Local Dishes

1. pastizzi

   Pastizzi (flaky pastry filled with ricotta or mushy peas)

   Usage

   Malta's everyday snack, bought hot and by the piece from a pastizzerija. Many shops make the diamond-shaped ones with ricotta and the round ones with mushy peas, but the convention is not universal, so point and check

   Grammar Note

   The singular is "pastizz" and the plural "pastizzi"; shop signs and menus almost always use the plural

2. qassatat

   Qassatat (round savoury pastry with ricotta or mushy pea filling)

   Usage

   Usually sold alongside pastizzi but made with shortcrust rather than flaky pastry, and gathered into a round purse shape; the fillings are the same two

   Grammar Note

   The singular is "qassata", the plural "qassatat"

3. ftira Għawdxija

   Ftira Għawdxija (Gozitan filled flatbread)

   Usage

   A Gozo speciality: potato, ġbejniet (sheep's cheeselets), egg, grated cheese, tomato, anchovy, olives, ricotta and Maltese sausage are among the fillings

   Grammar Note

   "ftira" is feminine, so the adjective takes the feminine form "Għawdxija"; the masculine is "Għawdxi"

4. ħobż biż-żejt

   Ħobż biż-żejt (Maltese bread with olive oil and tomato)

   Usage

   The commonest way to eat Maltese bread: rubbed with tomato or tomato paste (kunserva), soaked in olive oil and filled with tuna, olives, capers, onion or ġbejniet

   Grammar Note

   The preposition "bi" (with) plus the article "il-" assimilates to the following "ż", giving "biż-"; the same rule leaves "bil-" unchanged before other consonants, as in "bil-ħalib"

5. stuffat tal-fenek

   Stuffat tal-fenek (rabbit stew, Malta's national dish)

   Usage

   Widely called Malta's national dish. The rabbit is slow-cooked with wine, tomato, garlic, bay leaf, cloves, salt, pepper and herbs. Some places serve it as two courses: the sauce over pasta first, then the meat and vegetables

6. fenek moqli bl-inbid u t-tewm

   Rabbit fried with wine and garlic

   Usage

   The fried rather than stewed treatment of rabbit, often offered on the same menu as the stuffat

7. aljotta

   Aljotta (fish broth with garlic and tomato)

   Usage

   A fish broth with a great deal of garlic, herbs and tomato, usually described as the Maltese counterpart of bouillabaisse

8. kusksu

   Kusksu (broad bean soup with small pasta)

   Usage

   A spring soup made with seasonal broad beans (fażola wiesgħa). Despite the name it is not North African couscous; it uses small bead-shaped pasta

9. kawlata

   Kawlata (vegetable soup)

   Usage

   A winter vegetable soup, very often with pork added, so check the contents if you avoid meat

   Grammar Note

   Also has the figurative sense a hotchpotch or mess; on a menu it means the soup.

10. ross il-forn

    Ross il-forn (baked rice)

    Usage

    Rice baked in the oven with a minced-meat sauce; pork is traditionally part of it

11. imqarrun il-forn

    Imqarrun il-forn (baked macaroni)

    Usage

    Macaroni set with a minced-meat sauce and egg, cut into squares to serve; a fixture of Christmas and family celebrations

12. torta tal-lampuki

    Torta tal-lampuki (dorado fish pie)

    Usage

    Dorado baked in pastry with vegetables; it appears in autumn, in step with the lampuki season

13. lampuki

    Lampuki (dorado / dolphin fish)

    Usage

    Caught from late August to about November and concentrated on menus in that window; served grilled, fried or in a pie

    Grammar Note

    The singular is "lampuka" (feminine) and the plural "lampuki"; menus usually use the plural

14. ġbejniet

    Ġbejniet (small round sheep's or goat's cheeselets)

    Usage

    Sold fresh (friski) or dried and rolled in salt and pepper (tal-bżar); eaten on their own and used in ftira and salads

    Grammar Note

    The singular is "ġbejna" (feminine), the plural "ġbejniet"

15. bebbux

    Bebbux (snails)

    Usage

    One of the traditional foods of Lent (Randan); served in small portions as a starter

16. qaqoċċ mimli

    Qaqoċċ mimli (stuffed artichoke)

    Usage

    Artichokes stuffed with breadcrumbs, garlic and herbs and braised; a spring dish and a Lenten one

17. zalzett Malti

    Zalzett Malti (Maltese sausage)

    Usage

    The indigenous sausage, made with pork. Eaten raw or grilled and used in ftira and pasta. Note that it is pork, so check before ordering if you avoid it

    Grammar Note

    "zalzett" is masculine, so the adjective is "Malti" (feminine "Maltija"). Note the initial letter is "z" (/ts/), not "ż" (/z/)

18. ravjul Għawdxi

    Ravjul Għawdxi (Gozitan ravioli with cheeselet filling)

    Usage

    Gozitan ravioli filled with ġbejna. On Gozo some bakers even use this ravioli as the filling of their pastizzi

19. imqaret

    Imqaret (deep-fried date pastry)

    Usage

    Date paste wrapped in pastry and fried, scented with anise and bay. Sold from street stalls and at village feasts, sometimes served with ice cream

    Grammar Note

    The singular is "maqrut", the plural "imqaret". The name refers to the diamond shape, though they are often sold cut into rectangles

20. figolla

    Figolla (Easter almond-filled sweet)

    Usage

    An Easter sweet: pastry sandwiching a filling of ground almonds, sugar and egg white, iced or covered in chocolate and cut into hearts, crosses, fish or rabbits. It contains almonds, so avoid it if you have a tree-nut allergy

    Grammar Note

    The singular is "figolla", the plural "figolli"

21. kwareżimal

    Kwareżimal (Lenten almond biscuit)

    Usage

    A Lenten baked sweet whose name comes from the word for the forty-day fast; traditionally made without egg or dairy. It contains almonds

22. qagħaq tal-għasel

    Qagħaq tal-għasel (treacle rings)

    Usage

    A ring of pastry filled with dark treacle; a Christmas fixture

    Grammar Note

    "qagħaq" is plural (singular "qagħqa"). "għasel" literally means honey, but the filling of this sweet is dark treacle

23. prinjolata

    Prinjolata (carnival cake)

    Usage

    A cake that appears only at carnival: sponge, chocolate, fruit and nuts under a covering of cream. It contains nuts

24. kannoli

    Kannoli (crisp tubes filled with sweet ricotta)

    Usage

    A hard tube shell filled with sweetened ricotta, a standard of Maltese pastry shops, usually filled to order

    Grammar Note

    The singular is "kannol", the plural "kannoli"; the word also means a small pipe or tube in Maltese

25. pudina tal-ħobż

    Pudina tal-ħobż (bread pudding)

    Usage

    Leftover bread soaked in milk and baked with sugar, dried fruit and cocoa; a home sweet, also sold by the slice

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