This soup originally uses gbejniet which is a soft, very fresh Maltese sheep’s cheese, which is hard to find. A good substitute would be any fresh goat’s or sheep’s cheese – a large dollop of it in each person’s bowl!