Maltese Cuisine

Soup

Kawlata is a hearty soup usually made in the winter. The soup consists of either smoked pork shank or bacon and vegetables like broad beans, pumpkin or chayote squash, potatoes, kohlrabi, celery, cauliflower, and cabbage. When served it is topped with grated cheese. 

Soppa tal-armla is a delicious soup made with seasonal vegetables like carrots, potatoes, kohlrabi, broad beans, celery, peas, or cabbage. Some varieties of this soup include poached eggs and the traditional gbejna cheese. It is served with sourdough bread.

Maltese kusksu is a hearty soup made with peas, broad beans, and giant couscous. For more flavor dried mint, cheese and eggs can be added to the soup. It is usually prepared in the wintertime. 

Aljotta is a traditional soup popular during Lent. It is prepared with fish, head, and tail included, and made with small fish like rockfish. The fish is combined with fried onions, garlic, water, tomatoes, and flavorings like mint and bay leaves. Later, the soup is strained and rice is added until fully cooked. It is garnished with parsley and a squeeze of lemon is added.

Meat

Falda mimlija is a traditional dish that consists of stuffed flank steak. The flank is cut open and stuffed with ground pork, chopped bacon, breadcrumbs, onion, eggs, grated cheese, salt, and pepper. Once the flank steak is stuffed it is tied with twine a simmered slowly with chopped vegetables like potatoes, carrots, celery, turnip, and onions. When served it is accompanied by roasted or mashed potatoes.

Brungiel mimli is a dish that includes stuffed and baked eggplants. The eggplants are washed, cut in half, and boiled. Then the flesh is removed with a spoon and set aside. The eggplants are stuffed with ground meat (pork or beef or both), eggs, onions, tomato paste, salt, pepper, grated cheese, and the removed eggplant pulp. The eggplants are placed in a baking dish and baked for half an hour.

Tal-maijal u patata is a traditional casserole that is a combination of pork, potatoes, onions, garlic, hot peppers, fennel seeds, olive oil, salt, and black peppers. The pork and potatoes are cubed and the garlic and onions are sautéed in olive oil. Then all the ingredients are combined and some water is added to the baking dish. It is baked until everything is tender.

Fenek moqli is a dish prepared with rabbit meat, sunflower oil, thyme, dry white wine, and garlic. The rabbit meat is cut into pieces and then marinated in white wine, garlic, thyme, salt, and pepper. The meat is fried until fully cooked. It is served with French fries or baked potatoes and fresh bread.

Laham taz-ziemel is a dish that uses horse meat and is considered a local delicacy. The meat is marinated and stewed in a red-wine sauce, with onions, tomatoes, and different herbs and spices. It is served with roasted potatoes and sourdough bread.

Ross il-forn is a casserole prepared with rice and a flavorful sauce. The dish is made with minced meat, tomato sauce, and various spices. Cheese, eggs, vegetables, and bacon or offal can be added. The dish is served warm with a salad.

Fenkata is the national dish of Malta. A whole rabbit is marinated in wine then stewed with aromatic herbs and vegetables like carrots, tomatoes, onions, and garlic until tender. Olives and capers can be added to the dish.

Seafood

Bebbux bl-aljoli is a traditional snail dish. It consists of cooked snails served with aljoli sauce. The snails are cleaned, washed, and simmered until fully cooked. They’re removed from their shells and placed on a platter. The aljoli sauce is prepared with garlic, tomatoes, breadcrumbs, olive oil, parsley, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. The sauce is poured over the snails and the dish is enjoyed as an appetizer with crusty Maltese bread.

Zebbug mimli is a traditional appetizer or snack. It is made with pitted green olives stuffed with tuna, anchovies, capers, breadcrumbs, garlic, and olive oil. To stuff the olives, the ingredients are mashed into a smooth paste and piped into the olives.

Pulpetti tal-makku is a traditional fish dish that is popular in the summer. The dish consists of whitebait fritters prepared with a combination of whitebait, eggs, lemon juice, parsley, mint, salt, onions, and garlic. The whitebait is combined with all the ingredients and then fried in olive oil on both sides. The fritters are served hot with a squeeze of lemon juice.

Quarnita-bit-tewm is a traditional octopus dish. It is made with octopus, garlic, olive oil, paprika, scallions, parsley, mint, lemon juice, and peel. The octopus is cleaned, cooked, and when done left in the pot for half an hour. Then its cut into pieces and sauteed with olive oil, scallions, garlic, lemon juice, lemon peel, mint, and paprika. When served placed in a bowl and garnished with chopped parsley.

Tonn mixwi is a dish prepared with tuna steaks, garlic, olive oil, mint, salt, and pepper. The olive oil is mixed with chopped garlic, salt, pepper, and mint. The tuna steaks are marinated in the mixture for an hour, then grilled on both sides. While grilling it is basted with the marinade, then served with grilled vegetables or green salad.

Qaqocc mimli is a dish made with stuffed artichokes. The artichokes are stuffed with crumbled sourdough bread, anchovy filets, parsley, garlic, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Chopped Kalamata olives can be added to the stuffing which is placed between the artichoke leaves and in the space where the heart is. After stuffing, the artichokes are steamed or simmered in water until tender and drizzled with olive oil.

Pasta

Bebbux mimli is a pasta dish that is prepared with lumache (snail-shaped pasta), semolina, ricotta, grated cheese, nutmeg, parsley, eggs, tomato sauce, salt, and pepper. The ricotta is mixed with eggs, grated cheese, nutmeg, seasonings, and parsley. The mixture is stuffed in the pasta and the open ends are dipped in semolina so they remain intact when cooking. It is ready when the stuffed pasta rises to the top. The dish is served with warm tomato sauce, topped with grated cheese, and some freshly ground pepper.

Spagetti biz-zalza tal-qarnit is a dish with spaghetti and octopus sauce. It is made with a combination of octopus, spaghetti, peas, black olives, tomatoes, onions, tomato paste, red wine, olive oil, lemon zest, mint, basil, salt, and black pepper. The octopus is cut in pieces and fried in olive oil and left to cool. The tomato paste and herbs are placed in a pot with chopped onions, chopped tomatoes, sliced olives, and lemon zest. The octopus is returned to the pan with peas, wine, and seasonings and cooked for half an hour.

Vegetables

Bzar mimli is a dish made with stuffed green peppers. The peppers are stuffed with a combination of olives, anchovies, capers, tomatoes, onions, garlic, breadcrumbs, olive oil, parsley, salt, and pepper. Each pepper is filled with the mixture and fried in oil or baked in the oven. The peppers can be served hot or cold.

Patata L-Forn is a dish made with sliced potatoes doused in olive oil and seasoned with herbs and spices, then baked until golden and crispy. Ingredients added to the potatoes are onions, tomato paste, and spices like fennel seeds or cloves.

Sweets

Qaghaq tal-ghasel is pastry with a treacle mixture. The pastry is prepared with flour, egg yolks, margarine, anisette liqueur or water. The filling consists of black treacle, water, sugar, semolina, cocoa powder, aniseeds, orange flower water, and grated tangerine, orange, and lemon zest. The dough is rolled in a long rectangle, the filled with the treacle mixture and shaped into rings. 

Prinjolata is a cake usually prepared for a carnival that takes place in the week leading up to Ash Wednesday. The name of the cake comes form the word prinjol – pine nut which is the main ingredient. The cake is shaped like a dome and prepared with glace cherries, citrus peel, and pine nuts with sponge cake madeira cake, or crushed biscuits. Once assembled the cake is decorated with meringue, cream, or frosting,