Kusksu (Kusksu)
Overview
Kusksu is a thick, comforting Maltese soup of broad beans and tiny bead-shaped pasta. Onion and garlic are softened in olive oil with tomato paste, then water, fresh or frozen broad beans and the small round pasta, also called kusksu, are added and simmered until the soup is thick. At the end, eggs are cracked into the soup to poach, and fresh ġbejniet, the small soft sheep's cheese of Malta and Gozo, are added to warm through. It is finished with parsley and black pepper. The flavour is fresh, slightly sweet and creamy from the cheese.
History
The pasta beads take their name from North African couscous, a sign of Malta's long Arab history from the ninth to the eleventh century. Kusksu is a spring dish, made when broad beans are fresh in the fields, and is especially popular during Lent. Ġbejniet cheese is made on farms in Gozo, which is known for the best version of the soup.
Main ingredients
Broad beans, kusksu pasta beads, ġbejniet sheep cheese, tomatoes, onion and garlic, egg. The soup is built on tomato and bean broth and is usually served hot. Diet: vegetarian; not usually gluten-free.
Explore: Bean soups · Tomato soups · Egg soups · Cheese soups · More soups from Malta
Recipe
Method
- 1
Soften the onion and garlic in olive oil and stir in the tomato paste.
- 210 min
Add 1.5 l water and the broad beans and simmer for 10 minutes.
- 310 min
Add the pasta and cook for 10 minutes until thick.
- 44 min
Crack in the eggs and add the cheese and cook for 4 minutes.
- 5
Season with pepper and parsley and serve.
- ✓
Serve. About 50 min from start to bowl.
Sources
Description, history and recipe written by SoupWiki and checked against the sources above. Calories and times are rough estimates.
