List of Maltese dishes

Some Maltese vegetable dishes

The following is a list of dishes in Maltese cuisine:

Appetizers

• Żebbuġ mimli (pitted green olives stuffed with tuna mixture)
• Fażola bajda bit-tewm u t-tursin (white beans with parsley, garlic and olive oil)
• Ful bit-tewm
• Bigilla (mashed "Tic beans "known in Malta as "Ful Ta' Ġirba" (Djerba beans))
• Galletti (Maltese biscuit)
• Bebbux (escargot)
• Arjoli (dip, a Maltese version of aioli without eggs but with added breadcrumbs/crushed galletti, tomato paste and various other pureed ingredients such as olives, capers, onions and anchovies, and herbs such as mint and parsley)

Soups

Kusksu is traditionally eaten during Lent.

• Brodu (beef or chicken broth)
• Minestra (Maltese version of minestrone, a thick soup of Italian origin made with vegetables)
• Kusksu (vegetable soup with small pasta beads called kusksu and fresh broad beans in season)
• Soppa tal-armla Widow's Soup (vegetable soup with fresh cheeselets and beaten eggs)
• Aljotta (fish soup with plenty of garlic, herbs, and tomatoes)
• Kawlata (cabbage and pork soup)

Pasta and rice

A slice of timpana

• Imqarrun (macaroni, Bolognese-style meat sauce, and egg casserole)
• Timpana (macaroni and tomato sauce casserole)
• Ravjul (ravioli and tomato sauce)
• Ross il-forn (baked rice)
• Għaġin grieg (small pasta beads with minced pork and cheese)
• Froġa tat-tarja (fried omelette with vermicelli pasta)
• Spagetti biz-zalza tal-fenek (spaghetti with rabbit sauce)

Meat

• Stuffat tal-fenek (rabbit stew)
• Fenek moqli (fried rabbit)
• Braġjoli (thin slices of meat that are stuffed and rolled as a roulade)
• Laħam fuq il-fwar (steamed slices of beef)
• Falda Mimlija (stuffed flank of pork)
• Laħam taż-żiemel (stallion meat, usually fried or baked in a white wine sauce)
• Zalzett tal-Malti (a short, thick sausage made of pork, sea salt, black peppercorns, coriander seeds and parsley)
• Mazzit (Maltese blood sausage)

Fish

Grilled calamari

• Lampuka
• Stuffat tal-qarnit (octopus stew)
• Qarnit bit-tewm (octopus with garlic)
• Klamari mimlija (stuffed calamari)
• Pixxispad (fried swordfish)

Eggs and cheeses

• Ġbejna (plural ġbejniet), a small round cheese, varieties of which include: ^[1]
  • Ġbejna friski ("fresh ġbejna") – fresh, soft cheese stored in its natural state, without whey, with a similar taste to mozzarella ^[2]
  • Ġbejna tal-ilma ("ġbejna in water") - ġbejna preserved in whey
  • Ġbejna maħsula - ġbejna rubbed with salt
  • Ġbejna tal-bżar - ġbejna coated in pepper
  • Ġbejna tal-żejt - dried ġbejna, often with pepper, and preserved in oil, sometimes with wine vinegar
  • Ġbejna moxxi - sun-dried ġbejna
  • Ġbejna t'Għawdex - sun-dried ġbejna from Gozo
  • Ġbejna bajda - white ġbejna ^[3]
  • Ġbejna mħawra - ġbejna with mixed herbs
  • Ġbejna tal-ħabaq - ġbejna with basil
  • Ġbejna sagħtar u kosbor - ġbejna with thyme and coriander
• Froġa (omelette with ġbejna, broad beans or meat)
• Balbuljata (scrambled eggs cooked with tomatoes and onions)

Vegetable-based entrees and side dishes

Qargħabagħli mimli (stuffed marrows)

• Qargħabagħli mimli (stuffed marrows)
• Qarabagħli mimli (stuffed courgette)
• Brunġiel mimli (stuffed aubergine)
• Bżar mimli (stuffed peppers)
• Patata l-forn (baked sliced potatoes)
• Kapunata
• Qaqoċċ mimli (stuffed artichokes)
• Tadam mimli (cold summer dish, tomatoes stuffed with cold rice salad, mayo, olives, capers)

