The tasty cuisine of Malta

The tasty cuisine of Malta, believe it or not, is a vast subject, fitted to fill countless pages of recipe books. You might think such a tiny country as this Mediterranean island would have few secrets to hide, but you would be wrong.

As we already found out in our previous talks about the country, the history of Malta has been linked to the ever present influence of Italy, England and the Arab culture. Situated at a crossroads, in between the Orient and the Occident, this small European country harmonizes the sweet scented flavor of the East with the gorgeous frugal mixture of everything Mediterranean.

The traditional food elements in Malta include fish and seafood, spices, beans, herbs, olive oil, sauces (brought by the English), rice and lamb versus pork equally. The famous Knights Hospitaller, who established their headquarters on the island in the Middle Ages, came from various European countries, particularly France, Italy and Spain, so they brought along their diet habits. Aljotta is an example of this “intercultural” cohabitation, a fish broth seasoned with herbs, garlic and tomatoes. After the New World was conquered, potatoes and most of the common vegetables of today were introduced here, as well as chocolate. (Malta was among the first countries to taste its sweet, subtle flavor).

Let’s see some of the traditional Maltese dishes that make up this eclectic and surprising mixture of Mediterranean and Arabic. It may be interesting to know that typical Maltese food is seasonal and rustic.

National dishes include Zebbug Miml (green olives stuffed with tuna), Fazola bajda bit-tewm u t-tursin (white beans with garlic, parsley and bathed in olive oil), Minestrone (vegetable soup of an Italian origin), the Arabic Ful medames (Egyptian dish adapted made of fava beans mashed and cooked with vegetable oil, onion, parsley and lemons.

Take a tour of Malta to taste the tasty flavor of a unique place.