🇲🇹 Maltese Recipes

Traditional Mediterranean Cuisine

Żebbuġ Mimli (Maltese Stuffed Olives)

Large green olives filled with a savoury paste of tuna, anchovies, capers, garlic, bread and herbs for a Maltese sharing platter.

Prep: 40 minutes (plus 30 minutes chilling) Cook: No cooking Servings: 40-50 stuffed olives
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Watercolour illustration of large green Maltese olives stuffed with a tuna, anchovy and herb filling.

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. Prepare the olives: Drain the olives well and pat dry. Choose large ones with a clear opening where the stone was removed. Check that no stone fragments remain.
  2. Blend the filling: Pulse the breadcrumbs, tuna, anchovies, capers, garlic, parsley and mint in a small processor. Add the oil gradually and blend to a thick, smooth paste. Season with pepper and taste before adding any salt; the preserved ingredients usually supply enough.
  3. Fill: Spoon the paste into a piping bag with a small plain nozzle. Pipe into the centre of each olive, filling from both ends if needed. Alternatively, open one side of the olive with a small slit and press the paste in with a teaspoon.
  4. Chill and serve: Put in a covered container and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Transfer to a small serving bowl and drizzle lightly with oil. The number depends on the size of the olives; spread any spare filling on galletti.

Choose Large Green Olives

Use ready-cured, pitted olives with firm flesh. Large openings make them easier to fill and hold more of the tuna mixture. Raw olives straight from a tree are not suitable for this recipe.

Drain the capers and anchovies as well as the tuna. The paste needs enough oil to pipe smoothly while remaining firm inside the olive. If your processor struggles with the small quantity, chop the ingredients finely and mash them together instead.

Serve a Little at a Time

Put out a small bowl with galletti, bread and Bigilla. The olives are strongly seasoned, so a few per person work well among other bites. For a larger gathering, use the Maltese celebration collection.

Keeping

Keep the filled olives and any spare fish filling covered in the fridge and use within two days. A drizzle of oil is for flavour; it does not make this a cupboard preserve. Keep the main batch chilled while serving smaller portions.

On a Maltese sharing platter

Żebbuġ mimli are familiar at Maltese family celebrations and on platters with galletti, bigilla, bread and cheeselets. Tuna, anchovies, bread, garlic and capers make a savoury filling, with herbs and seasoning varying between households. This recipe uses large brined green olives filled at home.