Food & Drink

Maltese cuisine is the result of a long relationship between the Islanders and the many foreigners who made Malta their home over the centuries. This marriage of tastes has given Malta an eclectic mix of Mediterranean cooking. Many popular Maltese specialities are Italian/Sicilian or Moorish in origin.

Some of the traditional Maltese dishes include:

Soup

Aljotta (Maltese Fish Soup)

A rich fish soup, similar to broth in consistency, with plenty of garlic, herbs and tomatoes. Often served with rice.

Brodu (Broth)

A soup, similar to broths cooked in other countries. Contains a variety of vegetables. Also contains meat, with beef or chicken being the most commonly used. Served with different types of pasta.

Kusksu (Maltese Broad Bean Pasta Soup)

A thick, rustic and hearty soup; traditionally a spring favourite since it is made with fresh broad beans. A form of pasta beads called kusksu are used (not to be confused with couscous, though having the same name: i.e. in Tunisia, Couscous is called Kusksi or sometimes Kusksu), together with onions, garlic, tomato paste and chicken stock.

Minestra (Maltese vegetable soup)

The start of many Maltese meals is soup. Traditionally minestra is a healthy, thick soup combining numerous fresh and dried vegetables and accompanied by a hearty, slice of crusty Maltese bread, hobza. This dish is eaten all year round, but usually preferable in winter as a hearty, warming dinner.

Soppa Ta' L-Armla (Widow's Soup)

Supposedly got its name from the tradition of neighbours donating products to poor widows living in their neighbourhood. This dish is vaguely similar to minestra, a thick vegetable soup, but it is slightly thinner, and rounded off with fresh gbejniet which melt into the hot soup. Usually raw eggs are added at the end and when they coagulate, the soup is ready.

Pasta and Rice

Mqarrun il-Forn (Maltese Baked Macaroni)

A baked dish made with macaroni, Bolognese sauce, egg, and various other ingredients varying according to family tradition including peas and bacon. The macaroni is usually topped with a layer of grated cheese or bescamella that will melt during the baking process and aid in binding.

Ravjul (Maltese Ravioli)

The ravjul are usually filled with ricotta and fresh parsley (sometimes spinach is used as well) or with minced meat, and covered with a rich tomato sauce made with celery and basil and topped with freshly-grated Parmesan or Romano cheese. In Gozo, Ravjul are filled with Gbejniet.

Ross il-Forn (Maltese Baked Rice)

Similar to mqarrun il-forn, but rice is used instead of macaroni.

Timpana (Maltese Pastry-Covered Baked Macaroni)

Baked macaroni filled with a small amount of minced beef and sometimes with hard-boiled eggs. The macaroni is encased in pastry crust. Similar to the Italian Timpano. The basic difference between Timpana and Mqarrun il-Forn is the addition of the pastry cover.

Fish

Lampuka (Dolphin Fish)

Lampuki are perhaps Malta's favourite fish. Better known outside of Malta as Mahi-mahi, dorado, or dolphin fish, it has fine, white meat with only a few large bones, and is found in abundance in the seas between Malta and Tunisia. It can be lightly pan-fried in olive oil, oven-baked with a tomato, onion, caper and wine sauce, or, made into a fish pie with spinach, cauliflower, capers, sultanas, hard-boiled eggs, herbs, and a shortcrust pastry topping.

Meat

Bragjoli (Beef Olives)

A thin slice of beef surrounding breadcrumbs, bacon, eggs and herbs. Particularly tasty when braised in red wine.

Fenkata (Rabbit)

Rabbit is very popular and one of the most well known Maltese dishes. It is served as a traditional dish in restaurants. The rabbit is usually lightly fried, then simmered as a casserole of red wine for several hours. It is usually served with chips or potatoes and salad. It is mostly served in tomato sauce or rich gravy.

Laham Taz-Ziemel (Stallion Meat)

Stallion meat, a common product which is used in various dishes, is usually fried or baked with white wine sauce.

Vegetables

Bigilla (Maltese Bean Dip)

Bigilla is a traditional bean dip. It is made with a type of dried broad beans called ful tal-Girba, which are soaked for 24 hours, rinsed, then boiled until they are very soft. The beans are subsequently mashed and mixed with salt, pepper, olive oil, crushed garlic and chopped parsley. Chilli is optional.

Kapunata (Maltese Vegetable Dish)

A Maltese version of Ratatouille made from tomatoes, capers, aubergines and green peppers which goes well with grilled fish, or can be served cold, on its own as a savoury light lunch. Used also on pizza. Can be home-made but can also be found in supermarkets preserved in cans.

