People warned me that, as a vegetarian moving to Malta, I might have a hard time finding traditional foods to eat that don't have meat in them. However, I have found that a lot of Maltese (Malta's) dishes highlight local fresh fruits and vegetables and don't require meat. Additionally, due to Malta's nearness to Sicily (an island off the coast of Italy), North Africa and even the Middle East, its food is influenced by thousands of years of trade and settlers from other places.
I have tried quite a few different foods, but I still aim to try new foods every day! Two dishes I have had the most often are called pastizzi and imqaret. Pastizzi is phyllo pastry (thinly layered flaky pastry) stuffed with traditional fillings of either local sheep's ricotta cheese or mushy (mashed) peas, a nod to Malta's former British colonization. (The British ruled Malta for about 150 years before Malta gained its independence, and British culture is one of many that influence Malta today.) Imqaret is also made of phyllo pastry, which is folded with a date filling and then deep fried in oil. Both are delicious snacks and never cost more than 50 cents each, so they are perfect to grab on the go!
I have also tried many other Maltese foods!
