The Way We Ate: Memories of Maltese Meals

What is Maltese Food? Like the food of all nations, it moves with the times, and food fashions or fads are quick to come and go. It is the signature dishes - the tried and tested dishes - that endure to become "traditional." But even these are subject to change and availability. Imagine if food purists sneered when potatoes were woven into the tapestry of Maltese food? What then of Malta's famous patata Maltija, patata fgat, or patata fil-forn? Or their perfect hobz biz-zejt, which was probably first made with oil and a few olives? If traditionalists had sniffed at the tomato and said, "What's this strange foreign fruit?", where would Malta's national dish be today?

So it is far more interesting to trace the evolution of Malta's favourite dishes: why they eat what they eat and how they eat it, and when they eat it. All of these play a part in stitching together a multi-flavoured backdrop to Malta's history, because eating is something people have to (and want to) do every day and always have. The foods they chose to eat were the result of the environment in which they lived. The foods they choose to eat today are conditioned by their choices and influenced by their situation. Therefore, one's meals are a tiny, if slightly cloudy, window into the past, kindly held open by recipes handed on down through the generations. This book traces the history of some of Malta's popular dishes, meals, and festivals. The information therein creates a wonderful picture of the past. Over 200 Maltese recipes are included.