| Pastizz | |
| Country: | Malta |
| Type: | Savoury pastry |
| Main Ingredient: | Filo-like pastry, ricotta or mushy peas |
A pastizz (: pastizzi) is a traditional savoury pastry from Malta. Pastizzi usually have a filling either of ricotta (pastizzi tal-irkotta or pastizzi tal-ħaxu in Maltese) or curried peas (in Maltese).[1] [2] Pastizzi are a popular and well-known traditional Maltese food. It should not be confused with the Italian pastizz, better known as u' pastizz 'rtunnar.
Pastizzi are usually diamond-shaped or round (known as pastizzi tax-xema in Maltese) and made with a pastry very much like the Greek filo pastry (although there is also a puff pastry version). The pastry is folded in different ways according to the filling, as a means of identification. Traditionally, ricotta pastizzi are folded down the middle, whereas pea pastizzi are folded down the side.[3] In recent years, alternative pastizzi fillings have emerged, most notably chicken pastizzi, which can now be found in virtually all Maltese pastizzeriji alongside the two traditional flavours. Other short-lived or limited edition pastizzi fillings have included ricotta and truffle, Maltese sausage, and Nutella.[4]
Pastizzi are typically baked on metal trays in electric or gas ovens in a pastizzerija, usually a small or family concern. They are also sold in bars, cafes and by street vendors. They are a popular breakfast in outer villages.
Pastizzi are also produced by Maltese immigrant communities in Australia, Canada, the UK and the US.[5] The first pastizzeria in Scotland opened in 2007.[6]
Such is its popularity, the word pastizz has multiple meanings in Maltese.[7] It is used as a euphemism for the vagina, due to its shape, and for describing someone as a "pushover". The Maltese idiom Maltese: jinbiegħu bħall-pastizzi (selling like pastizzi) is equivalent to the English "selling like hot cakes", to describe a product which seems to have inexhaustible demand.[8] [9] [10] Things which are (coming out like pastizzi) can be said to be emerging at a fast rate, sometimes too quickly.[11] [12] [13]