🇲🇹 Maltese Recipes

Traditional Mediterranean Cuisine

Pastizzi tal-Irkotta (Maltese Ricotta Pastries)

Malta's beloved flaky pastries filled with seasoned ricotta. Crisp, golden, and best eaten warm from the oven.

Prep: 45 minutes (plus chilling time) Cook: 25 minutes Servings: 12 pastizzi
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Watercolour illustration of golden boat-shaped pastizzi filled with savoury white ricotta.

Ingredients

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Measures: 1 tbsp = 15ml; 1 tsp = 5ml. For local ingredient names and substitutions, see our guide to Maltese ingredients abroad.

Instructions

  1. Make the dough: Mix the flour and salt in a large bowl. Add the cold water gradually and knead for 8-10 minutes until smooth, elastic, and only slightly tacky. Cover and rest for 20 minutes.
  2. Stretch and fatten the pastry: Lightly oil the work surface. Roll or stretch the dough into a thin rectangle, spreading softened margarine or butter over the surface. Fold into thirds, rest for 15 minutes, then repeat the rolling, spreading, and folding once or twice more. Chill until firm enough to handle.
  3. Prepare the filling: Mix the drained ricotta with the egg, cheese if using, salt, and black pepper. The filling should be thick, not runny.
  4. Shape the pastizzi: Preheat the oven to 220°C (fan 200°C). Roll the pastry thinly and cut into squares or ovals. Place a spoonful of ricotta filling in the centre of each piece, then fold and pinch the edges to form the traditional boat shape.
  5. Bake: Place the pastizzi on a lined baking tray and bake for 20-25 minutes until deeply golden and crisp. Serve warm.

Pastizzi tal-Irkotta are Malta’s most famous bakery snack: crisp, flaky pastries filled with soft ricotta. They are eaten for breakfast, as a quick lunch, after a night out, or with a strong cup of tea.

Compare this filling with the pea version and learn how the pastry differs from qassatat in the pastizzi guide.

Ingredient Substitutions Outside Malta

Use plain unsweetened ricotta and drain it well before mixing. Firm baking margarine or butter is suitable for the listed pastry; low-fat spread is not the same product. Ready-made puff pastry is a home shortcut with a different texture, so follow its pack’s baking guidance. Plain flour is all-purpose flour.

Serving Suggestions

  • Serve warm, when the pastry is crispest
  • Pair with tea, coffee, or a cold soft drink
  • Add a small salad for a light lunch
  • Reheat in a hot oven rather than a microwave

Traditional Notes & Tips

  • The ricotta must be well drained or the pastry will become soggy
  • Maltese pastizzeriji use a very stretchy laminated dough; homemade versions are still delicious with careful folding
  • The outside should be golden and crisp, with a soft centre
  • Some families add a little grated cheese for a sharper filling
  • Eat them the same day if possible

A pastry-shop snack

Joseph C. Camilleri describes Rabat pastry shops as places to eat pastizzi with tea or coffee and stop for conversation. See Maltese Folklore, printed page 188.

That everyday setting is a useful guide to serving these ricotta pastries: offer them warm as a snack, rather than treating them only as party food. Keep the savoury filling distinct from the sweet ricotta used in kannoli.