Pastizzi are small savory pastries filled with fresh ricotta or spiced peas, originating from Malta. They are a popular snack in Malta and Maltese communities in other countries, and can be found in traditional pastizzerias. Some bakers have adapted the recipe to include a wider range of fillings. The pastries are made by rolling out puff pastry dough and folding it over the filling before cooking in a wood oven.
Pastizzi are small oval or diamond-shaped versions of cheesecakes or peacakes that originate from the Mediterranean island nation of Malta. These desserts are typically filled with fresh ricotta or a mixture of somewhat spiced peas known as pizelli. The singular word for pastizzi is actually pastizz in the Maltese language. Pastizzi are favorite snacks both in Malta and in Maltese enclaves in other countries. Traditional pastizzi can be bought from street vendors throughout Malta, particularly on Sundays and sometimes Friday and Saturday evenings, which is convenient for nightclub revelers.
Some Maltese bakers specialize in another pastizzi recipe which typically consists of flaky pastry rather than some heavier types of baking dough. This pastizzi variant can usually be sampled in Maltese sidewalk cafés or bakeries known as pastizzerias. The typical Maltese pastizzeria is often run by generations of the same family with their unique recipes for these popular cheese or legume dishes. While most of these sweets can still only be purchased in stores, some bakers also sell them online.
First-time visitors to Malta who try a pastry are often surprised that it is a savory pastry rather than a sweet pastry; the confusion usually comes from referring to a pie as “cheesecake.” Maltese recipes for this type of pastry generally refer to unsweetened ricotta filling rather than dessert cheesecake ingredients. A frequent traveling breakfast for some busy Maltese workers is one such freshly baked ricotta pastry topped with sugar and paired with a glass of hot tea or coffee.
This traditional pastry has also gained some popularity in other countries that have significant Maltese communities; examples include Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom. Some local bakers in these communities have adapted their pastizzi recipes to include a wider range of savory fillings to suit more diverse tastes. It’s not unusual to find one of these desserts filled with other vegetables such as spinach or with meats such as beef or pork.
The process of making pastizzi in typical Maltese pastry typically involves rolling out a fresh puff pastry dough, cutting it to the appropriate size, and folding each one over the added filling to form the traditional pastizzi shape. Groups of about 30 cakes can be cooked at the same time in a wood oven. Most residents of Malta tend to agree that any flavor of pie is eaten fresh and hot from the oven.
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