Qargha Baghli (Maltese Stuffed Marrows)

These are particular delicious stuffed with minced beef, parsley and baked, or made into a creamy soup. It can also be fried.

Pastry

Imqaret (Date Slices)

Date-filled, deep-fried pastries which are served piping hot from take-away stands. Look out for them at City Gate, Valletta. Some restaurants also offer them as desserts on their menu.

Kannoli (Cheese or Cream Filled Pastry)

Very similar if not virtually identical to the Italian cannoli. A tube-shaped confectionery of deep-fried crisp pastry stuffed with fresh ricotta and sweetened with pieces of chocolate and candied fruit. Eaten as a treat any time of day, and also offered after dinner. The candied fruit included in this snack, is also often used in a delicious type of colourful nougat.

Also found as "Kannoli tal-Krema" where fresh whipped cream replaces the ricotta.

Pastizzi (Ricotta or Pea Filled Pasties)

A popular snack for all Islanders, found at pastizzerias and most bars, pizzerias, and some restaurants and bakeries. Pastizzi are small, diamond-shaped packets of flaky pastry stuffed with either fresh ricotta or a mushy pea mixture. Sometimes they are slightly spicy and made from shortcrust pastry. They have been likened to the Indian Samosas, just with a more neutral filling. Puff-pastry variants are served at most restaurants, though tasting totally different.

Qassatat (Ricotta or Pea Filled Pasties)

Considered a "cleaner" alternative to pastizzi, these are made of light pastry traditionally filled with ricotta, peas, or spinach. Alternative fillings are increasingly becoming popular. Usually spanning the palm of a hand, smaller servings are used as finger food at functions.

Bread

Hobza Tal-Malti (Maltese Bread)

A very crusty sourdough bread loaf with a deliciously soft inside which is the mainstay of a meal. It is a snack in itself served with simple local produce like fresh tomatoes or kunserva (tomato paste), and gbejniet. This type of bread proves extremely popular: most households have a loaf delivered daily including Sundays.

A less crusty and more compact variant is used for bruschetta. It is best eaten fresh but cooled off, as it loses most of its taste and crunchiness within a day.

Cheese

Gbejniet (Gozo Chesslets)

These are small, round cheeses, made from sheep's milk, often served as part of a light lunch, or as part of a hearty dinner. These cheeslets come in three varieties, fresh, sun dried (moxxi) or peppered (tal-bzar).

The Fresh variety have a smooth texture and a subtle, often creamy flavour. There are usually kept in water in a similar manner to fresh Mozzarella. The sundried variant sports a more definite, almost musky, taste, and are hard, but can keep for a long time without refrigeration. The peppered variety are dried in crushed black pepper, sometimes with the addition of dark vinegar. They can vary from a spiky taste to hot depending on the kind of pepper and amount used and the time for which they are left to 'cure'. The dried varieties are traditionally served with Galletti (a local type of cracker biscuit) and a glass of robust red wine.

Sweets

Figolla (Maltese Easter Sweet)

This dish is an Easter-time favourite. It is a book-sized golden, icing-coated biscuit stuffed with a mixture of sweet ground almonds (called intrita). The most traditional shapes are that of a lamb and that of a fish (due to its connotations with religion). Other common shapes are Hearts, Ducks and Sirenes, and more recently Cars, Rabbits (Easter Bunny) and many more shapes that might appeal to children.

Helwa Tat-Tork (Turk's Sweet)

This is a local variation of Halva most similar to the Greek or Turkish varieties (hence the name) Usually containing ground almonds and often also containing chocolate.

Kwarezimal (Maltese Lent Sweets)

Kwarezimal is a biscuit that is consumed during the Lenten period. This is often home made or purchased from a caterer during Lent.

Pudina Ta' L-Hobz (Bread Pudding)

Sweet made from stale bread which is soaked in water overnight to re-moisten it, and then mixed together with milk, cocoa, sugar, dried fruit and nuts. Sometimes liqueurs such as anisette or sherry are added. Commonly eaten all year round as a great way of using up leftover bread which has gone stale.

Qaghaq Ta' l-Ghasel (Maltese Honey Ring)

Honey or treacle rings made from a light pastry. They are often served in small pieces as an after-dinner accompaniment to coffee. Originally a Christmas delicacy but you'll find them in most confectioneries all year round.