White Bean Caponata

This recipe hits home! 🇲🇹 Although the traditional dish is from the neighbouring island of Sicily, it is also a popular dish in Malta with varieties found all over the place. The basic ingredients for the dish are aubergines, tomatoes, olives and capers. Some include other vegetables like zucchini, carrots and bell peppers. The beautiful…

Maltese Ross il-Forn – Baked rice

Ross il-forn in Maltese literally translates to baked rice. It is a popular rice dish in Malta and can be considered the ultimate Maltese comfort food. Although it takes some time to prepare the dish from scratch, there is nothing too complicated about it. Once at it, I like to make extra portions and freeze…

Qagħaq tal-Ä unÄ¡lien – Maltese Sesame Rings

Qagħaq tal-Ä unÄ¡lien literally translates to sesame rings. These are traditional Maltese biscuits made from wheat flour, lemon and orange peel and a bunch of aromatics, including cinnamon, cloves and anise seed. You will also find them shaped in a figure of eight and called Ottijiet (otto = eight in Italian). They are commonly found all…

Għadam tal-Mejtin, Maltese Almond Cookies

Għadam tal-Mejtin, which literally translates to “dead men’s bones”, can sound a bit creepy. But never mind the name… they are absolutely delicious almond cookies. The name comes from the shape of the cookies, which are prepared in the form of a bone. These traditional Maltese cookies are prepared in the beginning of November, in…

Imqarrun il-Forn, Maltese Baked Macaroni

Imqarrun il-Forn (baked macaroni), also known as baked pasta (GħaÄ¡in il-Forn), is a traditional and popular Maltese dish. It is very often served as starter during Christmas lunches, however, it is also enjoyed throughout the year at family gathering and Sunday lunches. The dish combines penne or rigatoni, a rich tomato ragù sauce, hard-boiled eggs,…

Maltese Christmas Log

The Maltese Christmas Log is very different than the Yule log, popular throughout Europe. Instead of sponge cake, the Maltese one is made with crushed biscuits and a variety of nuts, fruit and sometimes chocolate chips. It is very popular during the festive season, and besides it being sooo delicious it is very simple to…

Mediterranean Style Stuffed Bell Peppers

This recipe here takes me back home, as the flavours remind me of ħobż biż-żejt (translated to bread with oil). In Malta, ħobż biż-żejt is a traditional lunchtime snack. It consists of a traditional Maltese loaf or a ftira (a round flat-ish bread similar to ciabatta) spread with kunserva (a sweet tomato paste), and topped…

Kwareżimal – Maltese Lenten Cookies

This recipe reminds me of home and the beautiful smells that would fill our house while baking these cookies. The orange blossom water smell also reminds me of Spring, which happens to be round the corner. 🙂 Kwareżimal refers to the forty days of Lent, during which traditionally in Malta most animal products were avoided. In fact,…

Traditional Maltese Figolli

Figolli are a traditional Easter cookie cake with almond filling, decorated with chocolate or icing. Traditionally they were made in the shapes of Catholic symbols related to Easter but nowadays you can find them in all shapes, such as lamb, rabbit, heart, fish, butterfly, cars… At home, we bake Figolli every year. They are not too hard…

Qassatat tal-Piżelli

Last week, I was really craving some Maltese qassatat. These are the fast food of Malta, along with the pastizzi, square pizza, sausage rolls and various pies. In almost every village you will find that small shop selling these tasty snacks. I had never made them before, but knowing I would not find something similar here…