Savoury pastries

Pastizzi

Spinach and Pea Qassata with salted tuna, anchovies and herbs

• Torta tal-irkotta (ricotta pie)
• Sfineġ (vegetable, fish or cheese fritters);
• Pastizzi
• Qassatat (qassata)
• Torti tar-ross u l-qargħa ħamra (rice and pumpkin pie)

Bread

Main article: Maltese bread

• Ħobża tal-Malti
• Ftira (a Maltese flatbread)
• Ħobż biż-żejt u t-tadam (bread with olive oil and tomato)
• Ftira Għawdxija
• Qagħaq tal-Appostli

Sweets

Qagħaq tal-ħmira

• Qagħaq tal-ħmira (or just "Kagħak" in some dialects, soft sweet bagel shape cake with a hint of aniseed, topped with sesame seeds)
• Imqaret (deep fried diamond-shaped pastry) ^{[4] [5]}
• Kannoli tal-irkotta (ricotta filled fried crisp pastry tubes)
• Ravjul moqli (sweet toasted ravioli)
• Torta tat-tamal (date and cocoa tart)
• Torta tal-marmorat (almond and chocolate pie)
• Ħelwa tat-Tork (nut studded sesame seed and sugar halva)
• Pudina tal-ħobż (baked bread pudding with raisins and cocoa powder)
• Prinjolata (Carnival sweet, made of biscuit and sponge cake covered with frosting and decorated with glacè cherries and melted chocolate)
• Kwareżimal (Lenten almond biscuit scented with the zest of orange, lemon and Maltese mixed spice, cinnamon and orange blossom)
• Ftira tar-Randan (Lenten honey drizzled squares of crisp deep fried pastry)
• Karamelli tal-ħarrub (Lenten hard candy flavoured with carob)
• Figolla (Easter icing-coated biscuit stuffed with a mixture of sweet ground almonds called intrita)
• Ħobża ta' San Martin (sweet bread roll, sweetened with mastic associated with Saint Martin's Day)
• Qagħaq tal-għasel or tal-Qastanija (Christmas sweet rings made from a light pastry with a filling made of treacle, honey, semolina, citrus zest, cinnamon and cloves)
• Għadam tal-mejtin (Pastry shaped in the form of a bone filled with almond paste)
• Zeppoli
• Qubbajt (Traditional Maltese Nougat)
• Ġelat Malti (Ġelat tan- nanna) a traditional ice cream made from condensed milk, cinnamon, nuts, and candied peel.

Beverages

• Ġulepp tal-ħarrub (carob syrup)
• Imbuljuta (chestnut, tangerine zest and cocoa drink)
• Kafè (coffee boiled with aniseed, cinnamon sticks and/or rosewater, alternatively with cloves in some communities)
• Kafè bl-aniżetta (coffee with anisette liqueur)
• Ruġġata (a drink made from cinnamon, vanilla, bitter almonds, sugar, water and milk; similar to Italian 'orzata')
• Te fit-tazza (a local variety of builder's tea, traditionally served with condensed milk and sweetened in a glass)
• Kinnie (a bittersweet soft drink)
• Liqueur tal-bajtar (a prickly pear-based liqueur)

References

1. "Taste the Ġbejna: The Cheese of the Maltese Islands". The Snop House Senglea. Retrieved 2 April 2025.
2. "Sheep cheeselets in Malta". Malta Travel Guide. Retrieved 2 April 2025.
3. "The Ultimate Guide to Benna Ġbejna". Benna. Retrieved 2 April 2025.
4. Sweet Delights from a Thousand and One Nights: The Story of Traditional Arab Sweets, Habeeb Salloum, Muna Salloum, I.B.Tauris, Λονδίνο 2013, σελ. 132, ISBN   9781780764641
5. Proceedings of the First Congress on Mediterranean Studies of Arbo-Berber Influence, Micheline Galley, David R. Marshall, Société nationale d'édition et de diffusion, 1973

External links

• Malta portal
• Food portal

• Media related to Cuisine of Malta at Wikimedia Commons