Malta, a tiny island country in the Mediterranean Sea, has seen its fair share of rulers come and go over the centuries. The first settlers in 5900 BC were most likely immigrants from Sicily, until the Phoenicians arrived from Lebanon, then came the Romans, followed by the Byzantines, an invasion from North Africa, then the Normans, the Knights of St John, a brief spell under the French, and a stint as a British military fortress, before eventually becoming an independent nation in 1964… phew.

It’s no wonder that everyone wanted a piece of Malta - after all, its desirable location with easy access to mainland Europe, Africa and the Middle East meant that whoever conquered it would have their pick of strategic trading ports. With every turn in this ruling roller coaster, though, the island changed, absorbing influences from whichever power was in charge. As a result, Malta - now a thriving, liberated country - has been left with a unique identity that reflects its hectic history… and nothing demonstrates this better than the food!

So, where to begin my exploration of Malta’s diverse cuisine? Well, trying the national dish felt like the best place to start. For my first meal in Malta, I had my sights set on stuffat tal-fenek (rabbit stew), and, whilst the most authentic versions are to be found in more rural areas like Mġarr, there was no shortage of establishments offering this traditional dish in the resort town of Sliema. We headed to a charming bistro called Ta’Kris, tucked away down an inconspicuous side-street, upon a Maltese friend’s recommendation.

Before the main course even arrived, we were given a taste of some of Malta’s most popular delicacies, as the waitress brought over a plate of hors d’oeuvres: galletti (little savoury biscuits), some thick hunks of crusty Maltese bread or Il-Ħobż tal-Malti (cooked in wood ovens, a centuries-old tradition) and a bowl of bigilla (a dip made from mashed beans, olive oil, salt and red pepper - much more delicious than its grey colour might suggest!). Then came the rabbit - shallow-fried in garlic and rosemary and simmered in a very rich red wine gravy, it was served with patata fil-forn, a classic side dish of roast potatoes with fennel seeds. Fennel, I should mention, grows abundantly in the wild in Malta, and is used in all sorts of meat, fish and potato dishes - if you look closely, you might spot the chameleon camouflaging amongst the bright yellow fennel in the photo below!

It turns out, rabbit stew is not just loved in Malta because it’s incredibly tasty, but it’s also eaten as a form of protest! Wild rabbits gained popularity in Malta when the Phoenicians introduced them in around 900 BC as a dependable source of fresh meat, and they quickly became a staple of the cuisine. Fast-forward to the rule of the Knights of St John in about 1530, where rabbit hunting has just been outlawed, and suffice to say, the Maltese aren’t happy about this (imagine being told you’re not allowed to eat your favourite food anymore!). Once the restrictions were lifted in the late 18th Century, eating rabbit came to represent defiance against the Order and a statement of Maltese identity. So there you have a key example of Malta’s history influencing the dishes that are eaten and loved there today!

The next day we headed to the town of Rabat, which adjoins the ancient capital city of Mdina, still confined within its imposing city walls. The beautiful ‘Silent City’ has retained much of its Medieval character, which made it a perfect setting for the TV show Game of Thrones in which it features repeatedly, but I wasn’t (just) here to spot the different filming locations. Instead, I was looking for a little place called ‘Is-Serkin’, also known as the ‘Crystal Palace Bar’ - a nickname that emerged during the mid-20th Century when British soldiers from the Crystal Palace area of London were stationed in nearby Mtarfa, and would gather here to eat and drink. The small premises remains as popular today as it was then, with visitors coming for one thing in particular… pastizzi!

Pastizzi are savoury pastries, usually diamond-shaped or round, and without a doubt are Malta’s best-loved snack. The pastry is similar to filo - thin, flaky, fatty and delicious - and the two traditional fillings are either ricotta cheese or mushy curried peas (the latter surely influenced by the Brits!), although the more recent addition of chicken can now commonly be seen on menus, too. Pastizzi are so popular in Malta that they use the idiom ‘jinbiegħu bħall-pastizzi’ (selling like pastizzi) as an equivalent to the English phrase ‘selling like hot cakes’, and things that are ‘jinħarġu bħall-pastizzi’ (coming out like pastizzi) can be said to be emerging at a fast rate. Both of these expressions made perfect sense when I was in The Crystal Palace Bar - the pastizzi certainly were coming thick and fast, with trays of neatly tessellating diamonds constantly shoveled in and out of a hot oven to serve the ever-growing queue of customers snaking out the door.

It’s clear to see why pastizzi are so loved by locals and tourists alike - not only are they utterly delicious (the creamy, subtle ricotta filling was our firm favourite), but at just €0.50 each and with many pastizzerija open 24 hours a day, these are a cheap, dependable snack to satisfy both mid-morning tummy-rumblings and post-night-out cravings. When The Crystal Palace Bar was forced to close temporarily during the COVID pandemic, Malta’s national newspaper wrote that it was ‘like closing down church’ - a true testament to the pastizzerija’s importance in Maltese life, a place of comfort with ever-open arms.

