I was reading through FOOD AND DRINK HISTORY Seren on Saturdays – Cheesecake – food of the Gods – on Unknown Kent and Sussex the other day – and was struck by the dissimilarity that in the UK and elsewhere this is seen as a sugary sweetmeat whereas in Malta and Gozo this is a totally non-sugary savoury munch as a snack and a bridge for satisfying hunger appetites.
Seren’s cheesecake
Cheesecakes in Malta have a completely different meaning, being a snack of layered non-sugary pastry filled with ricotta cheese or otherwise a mashed mixture of boiled peas and fried onion snippets.
In a similar manner, both have Greek origins but in Malta’s case this is a non-sugary snack known as “pastizzi” and dozens of outlets throughout Malta and Gozo sell them emitting an aroma that can be smelt metres away and may also be purchased raw and cooked at home to enjoy in homely comfort.
Delicious Maltese “cheesecakes” – pastizzi, savoury and not sweet!
They are best eaten fresh and slightly warmed and will certainly satisfy the stomach.
However, it is Easter Monday and my concentration is on figolli which go back millennia and originated in Sicily and go back to the Italian word “figura” which means figure.
These are the sweet delights mainly for children (but adults too!) on the dawning of Easter Sunday after the sweet deprivations during Lent.
Particularly in the past, different shapes were tied to different meanings. For example, a fish was used as a symbol of Jesus Christ, while a basket was assumed to be a symbol of fertility.
Figolli made by my dear wife Matilde and the metal baking forms she uses to give shape
My dear wife Matilde is an expert cook and is of Sicilian-Maltese origin and this is her recipe for these amazing figollas:
Make sweet pastry in proportions of:
I kg plain flour
½ kg self-raising
750 gms sugar
Some grated lemon rind
A sprinkling of vanilla
Eight (8) egg yolks
Knead very thoroughly and flatten
Cut out shapes using forms as shown
For filling use:
1kg ground almonds
½ kg sugar
One teaspoon orange flower water
Add egg whites to bind
A sprinkling of vanilla
Knead very thoroughly and insert mixtures on flattened pastry in forms
With discarded pastry, top off the figolli and decorate with icing sugar as desired.
On sale in commercial outlets
Easter Day on 31st March marked the expiry of the month and heralds April and May – two months of bumper activities throughout the Maltese Islands – but more about these later.
ALBERT FENECH