5 Foods You Must Try in Malta
Local, fresh, simple and seasonal; four important words that capture the essence of Maltese and Gozitan cuisine. Maltese food is influenced by its close proximity to Silicly and North Africa yet it still contains its individuality with its own unique twist.
You’ll find an array of Mediterranean flavours with an emphasis on seafood, vegetables, pasta, meats, bread, cheese and olive oils — a lot of it! Every ‘Maltese’ dish we tried felt like it had come straight from Nanna’s kitchen. Home cooked & hearty. For the most authentic Maltese cuisine, look out for the family-run restaurants in the smaller towns.
Fenek
Rabbit stew, or as the locals call it, Stuffat Tal-Fenek, is Malta’s national dish. The rabbit is often served in one of two ways, stewed or fried. When stewed, it is a slow cooking process (over 2 hours) which allows the meat to become incredibly tender & typically fall off the bone. The stew is a rich gravy tomato based sauce and can include a variety of vegetables such as onion, garlic, carrots & potatoes. It is also commonly served with spaghetti or some form of pasta. You can find this dish at almost any Maltese restaurant. To us, it tasted and looked extremely similar to chicken but the sauce is what made it.
Gbejniet
The Maltese love their cheese, especially Gbejniet! Gbejniet is a typical, extremely versatile Maltese cheese made from goats or sheep’s milk, salt and rennet. It can be found in 3 forms; fresh, dried or cured and can be flavoured with pepper (our preference) or plain. Aside from eating this cheese as is, it is also commonly served deep fried, on salads, inside of ravioli (instead of ricotta), and occasionally, even in pies.
Hobza biz zejt or Ftira
A pretty basic, yet very typical type of crusty sourdough bread which is often found in the shape of a semi-circle. Almost like a donut! You can eat this plain with olive oil or more commonly found, it is smothered with kunserva (sweet tomato paste) and then drizzled with olive oil and topped with a choice or mix of tuna, anchovies, olives, capers, beans onion and bigilla. Personal preference on toppings with this dish!
Timpana
Carbs on carbs on carbs. The ultimate pasta pie. This baked pasta dish is made using very simple ingredients — macaroni and pastry. The macaroni is cooked in a bolognese based sauce with minced meat, bacon, tomatoes, garlic, onions and cheese and then baked in a puff pastry. It’s very heavy so make sure you’re hungry before trying to indulge in this meal!
Imqaret
Imqaret’s are a diamond-shaped deep-fried Maltese sweet treat that can be found at many corner stores and on the dessert menu at restaurants. The pastry is filled with dates then deep fried and dusted with icing sugar and served alongside ice cream. If you’re grabbing one on the go, you’ll miss the ice cream so make sure to give one a try when it’s fresh out of the fryer.
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