We needed something to wash down the pastizzi, so opted for two classic accompaniments - a cup of tea (served in a glass, the traditional way) and a bottle of Kinnie. The latter is Malta’s most popular soft drink - bittersweet with bitter oranges and extracts of wormwood, its recipe is kept secret, but is speculated to contain ginseng and rhubarb. It’s an acquired taste, but was definitely refreshing on a very hot day, and I think I could probably get used to it! Feeling very satisfied, I reflected once more upon Malta’s vast range of influences - here I was in a bar named after a part of England, eating Middle Eastern-style pastry, filled with Sicillian-style soft ricotta, and yet the whole package felt very distinctly and proudly Maltese!

By this point, I’d sampled many of the must-try delicacies in Malta, and in doing so, had tasted a variety of different herbs and spices. I could definitely tell that these were an important part of adding flavour to the food here, and yet I didn’t feel that I’d quite got to the bottom of this specific aspect of Maltese cooking yet. I wanted to delve a bit deeper, and for this, there was really only one place to go - a little shop, hidden down a quiet road in the capital city, Valletta. The George Zammitt Spice Shop, also known as Tal-Ħwawar (which translates as ‘Of Herbs’) has been operating since 1888, although this long history nearly came to an abrupt end in November 2022, when the owner Johann Farrugia announced that he was officially shutting up shop. He cited the regeneration of the city as the reason for closure, with many old shops being pushed out to make way for more bars and restaurants, but fortunately this decision was met with an outpouring of emotion, proving that traditional establishments still hold importance for many people. The hiatus was fairly short-lived, as the shop reopened just a few months later in March 2023, albeit in a new location.

The timing of the reopening, just before Easter, was significant, as spices play an important role in Maltese Easter traditions. One of the shop’s most popular offerings is its ‘Good Friday Mix’, a fragrant (and secret!) blend of 20 spices, considered to be Malta’s answer to North African ‘Ras el Hanout’. The blend is mixed with wine and citrus fruits, then allowed to simmer on a low flame, creating a heady and aromatic scent that fills the many churches across Malta during Holy Week. A similarly potent smell hits you as soon as you enter Tal-Ħwawar - I can now relate to the postal workers and customers that remark upon the smell of spices here at The Spicery when we open the door to them (I’ve been here long enough to no longer notice it!). The small shop is filled to the brim with old-fashioned jars of spices and herbs, dried fruits, sweets, seeds, legumes and cake decorations. In another cabinet are tightly-packed rows of colourful glass bottles, each one filled with an intriguing essence or concoction, its label hand-written in a whimsical, ‘Alice in Wonderland’-esque way: vanilla, almond, coffee, coconut, bergamot, orange, pistachio, peppermint, kiwi, pineapple, anise… 

The shop’s ethos is transparency, authenticity and tradition. Nothing is pre-packed, you get exactly what you ask for, in whatever combination or quantity you like. I asked for a mixture of sugar-coated chickpeas and aniseed balls to bring back to The Spicery, and as Johann (whose family has owned the shop for generations) weighed them out on the old-fashioned metal scales, we chatted a bit about the history of the shop. He explained that it hasn’t always dealt with spices - back in the day, it used to sell everyday necessities for domestic life; things like fuel, candles and paper. It was the advancement of the Suez Canal, which allowed for the movement of spices all over the world, that encouraged Maltese cooks to experiment with these new ingredients. Over time, the shop adapted its stock to align with this cultural shift, and started to focus on selling a new range of household essentials - herbs and spices! As Johann handed me my purchases, wrapped up in a greaseproof paper parcel, he encouraged me to pop next door to the adjoining coffee shop, Tal-Kafe’.

Of course, the main thing we had to try here was a glass of traditional Maltese coffee, blended with chicory, aniseed and cloves. The barista handed it to us with a warning that we might find the taste a bit of a shock, and he wasn’t wrong - it was extremely strong, and the mixture of spices added a powerful taste and aroma. I think I’ll stick to my milky lattes, but appreciated the buzz that it gave me, having had an early start to check out of our accommodation! The bitter coffee needed something sweet on the side, so we opted for a slice of Imqaret - a deep-fried, diamond-shaped pastry filled with dates and infused with aniseed and bay leaf, a legacy of the Arab invasion many hundreds of years ago. 

As I sat and enjoyed my final breakfast in Malta, I quietly watched other people - both locals and tourists - come and go with their takeaway coffees, or sit at tables and tap away on their laptops. The coffee shop is a new venture, and a demonstration of the proprietors making changes to keep up with the times, the same way that they did when they first started selling spices all those years ago. It seems to me that Malta as a country is used to changes, having experienced so many twists and turns in its history, but amidst this fusion of influences it has forged a unique, distinct and proud identity. With any hope, the Tal-Ħwawar spice shop will survive another 140 years - will it still be selling spices then? Who knows. For now, though, it continues to provide customers with a glimpse of the past, a nostalgic feeling of tradition, and a taste of Malta, which in itself is a marvellous mixture of so many things…

A big thank you to Yandrick for lots of brilliant recommendations!