During my trip to Malta I got introduced to Pastizzi. It was impossible to miss them, being sold at every corner for only a few cents. And when I first bought them, I knew I had to try to bake them myself once I got home. Well, it took me long, but here I am giving it a try :) Pastizzi, my way. Ok, maybe I should say: my lazy way. Shame on me , I know. But no matter how much I try to make everything fresh, this time I wanted to speed it up, so I ended up buying the puff pastry. One day, I will definitely try to make the dough myself. And I’m also planning to try different fillings. The ones I have seen – besides ricotta – were filled with peas and meat. But this time I decided to stick to the simple version. And I added a little oregano and grated cheese. These two ingredients might not coincide though with the original Maltese stuffing.
This recipe brought back so many memories of Malta. I remember the Island as a unique place, a melting pot of different cultures.
One moment I felt like being in Sicily seeing all those arancini (stuffed rice balls) being sold everywhere. At the same time listening or reading certain words and names reminded me of the Arabic culture. While the British influence caught immediately my attention when I first noticed the left-hand traffic, and not only.
Malta, a small Island, and such a multicultural treasure! Absolutely beautiful!
Ingredients:
150 g / 5¼ oz puff pastry (or filo pastry)
100 g / 3½ oz of ricotta
2 eggs (1 egg for the ricotta mixture, 1 egg to brush the pastry)
1 tbsp of grated cheese (i.e. parmesan)
parsley or oregano to taste
salt and pepper to taste
* * * * *
Heat the oven at 180°C / 356°F.
Mix the ricotta with one egg. Season with salt and pepper.
Roll out the puff pastry and cut circles into it (i.e. with a cup). Take one circle, put it in your hand and fill it with a full teaspoon of the ricotta mixture. Brush a little of the beaten egg on the edges and then seal by pressing it gently (see picture).
Put the pastizzi on a baking paper covered baking sheet. Brush each one with some egg.
Bake for about 30min until golden brown.
Prep Time: 1-1½ h
Serves 12 medium-sized pastizzi
Isabella says
Please do not call anything made with filo or store -bought puff pastry pastizzi.
mediterranealicious says
Thanks for your comment, Isabella! I agree that anything made with filo or store-bought puff pastry should not be called pastizzi. That is why I purposely called the recipe “Pastizzi – My Way“.. ;) And as I already mentioned in my post, one day I would love to make them with the homemade dough! Maybe you have any good recipes to share? ;)
Lori says
The dough is so hard to make. It took me years to perfect it.
Definitely not puff pastry :)
One day I’m going to sell them here in the US
mediterranealicious says
Absolutely! I totally agree.. That is why I tried to take the short cut and cheated by using puff pastry, and made them ‘my way’ ;)) However I do know that you cannot compare it to the real,original dough. Would love to learn one day though!!
Teresagrzanow says
Excellent, the puff pastry worked great, thank you for posting
mediterranealicious says
So glad to hear you liked them ;)) Ciao!