“Pastizzi, ftira, imqaret, hobz biz-zejt. Maltese street food is not artisanal burgers. It is food that has fed a nation for centuries.”
Maltese street food is not trendy avocado burgers. It is working people's food — it should give you energy, have flavour, and cost next to nothing. It has been doing exactly that for centuries.
Filo pastry filled with ricotta (tal-irkotta) or curried peas (tal-piżelli). 50–60 cents. Hot, crispy, fatty and brilliant. Details in the dedicated article.
A round bread (tyre-shaped), crispy like ciabatta but denser. Filled with: kunserva (tomato paste), tuna, olives, capers, onion, sometimes cheese. Listed on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage. Found in every pastizzeria and bakery.
The simplest thing in the world. Fresh Maltese bread (ftira), rubbed with raw tomato, drizzled with olive oil, sprinkled with salt and perhaps capers. The vegetarian version of a Maltese sandwich. Tastes like holidays.
Fried pastries filled with dates flavoured with aniseed, orange peel and cinnamon. Warm, sticky, smelling of the Orient. Buy them at markets, festas and from street vendors in Valletta.
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Malta Food Guide: Maltese Cuisine and the Best Restaurants
Pastizzi, rabbit stew, ftira and Kinnie — a guide to Maltese food with specific recommendations.