The Ultimate Gozo Weekend Shopping List
There are two yearly events when a Gozo weekend bender with your mates is mandatory - Carnival and Santa Marija. The reason why Santa Marija is the better out of the two is that the weather begs you to spend your days by the pool or at the beach, as well as because summer is barbeque season, and there’s nothing more fun than a big ol' BBQ with your buddies. And with the new fast ferry, you will be able to get there in absolutely no time! 🕺
The Gozo Fast Ferry in full action. | From: https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/second-company-announces-gozo-fast-ferry-service.864624
Gozo weekenders are a part of the Maltese identity; we’ve all participated in one and most of us do so regularly. Everyone in your Gozo weekend group should serve a purpose: there’s the lightweight who passes out before 9pm, the one who makes everyone laugh, the one who does all the cleaning, the one who never gets out of the pool, the one who breaks 5 things within the first 15 minutes and so many other characters. The most underrated person however? The ones who plans the shopping list that ensures everyone is well fed for the whole weekend.
So, if this describes you, or if you’d like to stop being the useless person and help with the shopping, here’s a definitive guide to making sure you have everything you need for your weekend to run smoothly in terms of your friends’ bellies. And at the end of the day, if something goes wrong (which it most definitely will - shoutout to the friend who does all the cooking and the high probability that they'll burn breakfast) there’s always Bolt Food and WOLT. 🤷♀️
General Items ☕️
This is your list of items that will definitely be used up as they’re useful for any kind of meal. You can get them at any supermarket like Ta’ Dirjanu or the local village grocery store. 🥖
- Salt and pepper
- Olive oil
- Butter
- Shredded/grated cheese
- Eggs
- Milk
- Coffee
- Tea
- Sugar
- Snacks
- Sliced bread
Breakfast 🍳
One breakfast option is fluffy pancakes. Here’s my super easy go-to pancake recipe that’s perfect even when you have limited ingredients/resources: recipe makes 8, so decide how hungry you all are and multiply accordingly.
- 1.5 cups all purpose flour
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1.25 cups milk
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 egg
- 3 tablespoons melted butter or oil
- For topping: chocolate spread/maple/syrup/fruit/whatever you like
Cook these babies on medium high heat until bubbles start to pop and flip; and you have yourself the perfect weekend brekkie. 🥞
The next option is your standard full English breakfast. Everybody loves this; it’s basically the “I’m on holiday” indicator. When cooking for a crowd, you’ll have to master some multitasking - have a few people lend a hand too.
In a large pot scramble the eggs with some milk and butter, cook the bacon, potatoes and sausages in the oven (yes I know it’s a fry up, but they are only so many hobs and you don’t want your food to get cold), cook up the mushrooms on another pan and add the tomatoes near the end to get a little sear on them. It's always a good idea to have someone on coffee and toast duty. If there isn't a toaster available, you can fry your sliced bread up in the pan, or stick it in the oven too. 🍞
Shopping list:
- Eggs
- Hash browns/potato croquettes/wedges
- Bacon
- Sausages
- Mushrooms
- Tomatoes
- Sliced bread
- Baked Beans
BBQ Night 🍔
As I previously stated, all killer Gozo weekends involve a BBQ. You can head to Lora’s Supermarket, as they have a butcher’s counter and everything you could possibly need.
- Beef burgers (veggie burgers too if anyone doesn’t eat meat)
- Selection of sausages (pork sausages, Frankfurters, Maltese etc.)
- Chicken breast/chicken thighs or ready-made skewers (pro tip: marinate in a yoghurt-based sauce for extra moist grilled chicken)
- Rib-eye steak if you’re feeling fancy 🥩
Here we gotta stick to the basics without being too basic; i.e. you need your burgers and hotdogs but we can spice things up a little bit and try out something new, too. It’s summer, so it's the perfect time to whip up some seafood, and the bbq is the easiest way to do that.
Go for some calamari or prawns if you want to keep it easy, but it’s of course optional. 🍤 If you plan on including seafood, you can get it from Island Fisheries.
Don’t forget the side dishes! Potatoes in any form are a given, but don’t miss out on your veggies. This can also be skewered onto a kebab stick and cooked along with chunks of chicken, beef or prawn. 🍢
- Potatoes
- Corn on the cob
- Bell peppers
- Onions
- Zucchini/eggplant/asparagus/whatever grill-able vegetables you like best
Other items:
- Hotdog buns
- Burger buns
- Lettuce
- Tomatoes
- Cheese slices
- Sauces
For dessert, watermelon is always a sound choice, and you can pop that on the grill too!🍉
Lunch 🍝
The easiest Gozo lunch for a crowd is pasta. You should calculate around 150 grams of pasta per person (some will eat less, some will eat more), but when in doubt always add a little extra. I mean, it’s not like someone won’t sneak to the fridge 2 hours later to eat the leftovers. In terms of sauces there’s lots of simple things you can do. Skip the ready made stuff and whip up any of these easy dishes. Another great supermarket you can head to is Lighthouse.
- Amatriciana - tomato sauce + guanciale
- Cacio e pepe - cheese + black pepper
- Carbonara - eggs + guanciale + cheese
- Cream + pancetta + mushrooms
- Pesto + cherry tomatoes
If you don’t want to eat pasta twice, because let's face it, it's the easiest thing to make, there are many other things you could do, that keep your weekend free from extra kitchen work!
- Turn your leftover BBQ meat/seafood into an egg fried rice, an easy recipe to make in bulk. You’ll need rice, eggs, spring onions, oil, and soy sauce. Check out the recipe here.
- Make some hobz biz-zejt, pack it up and head out to the beach. Shopping list: ftira/hobz tal-Malti, kunserva, tuna, olives, gbejna, and capers.
- Get fancy with a grazing board (this is a super fun activity, too). In this case you’ll need breadsticks, crackers, chips, a variety of dips, salamis and hams, hard and soft cheeses, fruit and nuts. 🧀
Dinner 🥡
On your non-BBQ night, put the tongs down, pick up the phone, and order some Mekren.
Pro tip - collect and place your orders in advance if you’re a big group, as this place will be super busy during Santa Marija week and may very well sell out, too. 🍕
Drinks 🍹
Did you really think I was about to forget the most important part? 😎
What alcohol you choose to buy depends on your taste, but here are some ideas. Do your drinks shopping at F Mizzi (you can even get them delivered!) Opt for a large pack of beer or ciders - they're always nice for a pool day (you might also want to play beer pong so get enough for that). Wine is necessary for the chill moments and movie nights, or you can make some easy cocktails/drinks for the evening, for example:
- Aperol spritz: Aperol and prosecco
- Margarita: tequila, lime, and orange liquor
- Mojito: mint, rum, sugar, lime juice and soda
- Piña colada: Malibu/rum, coconut cream and pineapple juice
If you’re a more simple crowd, a selection of drinks and mixers should do:
- vodka (flavoured is a fun choice) rum, gin, whiskey, tequila (with this comes great responsibility and possibly your damages deposit)
- cola, tonic water, lemonade, fruit juices, Kinnie (gin + Kinnie - don’t knock it till you've tried it!). I only ask of you, do not use energy drinks.
Remember to buy enough cups and ice or make it if you have a freezer, as well as any other ingredients depending on what drinks you’ve chosen to make. 🥃
That’s it! I mean, it was a long one, but I had to impart my extensive knowledge somehow.
Be sure to use these tips if you decide to head to Gozo, we hope you have a banging Santa Marija weekend, from the FoodBlog team with love. 🚢
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