A Little Bit of Malta: White Beans With Garlic & Parsley

Malta is actually a group of islands (archipelago) in the Mediterranean Sea, with the island of Malta being the largest island of this nation, once a colony of Britain. The islands of Gozo and Comino are the other two main islands, but there are smaller islands that are uninhabited. The capital is Valletta, located on the island of Malta. The little island nation has a population of nearly half a million and it lies south of Italy and north of Libya. Maltese is the official language of Malta,* but English is also an official language, and Italian is also widely spoken or understood by more than half of the population. During World War Two, Malta, then a colony of Britain, became a major thorn in the side of the German and Italian forces in North Africa, as British air units and naval forces (particularly submarines) stationed in Malta posed a formidable problem for the Axis Mediterranean supply line from Italy to Libya. The islands were severely bombed by both the German and Italian air forces and a joint Italian and German plan to invade the islands was never carried out. Malta gained independence in the mid 1960s, and became a republic in the mid 1970s.**  

The name of this dish in Maltese is, "Fażola bajda bit-tewm u t-tursin." It is great as an appetizer, side dish or as part of a light lunch. 

Ingredients:

2 cans large white beans (butter beans or cannellini beans, 15 to 16 ounce cans), drained
3 green onions (scallions), chopped, along with some of the green
4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
3 tablespoons chopped parsley
3 to 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2/3 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon salt

For serving:
olives 
Italian or other crusty bread

Mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl, cover it with some plastic wrap and let it sit for about 15 or 20 minutes. Serve with some olives and Italian bread on the side.  

* Maltese is a language from the Semitic languages, with relatives like Arabic and Hebrew. It is the only Semitic language using the Latin alphabet and its vocabulary has been heavily influenced by Italian, English and Sicilian. Sicilian, while perhaps thought of as an Italian dialect by many, is actually classified as a language in its own right. It is spoken on the large Italian island of Sicily and also in parts of the southern Italian mainland. In more modern times Sicilian has certainly been influenced by standard Italian, which is taught in all schools in Italy.

** Initially, the British monarch remained as the head of state, but by the mid 1970s, Malta changed its law and elected its own president to serve as head of state, although Malta still has ties to Britain as a  member of the Commonwealth of Nations.

I had my beans with some Kalamata olives and anchovy stuffed green olives, along with some Italian bread, which I had the bakery slice.

WORD HISTORY:
Extra-This is both a word forming part and a word in its own right, used as an adjective, adverb and even as a noun. Many of the uses began in English in the 1600s as an abbreviation of the word "extraordinary," a word borrowed from Latin "extraordinarius" in the first half of the 1400s, and which meant, "out of regular or usual order." "Extra," in all of its meanings, goes back to Indo European, "eghs/ekhs," which had the notion of, "out from." This gave Latin "ex," with the meanings, "out from, from the inside, out of, from or since a period of time." Its comparative was "exterus," meaning, "outside, outward." "Extra" was derived from its ablative form "extera."