Pastizzi: Ricotta-filled traditional Maltese snack :)

Pastizzi (cheesecakes or peacakes) are ricotta or pea filled pastries which are the most popular and best known culinary export of Malta).

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Pastizzi (singular: pastizz) are popular amongst Maltese people, and are also produced amongst the immigrant communities of Maltese in Australia, the US and Canada.

In Aus, traditional handmade pastizzis are available at Pepe's Pastizzi (http://www.pepespastizzi.com.au/)

Pastizzi lend their name to "pastizzerias" - the dozens of fast food outlets dotted around Malta which primarily sell pastizzi (along with pizzas, qassatat, timpana and sausage rolls).

 

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Pastizzerias also do a rice dish called Ross il-Forn (Maltese for Rice) that is rice cooked in the bolognese sauce and has a pastizzi pastry topping.

In recent years, an inter-family chain "Maxim`s" has taken a dominant share of the pastizzi market, though most pastizzerias are still small, local family concerns. Although a matter of personal taste Maxim's are considered to do the best pea cakes on the island.

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Pastizzi are typically cooked in batches of 30 on wood furnaces on black metal trays. Pastizzi come in the two standard ricotta and pizelli (pea) varieties, with the ricotta version notably the more popular of the two. Pea pastizzi's are also called pea cakes, which is easier for tourists to say.

A slightly different puff pastry version of the snack is sold at more stylish cafes. Pastizzi are particularly popular snacks on Sundays in Malta, with vendors all over the islands opening in the early hours to cater for late night clubbers and early morning hunters alike. Pastizzi have a particular place of pride in Maltese culture and are light-heartedly considered one of the nation's unique achievements. Locals consider no visit to Malta to be complete without eating some pastizzi.