June 7, 2011
When you hear “Maltese food,” what do you think of? Come on, quick!!!
Do you think honey rings?
You should. (Made with black treacle. Mmm.)
Sample one outdoors at Caffè Cordina in Valletta, the place to see and be seen.
Do you think ftira?
Buy this flatbread piping hot from the oven, and see if you can resist eating the whole damn thing in three minutes flat. According to one national survey, the Maltese eat about a kilo of bread a day. Easy to see why.
Borg Bakery in Valletta
Do you think pastizzi?
They’re the national snack: melting puff pastries stuffed with mashed peas or creamy ricotta. Drink with a glass of milky tea.
How to prepare this snack? Take a Tunisian glass of sweet tea, and add some British milk. Stuff Sicilian ricotta into a French puff pastry and give it a good Maltese twist. Talk about fusion cuisine! Malta may have invented it.
Enjoy your pastizzi with the good old boys at Crystal Palace Bar in Rabat, or at any old-fashioned bar.
Do you think fenek (rabbit)? You should. It’s the national dish of Malta.
You can find rabbit at most restaurants in Malta, but for a special treat head to Salvino’s in Valletta to sample Chef Andrew Pace’s version (slow-cooked in wine, garlic, and wild thyme). He makes a mean fish soup, too.
Chef Andrew Pace of Salvino's in Valletta, Malta
