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Maltese · Mediterranean

Pastizzi

Contains egg (no meat or fish)

Malta's beloved flaky pastries filled with ricotta (or mushy peas), sold hot from every village pastizzeria. This home version uses ready-made puff pastry.

Pastizzi is a Maltese pastry from Malta, ready in about 1 hour and made with all-butter puff pastry and ricotta. It serves 8 and is rated easy to cook.

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A serving of Pastizzi
Photo: Maltese-Foods / Pixabay · Pixabay Content License
Prep
25 min
Cook
25 min
Rest
10 min
Total
1 h
Serves
8
Level
Easy
Calories
506

Ingredients

8 servings (16 pastizzi)

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Heat the oven (opens in a new tab) to 200 °C. Mix the ricotta (opens in a new tab), egg (opens in a new tab), parsley (opens in a new tab), salt and pepper (opens in a new tab).

    • 3 min
    • 200°C

  2. Step 2

    Roll each pastry sheet a little thinner and cut into 8 squares or rounds.

  3. Step 3

    Put a spoonful of filling in the centre of each, fold over and pinch the edges to seal, shaping the classic diamond with the filling peeking out at the ends.

    • 12 min

  4. Step 4

    Bake on a lined tray until puffed and deep golden. Cool for 10 minutes – the filling is very hot.

About this dish

Origin
Malta · Well documentedMore food from Malta
Dish
Snack · Breakfast · Pastries · Street food
Cooking method
Oven-baked
Taste
buttery, savoury, mild
Diet
Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · No nut ingredients
All labelsVegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · No nut ingredients · No added sugar · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free
Worked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
Street food · Portable / lunchbox · Freezer-friendly · Child-friendly
Cook more with
All-butter puff pastry · Ricotta · Egg
Techniques
Baking

Allergens

  • Contains: Milkfrom all-butter puff pastry, ricotta
  • Contains: Eggsfrom egg
  • Contains: Wheatfrom all-butter puff pastry
  • Contains: Glutenfrom all-butter puff pastry

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

506 kcal per serving

Estimated

1 serving ≈ 124 g · recipe makes 8

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 7%
  • Carbohydrate 31%
  • Fat 62%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
Energy506 kcal408 kcal
Protein9.5 g7.6 g
Carbohydrate38.9 g31.3 g
Net carbohydrate37.7 g30.3 g
Sugars0.7 g0.6 g
Added sugars0 g0 g
Fibre1.2 g1 g
Fat34.9 g28.1 g
Saturated fat10.3 g8.3 g
Trans fat——
Cholesterol42 mg34 mg
Sodium395 mg318 mg
Salt equivalent1 g0.8 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
141 mg
Calcium
89 mg
Iron
2.2 mg
Magnesium
21 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
55 µg
Vitamin C
0 mg
Vitamin D
—
Vitamin B12
0.4 µg
Folate (DFE)
104 µg

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
  • Optional ingredients are not included: parsley.
  • All-butter puff pastry: Frozen puff pastry (FDC 172790). Shop-bought puff pastry varies; some brands use vegetable fat.
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

  • Drain the ricotta in a sieve for an hour so the pastry stays crisp.

Serve with

  • Eat warm with a cup of tea or with a Kinnie soft drink.

Storage

  • Freeze unbaked and bake from frozen, adding 5 minutes.

Variations

  • Pastizzi tal-piżelli: Filled with mashed peas, onion and a little curry powder.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Grouped by each ingredient’s role in the dish. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Main ingredient

Used in steps 1, 2

Baker’s notes

Customise in Bread & Bakery

Timeline and readiness cues

  1. Mix and knead · about 25 min

    Keep the butter and dough at the same cool, pliable temperature; chill between folds.

  2. Bake · about 25 min at 200 °C

    Deep golden; bread sounds hollow when tapped underneath, or reads 93–96 °C inside (enriched breads 88–90 °C).

  3. Cool · about 10 min

    Cool on a rack before slicing — the crumb is still setting; cutting hot bread makes it gummy.

  4. Start to finish: about 1 h. Times are a guide — warmth changes everything; follow the cues.

If something goes wrong

  • Pale crust

    Likely causes

    • Oven too cool
    • Too little sugar or no milk/egg for browning
    • Over-fermented (yeast ate the sugars)

    What to do

    • Check the oven with a thermometer
    • Brush with egg wash or milk
    • Shorten the fermentation
  • Burnt bottom

    Likely causes

    • Tray too close to the heat
    • Dark tray absorbs more heat
    • Too much sugar in the dough

    What to do

    • Bake on the middle shelf
    • Double up trays or use a light-coloured one
    • Lower the temperature 10–15 °C and bake a little longer
  • Crust too hard or thick

    Likely causes

    • Baked too long at too low a temperature
    • No steam at the start

    What to do

    • Bake hotter for a shorter time
    • Add steam for the first 15 minutes (tray of boiling water, or a covered Dutch oven)
    • Cool under a tea towel for a softer crust

Reviews & corrections

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